Impact of Social Media on the Retail Industry in Australia

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of the impact of social media on the retail industry in Australia. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study investigates how social media platforms influence marketing strategies, brand awareness, and business growth. The research delves into the increasing use of social media by Australian consumers and its implications for retail businesses, including the rise of online sales and the importance of effective communication. The report examines the advantages of social media marketing, such as cost-effectiveness and value creation, while also conducting statistical analyses to identify correlations between variables. Furthermore, the report offers recommendations for managers seeking to optimize their social media strategies and platform selection. The study uses a descriptive research design and an interpretivism research philosophy to analyze secondary qualitative and quantitative data, providing a detailed overview of the current landscape and future opportunities for retail businesses in Australia.

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Running head: Professional project on the impact of social media
PROFESSIONAL PROJECT ON THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL
MEDIA

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Professional project on the impact of social media
Executive Summary
This research report reflects on the significance of social media on the retail industry of
Australia. In order to identify the importance of social media, a mixed approach has been
performed. It is found that the growing advent of social media has encouraged multiple business
entrepreneurs to use social media platforms as a significant channel for marketing. From a recent
report, it is identified that almost 79% of social media users become active in Australia.
For this reason, a secondary analysis has been conducted to identify the impact of social media.
From the qualitative study, it is found that social media platforms are cost-effective and do not
require an in-depth knowledge of IT. Besides this, value creation and brand awareness are two
significant consequences that have been found in this study. Besides this, increase in online sale
and flowing of proper communication has been addressed in this report. Statistical analysis of
variables has identified a rigidness in different social media platforms. The correlation analysis
of variables has helped to determine the strength of a relationship between two variables.
Furthermore, recommendations have been provided in this research report to inform managers
for a better selection of proper social media platforms and marketing strategy.

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Professional project on the impact of social media
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Background of the research....................................................................................................4
1.2 Research aim and objectives..................................................................................................5
1.3 Significance of research.........................................................................................................5
2.0 Critical Literature Review.........................................................................................................6
2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................6
2.2 Impact of social media on the business growth of organisations...........................................6
2.3 Reasons behind application social media in organisations....................................................8
3.0 Research Methodology..............................................................................................................9
3.1 Research philosophy..............................................................................................................9
3.2 Research Approach................................................................................................................9
3.3 Research Design...................................................................................................................10
3.4 Research Type......................................................................................................................10
3.5 Data Collection....................................................................................................................10
3.6 Data Analysis.......................................................................................................................11
3.7 Ethical consideration............................................................................................................11
4.0 Data analysis............................................................................................................................11
4.1 Secondary qualitative analysis.............................................................................................11
4.2 Quantitative data analysis....................................................................................................13
4.2.1 Descriptive study...........................................................................................................13
4.2.2 Correlation analysis.......................................................................................................13
4.2.3 Regression analysis.......................................................................................................14
5. Discussion and Findings............................................................................................................15
6.0 Conclusion, Recommendation, and Limitations......................................................................15
6.1 Addressing the research questions.......................................................................................15
6.2 Recommendation.................................................................................................................16
6.3 Limitations...........................................................................................................................16

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Reference List................................................................................................................................17

