The Impact of Social Media Marketing on Consumer Buying Decisions

This research project investigates the influence of social media marketing on consumer buying behavior within the fashion industry, using Charles and Ron as a case study. The study aims to analyze the impact of social media promotion on consumer buying decisions, exploring the key concepts of consumer behavior, the significance of social media marketing, and its impact on consumer decision-making processes. The project includes a literature review examining consumer buying behavior and the importance of social media marketing, followed by a research methodology chapter outlining the adopted methods. Data analysis and interpretation are conducted based on a questionnaire, leading to conclusions and recommendations for overcoming challenges associated with social media marketing. The research highlights the importance of understanding consumer behavior and the role of social media in building brand awareness, increasing sales, and fostering customer loyalty within the fashion industry. The project provides valuable insights for organizations seeking to optimize their digital marketing strategies and understand the evolving consumer landscape.

RESEARCH PROJECT

CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................3
Background..................................................................................................................................3
Aims and objectives.....................................................................................................................3
Rationale......................................................................................................................................3
Significance.................................................................................................................................4
Structure.......................................................................................................................................4
CHAPTER 2- LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................6
CHAPTER 3- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...........................................................................12
CHAPTER 4 – DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION..................................................19
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION.....................................................34
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................34
Recommendation.......................................................................................................................35
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................38
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................40
QUESTIONNAIRE...................................................................................................................40

CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION
Title- To assess an influence of social media marketing on consumer buying behaviour with
respect to Fashion industry: A study on Charles and Ron
Background
Social media marketing referred as the use of online platforms by the firm in order to
connect with its target audience for the purpose of building e brand value, increasing sales and
driving for website traffic. It involves publishing the great content on digital website, engaging
more and more followers, assessing results and running advertisement on social media (Lim and
et.al., 2017). The current research report is based on Charles and Ron, operating as a fashion
company in entire UK. Moreover, the report presents a detailed review on the effect of digital
marketing on the buying behaviour of consumers.
Aims and objectives
Aim
“To analyse an impact of social media promotion on the buying decision of the
consumers in context of Fashion industry: Report on Charles and Ron”
Objectives
 To understand the key concept of consumer buying behaviour
 To identify the significance of social media marketing with regard to fashion industry
 To determine the impact of using social media marketing on the decision-making process
of consumer
 To recommend corrective measures for overcoming the challenges associated with social
media marketing
Rationale
The reason behind conducting this study is to understand an impact of social media
marketing on the buying decision of consumers. This study helped the scholar in knowing the
positive and the negative effects of the social media along with a concept of consumer’s buying
behaviour. Furthermore, it also develops a better understanding of the researcher in relation to
influence of online promotion on the purchasing decision of consumers. Also, this research is of

the interest both in personal and academic interest of the research and because of this the
researcher has selected this topic. It is so because of the fact that the researcher wanted to gain
knowledge that how the social media marketing affect the consumer decision making to a great
extent. Also, this research will help the researcher in gaining the knowledge relating to the
benefits and impact of the social media over the business.
Significance
This research will help the organization in assessing an effect of digital promotion on its
sales and customer base. It also enables other investigators who are looking for making the study
on this particular problem and also the students who are preparing for thesis on this specific
issue. Also, this research is of significance to the company on which the research is being
conducted because this will assist the company in identifying some strategies for increasing the
influence of social media over the consumer decision making. Also, this research is also of
importance to the other competitors of the company on which the research is being conducted.
This is majorly pertaining to the fact that when the research will be conducted and the
recommendation made to Charles and Ron can also be used by the similar companies working in
the same industry. In the end also this research will be of significance to other researchers and
scholars who are also working on the same or similar research topic. Then in this case the current
research can be treated as a base for the new research.
Structure
Chapter 1: Introduction
In this chapter, aims and objectives are framed along with the description regarding the reason
behind making the study and importance of the study.
Chapter 2: Literature review
In next chapter, an in depth review is made based on the research problem and objectives framed
with respect to the study. Moreover, this section provides a detailed assessment of the topic by
highlighting all the aspects with regards to the issue.
Chapter 3: Research methodology

