Exploring Social Media's Role in Shaping Consumer Purchasing Decisions

This research report investigates the influence of social media on consumer purchasing decisions, focusing on data collection through primary (observation, interviews, questionnaires) and secondary methods (government reports, journals, books). It details the procedures undertaken for the research, including questionnaire distribution and data recording, and discusses the use of formative and summative evaluation techniques. The report interprets and analyzes the collected data to assess the impact of social media on consumer behavior, identifies advantages and disadvantages, and offers recommendations for further consideration. It also touches upon the importance of aligning resources with research questions, adhering to agreed specifications, and using appropriate research evaluation techniques to enhance the effectiveness of marketing strategies in the digital age. Desklib offers a wealth of similar resources for students.

Research Project
1

Table of Contents
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................3
2.1). Match resources efficiently to the research question or hypothesis........................................3
2.2) undertake the proposed research investigation in accordance with the agreed specification
and procedures.................................................................................................................................7
2.3 Record and collate relevant data where appropriate.............................................................8
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................10
3.1 Use appropriate research evaluation techniques......................................................................10
3.2 interpret and analyze the results in terms of the original research specification.....................12
3.3 make recommendations and justify areas for further consideration........................................22
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................25
4.1 use an agreed format or media to present the outcomes of the research to an audience.........25
References......................................................................................................................................27
Appendix........................................................................................................................................29
2

Task 2
2.1). Match resources efficiently to the research question or hypothesis.
It is essential that the data and information collected must cover all the aspects of the factors
which are necessary for the effective conduction of the research. If any of the aspect or factor
remains uncovered, it may affect the effectiveness of the research. For making sure about the
effectiveness of the research intact, various methods are used for pooling together the data and
the information required for the research. These methods include the Primary and Secondary
Data.
Primary Method: This is a method which is adapted for the collecting or gathering the
information particularly for serving the purpose or the aim of the research. The data or the
information collected under this method is known as Primary Data (Cleary, et. al., 2014). Such
data is considered to be gathered at first hand by way of observations, experiments, surveys,
interviews, etc. Such data collected under this research is by way of:
 Observation Method: This method is most suitable for making a study on the behavioral
science. Under this method, data is collected by way of making an observation on the behavior of
the subjects such as in this research, the behavior of consumers will be observed i.e. whether
such social influences their consumers. There is certain observations method which is divided
into different categories on the basis of its use and purpose. These methods are Descriptive and
Exploratory Observation, Controlled and Uncontrolled Observation and Descriptive and
Exploratory Observation.
 Interview Method: Under this method, the researcher conducted the detailed interview by
asking some specific questions from random people. This helps in collecting the information or
data by recording the opinions or the verbal or oral responses of the individuals (Sekaran and
Bougie, 2016). Under this, the questions asked are related to the research project i.e. Influence of
social media on the purchases of consumers. There are different ways of conducting interviews
which are: Personal Interviews, Telephonic Interviews. However, for pooling the data required
for this research, personal interviews are conducted as it is more effective and efficient to talk to
the person's face to face instead of talking on the phone.
3

 Questionnaire: This is most common and suitable method which is used for conducting an
effective research by gathering all the required data and information. Under this method,
different questions are prepared, each having different answers and the respondents have to
choose from those answers only. Questionnaire in this research is distributed among various
individuals who are selected randomly.
Secondary Method: It is a significant method which is used to gather data from various sources.
Data is collected by referring and using the data which is already published or unpublished. It is
easier to obtain in comparison with the primary method (Bryman, 2015). The sources under this
method include:
 The publications or reports of the government.
 Journals.
 Books
 Public Records.
 Data previously collected including the statistical data.
These are some of the examples of published data, the example of unpublished data are personal
notes, letters, diaries, etc. However, there are certain factors which must be taken into
consideration before data collected is used for the research such as the reliability, authenticity,
and adequacy of data.
4

Merit:
Primary Method Observation
Method
Interview Method Questionnaire
Advantage 1. Past behavior or
intentions regarding
future does not affect
the data collected.
2. The natural behavior
of the consumers can
be witnessed and
recorded.
1. Conducting detailed
interviews provide effective
and adequate information.
2. Such method can be
controlled as the questions
are decided by the
researcher itself.
3. Misinterpretation of data
can be avoided.
4. It is a flexible method.
1. Information can be
collected easily.
2. The appropriate
time is provided to
the respondent to
answer.
3. Data collected under
this method is easily
understandable.
Disadvantages 1. It is a costly and
expensive method.
2. Sometimes, limited
information is
collected.
3. It is an unreliable
method.
1. Questions have to be precise
otherwise the respondent
loses interest.
2. Can influence the
respondents by asking
unique questions.
3. It limits the answers
to some particular
answers.
4. Time-consuming
and slow method.
5