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Professional project on the impact of social media
1.0 Introduction
Social media has become a cornerstone in the field of business and marketing. Rapid penetration
of social media on the society has influenced the marketing strategies of business enterprises.
According to Tsimonis & Dimitriadis (2014), business enterprises are emphasizing significantly
on the social media marketing techniques to expand their brand awareness. This report, therefore,
reflects on the significance of social media in the retail industry of Australia. In order to assess
the immense impact of social media on the business growth of multiple retail giants, secondary
qualitative research has been performed. Henceforth, development of an ultimate aim along with
a specific question has helped the learner to carry out this project in deep. Besides this, a detailed
discussion of applied methodologies is included in this report, which has contributed to
identifying significant social media strategies for better business expansion of retail
organisations. The retail industry in Australia has been developed massively in the past few
decades. Due to this immense growth, organisations are facing fierce competition to maintain the
status quo. Therefore, this report has been developed from a managerial perspective and seeks to
identify the most significant social media strategy for business entrepreneurs.
1.1 Background of the research
The retail industry in Australia is booming as the presence of retail giants like Woolworths,
Coles, Distributors, and others have doubled the competition for start-ups and Small and
Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). However, a change in the spending patterns of Australian
consumers has been cited. Besides this, threats of new entrants have also been estimated by
experts. This statement is supported by Pash (2018), as they have termed Amazon and Lidl as the
future of Australian retail industry. Therefore, it is essential for domestic retail companies to take
a better approach to significant business expansion. Making a note from this assumptions, this
research report has been designed to identify the impact of social media marketing and possible
marketing strategies for retail giants.
1.2 Research aim and objectives
Aim
This research aims to identify the significant impact of social media in ensuring proper business
growth.

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Professional project on the impact of social media
Objectives
 To assess the impact of social media on the retail industry of Australia
 To analyse the major factors that allow business managers to incorporate social media
strategies
 To identify possible, yet effective social media strategies used by retail companies in
Australia
1.3 Significance of research
This research will look after in developing a significant knowledge on the impact of social media
on the retail industry of Australia. Extensive research on different types of social media
marketing strategies will help to understand the managerial approaches in generating a high
amount of profit. Due to significant growth in social media usage in recent times, business
organisations have taken various strategies to enhance brand recognition. As per a recent report
published by Sensis, 79% usage of social media in Australia has encouraged business giants and
SMEs to promote their products and services on social media (Sensis.com.au, 2018). Henceforth,
this research will ensure a detailed statistical and content analysis of multiple social media
strategies that can be taken into consideration.
2.0 Critical Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
This segment of this report highlights the critical statements and arguments placed by literary
scholars on the impact of social media on business enterprises. Tsimonis & Dimitriadis (2014)
discussed that a vital literature review allows researchers to evaluate a specific agenda critically.
Therefore, a discussion on multiple social media marketing strategies has helped to develop a
clear understanding of knowledge and the critical impact of social media on the organisational
growth.
2.2 Impact of social media on the business growth of organisations
It is identified that social media is generally characterised by the user-generated content and can
be interpreted as much practical as the traditional business communication methods of
marketing. As determined by Parveen, Jaafar & Ainin (2015), due to a vast process of
information flow, social media platforms have been developed as a significant driver to enhance

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business profitability. Therefore, a constant change has been cited in the Australian industry. It is
observed that due to the rapid development of internet technology, internet services are getting
more collaborative than consumer-based applications. In this context, it is essential that social
media platforms are creating further opportunities to ensure a smooth business operation of
business organisations (Paniagua & Sapena, 2014). Social media, as the updated and modernised
form can optimise web-based and mobile technologies. Besides this, researchers have also
identified the high level of efficiencies of social media, comparing the other traditional technique
available for marketing. However, researchers contain different perspectives regarding the
application of social media in business (Taneja & Toombs, 2014). As commented by Ainin et al.
(2015), the adoption of social media is very limited in the organisational context, and most of the
retail organisations might face severe issues for relying on social media. On another hand, Del
Giudice, Caputo & Evangelista (2016) argued this view by providing a specific explanation of
different social media tools and their impacts on an organisational context. As identified by
Valos et al. (2016), social media demonstrates an appropriate communication between
organisations and their consumers. Henceforth, a direct communication channel between
consumers and organisations helps to develop brand values in a precise manner.
Figure 1: Impact of social media on the organisation
Social
media
Develop
brand
values
Increase
of sales
Value
creation