Referring to this chapter, various methods have been adopted for the purpose of making the
study more reliable and valid. It includes an application of several approaches and philosophy so
that better results and findings can be drawn by the researcher.
Chapter 4: Data analysis
With respect to this chapter various themes are been created based on the questionnaire prepared
specific to the problem for taking responses of participant and for evaluating results from the
analysis.
Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendations
Under this an overall summary of the report is been presented in addition to it suitable measures
are also been recommended to the organisation with regards to overcome the challenges
associated with social media marketing.

CHAPTER 2- LITERATURE REVIEW
Theme 1: Understanding buying behaviour of consumer
Voramontri and Klieb (2019), reviewed that consumer behaviour in terms of buying
signifies as an approach of the consumers in relation to buying the product. Therefore, marketing
efforts also focuses on consumption of the consumers with respect to the services, activities,
ideas etc. It is very important for the marketer to understand the manner in which consumer buys
the product. It includes understanding the set of the decisions which the consumer makes over
the time. It refers to the process in which an individual or the group select, dispose, use, ideas,
experiences and the services for satisfying the needs and desire of customer. It is the scientific
learning of the manner in which people make purchases, prefer to buy, time at which they
requires to buy and the reason behind buying. It combines components from anthropology,
psychology, economics and sociology. It made an effort for understanding the decision process
of buyer individually as well as in form or groups. It examines the special features of an
individual consumer like demographics, behavioural and psychographic variables in attempt to
understand need of people. It also includes assessment of influences on consumer with help of
the groups like friends, reference groups, society and family.
But in views of Parker and et.al., (2019) there are various factors that influence buying
decision of the consumers that includes internal and the external factors. The major factors that
influence purchasing decision of consumer are motivation, attitude of the consumer, self concept
& personality, ability for remembering and the channel by which an information is been
processed. The other factor includes cultural, social, personal and family influences. Culture
relates to ideas, values, attitude that allows the people in communicating, evaluating and
interpreting as the member of community. Each and every culture is having the smaller groups
who same beliefs and values t the common life situations & experience. Such group of
consumers play an important role for the marketers as most of these subcultures made an
essential sector of market. There present some of the specific social class in each and every
community. Different country has different class system with respect to its ratio & distribution
point.

The other most vital factor is social factors that affects the behaviour of consumers is the
social groups that are made of the small groups, social status and social roles. Such group has a
direct influence on individual buyer that is membership of an individual in the particular groups
that serve as an indirect or the direct points of the comparison or the reference in form of the
person’s attitude or the beliefs. This indicates that in order to maintain status symbol, buying
decisions of the consumer changes and they are more likely to purchase higher price or trendy
products in the market. Several personal features like gage, lifestyle, occupation, financial, and
personality also has a great influence on the consumer’s decision of buying the product. Shifting
in demand of the person for a product majorly depends on financial situation and the occupation.
Life of an individual affects people’s activities, opinions and an interest that impacts the
product’s choice. All the people have unique personality of the different features that is often
indicated with the traits like sociability, autonomy, self-confidence, dominance, defensiveness,
aggressiveness and adaptability. Even an individual’s economic situation has a larger impact on
his or her purchase behaviour.
Moreover, psychological factors also have a great influence on the buying decisions of a
consumer. This factor includes attitudes, perception, beliefs, motivation etc. When the person
remain as motivated, they act accordingly & actions has been taken over seems as impacted by
the perception of person with regards to a specific situation. Views or perception is counted as an
individual ability in selecting and interpreting information & the company that runs according to
senses of the person. Experience of the new things, brings over a changes to the behaviour of
person. As the result, new attitudes & beliefs are been acquired and thus affects normal
purchasing power of an individual.
Theme 2: Importance of social media marketing
In opinion of Schivinski and Dabrowski (2016), social media marketing is counted as an
essential part of the marketing strategy within the business. Online platforms helps the business
in connecting with large customers at one channel, increases the brand awareness, boot the sales
and leads. It seems as one of profitable and the most stress free digital marketing channel which
could be used for increasing visibility of the business. With an application of digital marketing
strategy, it would help an enterprise in creating its brand awareness significantly by just spending
few hours a week, over 90% of the marketers claimed that their respective online marketing