2.2) undertake the proposed research investigation in accordance with the agreed
specification and procedures
An important role is being played by the research investigation in order to achieve the aims and
objectives of the research and to make it successful. There were several specifications made in
the first part in order to do proper research analysis in an efficient and effective manner. The
main topic on which the analysis is being done is to investigate the influence of social media on
the consumer purchase (Hajli, 2012). The research is carried out in order to make recognition
regarding the magnitude to which buying decisions of customers are being influenced by social
media. In today's world use social apps are growing rapidly and making a huge impact on the
customer's mind. It also plays a significant part in the business organization in order to market
and promote their products. The chosen organization i.e. Arcadia is also making use of social
media in order to attract more and more clients. The main of the research is to determine various
advantages and disadvantages of social media in the purchasing of consumers (Hajli, 2014). The
objective of the research is to make examination that to what extent purchasing decisions of
customers are influenced by social media.
For the proper investigation of the research, a procedure has also been made so as to manage all
the activities in an appropriate manner. For the successful research, a questionnaire has also been
developed for the part of an investigation in the project. There will be several questions which
will be answered by 50 customers and then the proper analysis will be done on the basis of
graphs to know about the exact factors of social media that are influencing customers purchasing
decision.
[See Appendix]
6

2.3 Record and collate relevant data where appropriate
In simple words, it can be understood that program of the research is considered more as the
process of exploration that supports in showing the real results to come up with the various steps
in an appropriate manner (Hajli and Sims, 2015). It has been depicted by many scientists and
economist that program or procedure of research is being considered as the complex activity set
that focuses mainly on identifying, implementing, analysing, investigating and finding set of
policies and plans so as to make development of required information and things that provides
further knowledge that gives addition to the existing knowledge.
Basis Data recording Appropriate
Consumer behaviour In this research data is being
generated in regards to the
responses of customers with
the provided situation and
make a determination of
real caliber of employees
for the provided task (Hajli,
2015)
Supports in making proper
interpretation and also helps
in understanding behaviour
of customer with the
provided objects.
Influence of social media Different questions are
being formed by the
researcher to analyse the
social media’s impact on
customers.
Make provision of the clear
picture in analysing the
impact of social media on
the buying behaviour of
customers.
Evaluation of particular Collection of data and
information supports in the
There are various social
media sites being utilized by
7

social media site identification of the most
used social media site by
customers.
consumers but the one most
used make more influence
on the behaviour of
customers (Kidane and
Sharma, 2016).
Response Table:
Q1 a b
50 50
Q2 a b c d e
35 30 20 15 0
Q3 a b c d e
20 50 20 0 10
Q4 a b c d e
20 40 20 10 10
Q5 a b c d e
8

5 20 40 25 10
Q6 a b c d e
30 40 10 20 0
Q7 a b
70 30
Q8 a b c d e
0 20 40 40 0
Q9 a b c d e
10 30 50 10 0
Q10 a b c d e
40 40 0 10 10
9

Task 3
3.1 Use appropriate research evaluation techniques
By depending on the adaption of scope and time of the techniques of research used for the
evaluation of any sort of research can be distinguished among summative, formative as well as
planning studies. Despite their time used for implementation, all three sorts of a technique of
evaluation are based on the aims and objectives of the work being done in research (Sekaran and
Bougie, 2016). For the initial stage of any kind of exhibition or programs that must be executed,
evaluation of planning is being performed in order to have the proper development. Prior
planning can also support in making identification of the important work and also supports in
reducing the targets which are not required. An interest of the target is to focus more on the
formulations of the future design of the procedure of research accordingly. A proper explanation
of such techniques is being described as follows:
Formative evaluation: In order to execute any sort of program, the main target of the research is
the audience as they are the vital factors in the process of making evaluation so as to check the
importance of an assignment. Their responses are being taken as the feedback so as to make a
proper outcome. In order to make an improvement, all the collected data is being analysed for the
implication and to make any alterations. This is being termed as non formal evaluation and the
actions that are being generated are termed to be effective.
Summative evaluation: This is being termed as the formal evaluation and is being done by the
execution of the research in order to find the essential parameters. This kind of evaluation
supports in forming an effective research in future so as to evaluate work. (Sigala et. al., 2012. ).
For the chosen organization, in order to maintain and improvise the rate of development in an
effective manner, they must make adoption of summative evaluation. As for the benefits of
implication, collected data will be very supportive and is being developed by partners of funding
for the importance in executing the desired plans and goals (Sashi, 2012). Affinity, compatibility,
viability as well as usability tests are being performed after doing implication and the base of the
performance is being recorded. An analysis is being done to make the proper evaluation of the
results, formation of some strategies are also done which will help in the improvement of the
10