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Focusing on the integration of global markets, a technological update has allowed organisations
to maintain a better management system through social media. In this regard, Alqahtani & Saba
(2013) opined that an array of application of web-based technologies helps organisations to
maintain and transmit media monologues to a social media broadcast. Henceforth, it is identified
that social media technology helps consumers to provide opinions, share contracts and
conceptualise any perspective (Schaupp & Bélanger, 2013). Due to development of web-based
applications and advancements in internet technology, social networking sites are getting
immense priorities by the business organisations as those organisations are constantly making
connections with consumers through different techniques (Lyon & Montgomery, 2013). The
main reason behind such interaction is to involve consumers in the marketing procedure of this
company. Henceforth, a high level on consumer engagement can be interpreted as an effective
marketing strategy in nowadays. Beside the development of brand popularity, social media has
some serious influence on business organisations. According to Hajli (2014), word-of-mouth
communication technique gets enhanced by the social media, which helps organisations to
increase their sales and allows to generate support for consumers. Furthermore, a trust-based
value creation has also identified in the existing literature (Hassan, Nadzim & Shiratuddin,
2015). Therefore, it can be said that social media imposes a significant contribution to the
development of any organisation.
2.3 Reasons behind application social media in organisations
Existing literature has identified the different use of social media types that can be employed by
organisations. As identified by Jussila, Kärkkäinen & Aramo-Immonen (2014), broadcasting can
be interpreted as the significant use of social media, which allows organisations to keep in touch
with their consumers. Henceforth, broadcasting helps to construct a preconceived message to a
wide consumer base. In this regard, the significance of internal broadcast cannot be declined
(Keinänen & Kuivalainen, 2015). It is identified that an internal broadcast method ensures
organisations to convey messages from executive management to lower and midlevel employees
(Rauniar et al. 2014). Scholars have also identified external usage of social media as another
pivotal driver for promoting and expanding a business. It is identified that the external use of
social media usage helps organisations to estimate marketplace reactions, communities and
customer relationship management (Whiting & Williams, 2013). Besides this, it is also identified

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that external application of social media helps organisations to promote new services through
social e-commerce. However, an influence of social media cannot be estimated through this
limited discussion. As identified by Hildebrand et al. (2013), social media allows organisations
and service providers to collaborate with consumers, which is essential for the better
development of a business. Trainor et al. (2014) argued that the generation of new business ideas
and refinement of products could be observed through a better application of social media.
Therefore, it is recommended by scholars to consider social media strategies for demonstrating
innovation in business.
3.0 Research Methodology
3.1 Research philosophy
Three types of research methodology (positivism, interpretivism, and realism) are generally used
in conducting research. In order to identify the impact of social media in developing the growth
of retail business in Australia, interpretivism research philosophy has been applied. According to
Hughes & Harrock (2016), interpretivism research philosophy involves human interests and
allows researchers to interpret general elements from the study. Furthermore, this philosophy
also facilitates the qualitative study significantly. Based on these advantages of interpretivism
research philosophy, the researcher has selected this philosophy.
3.2 Research Approach
The research approach is an essential part to advance any research in a suitable direction. In this
research, a deductive approach has been selected to evaluate the impact of social media on the
retail industry of Australia. Furthermore, this approach has ensured a proper interpretation of
facts and information available on the web. This approach has also helped the researcher to
demonstrate an effective analysis of collected data. On another hand, an inductive approach has
been rejected because it would have created a bias in interpreting the facts and information
available in secondary sources.
3.3 Research Design
The research design involves exploratory, explanatory, descriptive and casual techniques, which
can be applied in a research study. In this context, a descriptive research design is preferred over
other available research designs for several reasons. Descriptive research design has allowed the