efforts greatly increases brand visibility & heightened user’s experience. Having the online
website for the brand, business could be able to produce wider audience across the globe.
With respect to an advertising strategy, media marketing is considered as the cost
effective medium through which company can promote its products. Being more and more cost
effective helps in attaining the greater or higher value of return on the investment and in holding
bigger budget for the business payments and marketing. It is the most suitable way for
interacting and engaging with the customers and developing better relation with them. Moreover,
engagement & communication with that of customers is the one of the best way for winning their
attention and in conveying the brand message.
Gretzel (2017) states that in this way brand would be reaching to more and more
audience in the real terms and could achieve success without any kind of Hassle. By connecting
with the customers through social media, an entity is seen as more probable to achieve customer
retention and loyalty of the customers. Developing customer loyalty is reflected as one of the
major goal of any kind of business. Brand loyalty and satisfaction of customers goes hand in
hand so it is very crucial to engage with customers and developing bond with them. Digital
platforms just not limits to introducing product but also act as leading platform e for conducting
promotional campaigns. Customers review these platforms as the service channels at which they
could directly communicate with the firm.
Social media plays vital role in terms of communication and networking platform by
creating voice for an entity in order to improve overall brand image of the company. At the time
when the company post comments on their website, they receives a changed reply rather than
computerized message and this fact is been appreciated by the customers. A brand value which
value its customers, takes time for composing personal message that is been perceived naturally
in the positive light. It is seen as one of best ways in finding out the needs and the wants of
customers rather directly communicating or coordinating with them. It is considered as most
valuable benefit of social media as by observing an activity on the profile, company can know
about opinion and interest of customers. Social media assist the firm in getting the information
and a better understanding of industry.

For making the business more and more powerful, customer satisfaction and brand
loyalty plays a major role. When the customer’s views company’s posting on the social media,
specifically replying to queries and posting the original content, helps them in building positive
image in their respective minds. Constantly interacting with customers proves that an entity
respect and cares about their customers. Once the firm gets few numbers of satisfied customers,
it could let an advertising be done by genuine customers who appreciates their service and the
product. The other major benefit or advantage of social media is that it enables in increasing
company’s website traffic. By way of sharing the content on the social media, firm is providing
reason to the users for clicking to its website.
Presence at social media is more and more becoming as the vital factor in terms of
calculating the rankings. These days for securing successful ranking, search engine optimization
needs are varying continuously. Therefore, it is no longer sufficient to optimize website of the
company and regularly updating the blog. Companies sharing their content on digital media are
been sending out as the brand signal for the search engine which speaks to an entity’s integrity,
constancy and validity.
Theme 3: Influence of social media marketing on consumer buying decisions
In accordance to Alalwan (2018), relationship between consumer buying decisions and
social media represents that social media impacts brand attitudes, purchasing power of
consumers and an advertising attitudes. It would not necessarily impact decision making of the
consumer but possess the mediating effect. Social media is the channel that could build the brand
attitudes which affects buying behaviour of consumers. Well-known brand image induces
consumer in buying the product online. When celebrity or the friend of the consumer
recommends the service or the product on social media, then it impacts brand attitude &
influence their respective decision making. Advertising on the social media, that provided by the
commercial sources affects purchasing intention and brand attitudes of the consumer. Particular
to that information, it enables the marketers in planning their marketing strategies. Many of the
marketers make use of social media for the marketing campaigns and is counted as an easiest
way for communicating with the consumers and also a low cost medium for advertising their
service or the brand.