performance as well as supports in generating more revenue in comparison to its competitors.
Implementation of any new technology is decided on the basis of outcomes of the analysis done
for the summative assessment. In addition to the testing of performance, reviews of visitors are
being acknowledged in regards to any evaluation that must be done to satisfy customers need and
to gain popularity. The conclusion that has been drawn regarding any kind of evaluation aimed to
be used as the beneficiary leverage for the success as well as the growth of an association (Smith,
2015).
11

3.2 interpret and analyse the results in terms of the original research specification
The summative analysis is being done in regards to the collected data for the specification of
research. In regards to this analysis, surveys of several questions are being done and the
responses are being recorded of the 100 respondents.
Q1. What is your gender?
Options Responses
Male 50
Female 50
Male Female
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Responses
Responses
Interpretation: From the presented data, it can be analysed that respondents who took part in
the survey are both male and female and questionnaires are being distributed to them in an equal
amount so as to avoid discrimination.
12

Q2. What is your age?
Options Responses
18-25 35
26-32 30
33-40 20
41-50 15
50+ 0
Responses
18-25
26-32
33-40
41-50
50+
Interpretation: From the given data that has been collected from the respondents regarding their
age, it can be analysed that, it has been investigated that most of the respondents are of young
13

age i.e. in between the age of 18-32. From this data, it can be depicted that the respondents who
are making the most uses of the social media are the youngsters. Use of social media is
increasing rapidly among young people as there are various attractive contents for the use of
individuals.
Q3. Which social media site is used most by you?
Options Responses
Twitter 20
Facebook 50
LinkedIn 20
None 0
Others 10
14

Responses
Twitter
Face book
LinkedIn
None
Others
Interpretation: The above statement that is in relation to which is the most utilized social media
site. From the 100 respondents, 50 of them answered in favour of Facebook and the others for
LinkedIn and Twitter. It can be analysed that many individuals nowadays are using Facebook in
order to get connected to the outside world and to know what is going on the world of internet.
Twitter and LinkedIn are also getting in trend day by day.
Q4. For which purpose you use social media site?
Options Responses
To get connected with friends 20
To get product and service information 40
To get brand’s information 20
To play games 10
15

To know about the latest news 10
To get connected with friends
To get product and service information
To get brand’s information
To play games
To known about latest news
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Responses
Responses
Interpretation: The above question that is being asked for the main purpose of social media
being used by people. From the data, it has been analysed that the major reasons are to have
proper information regarding services, products, and brands and to have connections with
friends. It can be interpreted from the responses that impact of social media is being there on the
purchasing or buying decisions of customers
Q5. How many companies or brands are followed by you on social media?
Options Responses
0 5
1-20 20
16

20-40 40
40-60 25
60+ 10
0 1 to 20 20-40 40-60 60+
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Responses
Responses
Interpretation: The above-stated question that is in regards to the number of brands being
followed by individuals on social media. The analysis can be made from the answers of
respondents that around 1-40 brands are being followed by most of the people on social media
sites. From this, it can be interpreted that people make use of social sites so as to get information
regarding any particular services and products.
Q6. If you follow brands, what you do on the page of brands?
Options Responses
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Find new services and products 30
Find information regarding particular product
or service
40
Discussion of product and services with other
followers of the brand
10
Give feedback regarding the product and
services of the brand
20
Connect with similar nature people 0
0
10
20
30
40
Responses
Responses
Interpretation: The question that is in relation to what is being done by people on the pages of a
brand that are followed by them. From the data which is collected from respondents, it has been
18

analysed that on the pages of a brand, individuals get information about the particular service or
product or they find various new products. Some of the users also visit page so as to provide
feedback on the product.
Q7. Do you have trust on social media regarding the services and products of a brand?
Options Responses
Yes 70
No 30
Yes
No
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Responses
Responses
Interpretation: As being talked about the trust on the social media in regards with the brands
and products, it can be analysed that majority of the people are in favour of it that they have full
trust. Some of the respondents are against this statement and this is the reason they do not make
much use of the social sites for the purchasing of products and services.
19