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researcher to investigate and analyse the relationship between dependent variables and
independent variables of this study. Therefore, a detailed descriptive design ensured the quality
of the research and helped the researcher to execute this research professionally.
3.4 Research Type
There are three research types available through which, a researcher can be able to set the
standards of research. Qualitative research helps researchers to interpret and analyse data that is
rich in quality and can help to develop a new theme on a general or critical agenda. On another
hand, quantitative research ensures a solid construction of data and a detailed statistical
interpretation of it. Focusing on the current topic of this research, the researcher has undertaken a
mixed methodology that ensures researcher to analyse data both qualitatively and quantitatively.
In this context, a proper interpretation of qualitative and quantitative data helped the researcher
to enhance the outcomes of this study.
3.5 Data Collection
In order to increase the reliability and coherency of any research, a proper data collection is
highly recommended. As identified by Hughes & Sharrock (2016), a researcher can collect
primary or secondary data as per the requirement of the study. In order to identify the impact of
social media and effective social media strategies on business organisations, the researcher has
selected secondary data collection. The main reason behind the rejection of primary data
collection is to avoid the bias that can be observed from the primary data collection. Henceforth,
in order to protect this research from personal opinions, secondary data collection data method
has been applied.
3.6 Data Analysis
In order to increase the professionalism and quality of the outcomes of this research, statistical
analysis has been done for quantitative data collected. Besides, content analysis has been
performed by the researcher to extract qualitative data to identify the major social media
strategies that can be implicated in the retail industry of Australia.
3.7 Ethical consideration
The researcher has properly considered the ethical guidelines for secondary research and also
obeyed the data privacy act of 1998. Therefore, proper credit is given to the researchers, from

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which data for this research has been taken. Besides this, the researcher also ensured the
academic misconduct policy as no plagiarism is done while developing this research. It is
disclosed that taken data will not be used for any commercial activity.
4.0 Data analysis
4.1 Secondary qualitative analysis
Social media marketing strategy helps to develop brand enhancement of organisations
Brand recognition is an important factor for organisations in today's dynamic business market.
Effective use of social media allows organisations to maintain a high brand reputation.
According to Hollebeek, Glynn & Broodie (2014), marketing strategies are becoming more, and
that has helped to shift the view from the contemporary understanding of brands. It is observed
that social media helps to create a better value of brands. In this context, Leeflang et al. (2014)
identified brands as developing social progress. Therefore, it can be interpreted that the brand
value of any organisation can be increased through building a better relationship. Henceforth, the
impact of social media is negligible as it helps organisations to develop a proper brand as per
their requirements. Prior brand literature has identified brands as a social and simplified form of
marketing, whereas recent literature has termed brand value as a complex nature. Henceforth, to
manipulate this nature of brand awareness, an influence of social media is appreciated. As
identified by Brodie et al. (2013), the social nature of brands has helped scholars to embed high
value in expanding the business of any organisation.
Social media usage is cost effective for business organisations than other marketing
methods
Due to the growing popularity of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
YouTube, organisations are highly focused on using these channels as a better method for
marketing and promotion of brands and services. From a detailed qualitative study has helped to
develop this understanding about the impact of social media on the business organisations in
Australia. Cost is a significant factor for organisations to adopt and utilise a specific technology.
In this regard, studies have identified cost-effectiveness as a significant factor that allows
organisations to maintain better profitability. As defined by Ainin et al. (2015), social media can
become a cost-effective option for organisations as no extensive knowledge of IT skills is

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required to start a promotion or campaign on social media. Furthermore, it is observed that low
cost and low barriers to participating in social media campaign might help organisations to get an
effective outcome cost-effectively. Therefore, it can be said that the use of social media as a
marketing platform allows organisations to control cost expenses.
4.2 Quantitative data analysis
Quantitative data has been taken from the annual report published by Sensis in 2018. This report
reflects on the percentage of users on social media platforms. Henceforth, a statistical analysis of
the gathered data has helped to evaluate the active social media platform for implementing social
media strategy for business development.
4.2.1 Descriptive study
Descriptive Statistics
Mean Std. Deviation N
Facebook 2.3616 1.45132 224
YouTube 2.2455 1.39746 224
Instagram 1.9509 1.09311 224
Snapchat 2.0045 1.06934 224
Twitter 2.2277 1.32480 224
From the descriptive statistical analysis of the study, it can be interpreted that data on usage of
social media platform rates tend not be close with each other. From the standard deviation rate of
Facebook, it is underpinned that it differs in a significant manner than of usage of Instagram and
snapchat. On another hand, the mean value of Facebook is much higher than other social media
platforms that effectively denotes the significance of Facebook.
4.2.2 Correlation analysis
Correlations
Facebook YouTube Instagram Snapchat Twitter
Pearson Correlation Facebook 1.000 .268 .577 .574 .636
YouTube .268 1.000 .363 .449 .420
Instagram .577 .363 1.000 .679 .745