Social media not only impacts decision making of consumers on the services and
products but also enables in other types of fields like political and fair trials (Keskin and et.al.,
2017). It is the place where millions of people can interact and communicate with each other and
became an important place for companies to increase its market and customers. Social media
permits users in posting comments, providing reviews regarding the service and the product,
putting status for service and product that involve likes, tweet, and dislikes about a product.
When the customers seems as satisfied with product, he might be recommended product to the
different users of the social media by passing message with helps of several social media
techniques. In past years, consumers were called for putting reviews with regards to product but
currently social media is taking position for the purpose of placing ranking & recommendations,
placing reviews for product.
Corporations are lowering their budget for the paid advertisements & concentrating on
the social media advertisements. They make use of social media tool for building their brand
image and buying decision is been defined as technique through which customers passes through
several stages of consumer purchase decision process. Social media act as the means of
facilitating voice to the consumers with having explained possible elements included in decision
making process of the consumer, essence and the nature of social media along with having brief
description of prominent features in the outlets of social media.
Decision making process of the consumers begins with need identification to the stage of
post purchase which states that corporations are engaging in creating the brand awareness,
engaging their respective customers, drives traffic to the other properties of marketing &
growing the channel number. Relating to an information processing theory of the consumer
choice, it has been specified that there present large amount of an advertisements that competes
with each other for the purpose of grasping an individual’s attention & fact that humans are
having an obvious or limited capacity in processing the data, therefore, it is deemed as the
challenge for every discrete message for getting heard over din, even in case if marketers are
having right kind of message.
Every social media or online platform plays a crucial role in providing out, exchanging
and receiving information without any kind of boundary or limitation and as previously
mentioned social media helps in making two-way communication (Cheung, Pires and

Rosenberger, 2020). Since flow of the communication do not merely affects the way a company
could access their respective targeted groups, but also induces consumers to buy in an entire
process of decision making from interpreting message, looking for the available alternatives
along with the actions that is carried out in post purchase. Thus, it is very crucial to denote
rejection of message, misunderstanding and misinterpretation in flow of the communication. In
relation to the social media channel, biggest fear of the brands and the firm is giving up control
over content & frequency of information. On the other hand, it is important for the marketers to
realize that discussions & reviews as user generated content serve for demonstrating
transparency of the company.

CHAPTER 3- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
It refers to specific process or the techniques that is been used for identifying, assessing,
selecting, processing an information regarding the topic. In this section, scholar highlights
various methods and philosophies for critically evaluating overall reliability and the validity of
the study. In other words it is the process that is used for collecting information and the data for
making suitable business decisions. It might include research publication, surveys, interviews,
research tools and the current & past or historical information. The defining of all the research
methods in advance provide a guidance to the researcher that in which direction they have to
conduct the study to get accurate result and conclusion.
Research Types- It indicates the methods relating to applying the various aspects to
gather the information from various aspects. In this research, it includes two method such as
qualitative and quantitative method. Qualitative method is mainly undertaken when the data is to
be gathered through the open ended or conversational communication. This method mainly
adapted regarding raising questionnaire from the participants and gathering the original
information (Kumar, 2019). In respect of quantitative method, this is adapted in respect of
collecting the numerical data which is analyzed through using the mathematical methods. It
mainly indicates in respect of presenting the information through the statistics form.
In this research, researcher had adapted the qualitative method in which they chose the
questionnaire procedure to raise questions from the participants and gather the original data. As
every customer carry the different perspective of preferring the products or availing the services,
thus through raising questions, it helps in examining the actual market trends emerging in the
country (Bresler and Stake, 2017). Due to facing tough competition by the competitors in market
regarding promoting their products, the impact of social media marketing is highly suffered and
thus it also affects the purchasing decision of the customers. By applying the qualitative method,
the question is raised upon the participants regarding sharing their detailed information about the
criteria which they prefer to purchase the products or services. In respect of choosing this topic,
the major benefits which is gained is relating to presenting the data in more unique way. It also