Q8. How many services or products have been purchased by you as a result of an
advertisement on the sites of social media?
Options Responses
0 0
1-10 20
20-30 40
30-40 40
40+ 0
Responses
0
1 to 10
20-30
30-40
40+
20

Interpretation: The above question that is being asked in regards to the products or services
being utilized by an individual by seeing an advertisement on the social sites. There are a
majority of the respondents who get influenced by the ads on social media and therefore make a
purchase of the products or services. The marketing and promotion done by an organization are
also very attractive as they attract many more customers to buy their products.
Q9. How do you view advertisements of social media vs. traditional media?
Options Responses
They are of similar nature 10
Prefer traditional advertisements as they are
less interactive
30
Prefer social media advertisements as they are
more interactive.
50
None 10
Other 0
21

They are of similar nature
Prefer traditional advertisements as they are
less interactive
Prefer social media advertisements as they are
more interactive.
None
Other
0 10 20 30 40 50
Responses
Responses
Interpretation: As per the advertisements being done on social media, it has been analysed
from the answers of the respondents that ads that are being done on social media are much more
interactive than the traditional ads. The ads on social media are very attractive and they make an
influence on the mind of people so as to decide for the purchase of any service or product.
Q10. How likely you get influenced in order to purchase a particular product on the basis
of information received through social media?
Options Responses
Very likely 40
Likely 40
Neither 0
Not likely 10
Very unlikely 10
22

Very likely Likely Neither Not likely Very
unlikely
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Responses
Responses
Interpretation: The above-stated question that is in relation how much people get influenced so
as to buy a product as per the information provided on social media, it has been analysed that
majority of the respondents get influenced with the information on social sites and make
purchasing as per the information displayed on sites. There are few respondents who do not get
influenced by information on sites and thus their behaviour of purchasing is not influenced by
the information on sites.
23

3.3 make recommendations and justify areas for further consideration
In order to make marketing and promotion of products, there are many organizations in today’s
world that are making use of social media sites in order to do so. Social media sites are being
considered as the most used and addicted a factor that is making an influence on the mind of
people regarding the buying decisions (Gerbaudo, 2012). From the above results, it has been
analysed that social media is being used by the firms in order to have proper information in
regards to the services and products they want to buy. Organizations also make use of the various
attractive things in order to attract more and more customers. The organization like Arcadia is
making use of social media sites for marketing but they should also use some other strategies for
marketing in order to increase profitability and productivity. The association is making use of
Facebook, email, and Instagram only; they should also utilize some other trending sites for doing
marketing like LinkedIn, Twitter. There are some of the recommendations that are being
presented in order to increase customer base.
Utilization of another platform
It is very important for an organization to make proper promotion and marketing of a product in
an appropriate manner so as to attract various customers. The organization today is making use
of only a few platforms like Instagram and Facebook for the marketing. There are many new and
trending social media sites that are being used rapidly by the individuals to buy or get
information regarding the product. Most of the trending sites are Twitter and LinkedIn that must
be used by an association for doing further promotions and marketing among the customers.
More attractive advertisements
While making promotion on social media site, it is very important for an organization to have
more attracted and good advertisements so as to capture huge base of customer. The
advertisement should be in a way that will attract customer in a single view and they need to visit
any other company’s page for the purchase of products and services. At the time of
advertisement, they must proper display of the products along with its details. So that customer
will not face any kind of difficulty in gathering information about the features of services and
products.
24

Trustworthy services
The online services being provided by an organization must be trustworthy so as to gain the trust
of customers and also to increase overall customer base. Mostly the services being provided
through the internet should be reliable so that there will be an increase in the profitability and
productivity of the product and company.
25