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Snapchat .574 .449 .679 1.000 .784
Twitter .636 .420 .745 .784 1.000
Sig. (1-tailed)
Facebook . .000 .000 .000 .000
YouTube .000 . .000 .000 .000
Instagram .000 .000 . .000 .000
Snapchat .000 .000 .000 . .000
Twitter .000 .000 .000 .000 .
N
Facebook 224 224 224 224 224
YouTube 224 224 224 224 224
Instagram 224 224 224 224 224
Snapchat 224 224 224 224 224
Twitter 224 224 224 224 224
Correlation analysis of variables helps to identify the strength of relationships of different
variables taken for the review (Yong & Pearce, 2013). From this interpretation of this table, it is
recognized that relationship between Facebook and snap chat variable is too weak than other
identified variables. Henceforth, a rigidness between different social media platforms might
create discrepancies in managerial decision to implement social media marketing strategies.
4.2.3 Regression analysis
Model Summaryb
Model R R
Square
Adjusted
R
Square
Std.
Error of
the
Estimate
Change Statistics Durbin-
WatsonR
Square
Change
F
Change
df1 df2 Sig. F
Change
1 .661a .437 .426 1.09915 .437 42.448 4 219 .000 1.625
a. Predictors: (Constant), Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat
b. Dependent Variable: Facebook

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Professional project on the impact of social media
This regression analysis table highlights the relationship between different variables taken for
this study. 0.437 value of R square identifies that changes in usage rate in other social media
platforms might provide influence on the usage of Facebook.
5. Discussion and Findings
From the mixed approach conducted in this study, it is found that Facebook is a better social
media platform to implement marketing strategies by organisations in the retail industry. Besides
this, from the qualitative analysis and literature review of this research, multiple social media
strategies have been identified. It can be said that internal and external broadcast and promotion
in Facebook might help retail organisations to expand their business correctly.
Furthermore, it can be discussed that impact of social media on retail industry is significant. It is
found that social media helps to develop brand awareness of any organisation. Furthermore, the
creation of added value and cost-effectiveness nature of social media platforms might help retail
organisations to build an effective business strategy.
6.0 Conclusion, Recommendation, and Limitations
6.1 Addressing the research questions
This study was designed to identify the impact of social media on the retail industry in Australia.
In order to evaluate the findings, a mixed method approach was developed that helped to meet
research objectives. From the above discussion, it can be said that the influence of social media
is highly crucial as social media platforms help organisations to build a better brand identity.
Besides this, another profitability of using social media marketing strategy has been discussed in
this study. However, a rigidness between different social media platforms has been addressed in
this study, which might create an issue for retail organisations.
6.2 Recommendation
It is resolved that a rigidness in social media platforms might hamper the selection of managers
to incorporate social media marketing strategy. Henceforth, it can be recommended that retail
organisations should check the cost-effectiveness of social media platforms before pitching any
marketing strategy. Besides this, many usage rates on social media platforms are also required to

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be assessed. In this way, managers of retail organisations might improve their selection of proper
marketing strategy.
6.3 Limitations
In this research, the researcher has encountered various limitations that have restrained the
success of this research to some extent. Due to unavailability of time, the researcher was unable
to conduct thorough research on different industries in Australia. That research would have more
statistically represented the impact of social media on business. Besides this, a lack of in-depth
knowledge of data analysis might have reduced the quality of this research.

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