Merit:
From the analysis of the given data, there are various outcomes that have generated are like
social media are being used by an association in order to have effective promotion as well as
marketing of products. The utilization of the social media also makes an influence on the buying
decisions of the customer in various ways (Neuman and Robson, 2014). Online networking
impacts the decisions made by the purchaser. Business associations like Arcadia utilize online
networking stages to advance its items. The organization is utilizing Facebook, emails as well as
Instagram to advance its items. At the point when customers do internet shopping, they get
rebates and reward focuses. Online networking impacts the shopper's buying by taking into
consideration all the things. Right around 90 % of the world is utilizing social stages so online
networking is an extraordinary stage which can affect the customer's encounters (Malthouse et.
al., 2013). What's more, web-based social networking strategies should likewise be used to track
word related nearness on the web and to verify that customers are not disparaging the marking
worth.
Social media becomes increasingly important in the day to day life of individuals. It makes an
impact on the life of people in several ways. It also affects the decision of purchasing that is
being done by people in favour of a particular brand (Kumar et. al., 2016.). Social media is the
main feature through which people can get information in regards to information about products
and service in a more convenient manner in comparison to the traditional shopping.
26

Task 4
4.1 use an agreed format or media to present the outcomes of the research to an audience
For the graph that is being presented in the above poster, it has been analysed that social media is
making a great influence on the mind of customers in regards with the decisions that are being
made for purchasing and buying. There are a majority of the respondents who make use of social
media in order to have the proper details and information in regards with the product as well as
services being offered by an organization (Solomon, 2014). Purchasing through social media is
being done is also very convenient in comparison to the traditional shopping. Through this
customers will be able to see more products at a single time without any hindrance. Use of social
27

media is increasing day by day and the most of the organization now a day are making use of it
in order to market and promote their products.
28

References
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 Cleary, M., Horsfall, J., and Hayter, M., 2014. Data collection and sampling in qualitative
research: does size matter?. Journal of advanced nursing, 70(3), pp.473-475.
 Gerbaudo, P., 2012. Tweets and the streets: Social media and contemporary activism. Pluto
Press.
 Hajli, M., 2012. An integrated model for e-commerce adoption at the customer level with the
impact of social commerce. International Journal of Information Science and Management
(IJISM), pp.77-97.
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Market Research, 56(3), pp.387-404.
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buyers. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 94, pp.350-358.
 Hajli, N., 2015. Social commerce constructs and consumer's intention to buy. International
Journal of Information Management, 35(2), pp.183-191.
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165).
 Kumar, A., Bezawada, R., Rishika, R., Janakiraman, R. and Kannan, P.K., 2016. From social to
sale: The effects of firm-generated content in social media on customer behavior. Journal of
Marketing, 80(1), pp.7-25.
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 Malthouse, E.C., Haenlein, M., Skiera, B., Wege, E. and Zhang, M., 2013. Managing customer
relationships in the social media era: Introducing the social CRM house. Journal of Interactive
Marketing, 27(4), pp.270-280.
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3.1
30

Appendix
Questionnaire
Q1. What is your gender?
a) Male
b) Female
Q2. What is your age?
a) 18-25
b) 26-32
c) 33-40
d) 41-50
e) 50+
Q3. Which social media site is used most by you?
a) Twitter
b) Facebook
c) LinkedIn
d) None
e) Others
Q4. For which purpose you use social media site?
a) To get connected with friends
b) To get product and service information
31

c) To get brand’s information
d) To play games
e) To know about the latest news
Q5. How many companies or brands are followed by you on social media?
a) 0
b) 1-20
c) 20-40
d) 40-60
e) 60+
Q6. If you follow brands, what you do on the page of brands?
a) Find new services and products
b) Find information regarding particular product or service
c) Discussion of product and services with other followers of the brand
d) Give feedback regarding the product and services of the brand
e) Connect with similar nature people
Q7. Do have trust on social media regarding the services and products of a brand?
a) Yes
b) No
Q8. How many services or products have been purchased by you as a result of an advertisement
on the sites of social media?
32

a) 0
b) 1-10
c) 20-30
d) 30-40
e) 40+
Q9. How do you view advertisements of social media vs. traditional media?
a) They are of similar nature
b) Prefer traditional advertisements as they are less interactive
c) Prefer social media advertisements as they are more interactive.
d) None
e) Other
Q10. How likely you get influenced in order to purchase a particular product on the basis of
information received through social media?
a) Very likely
b) Likely
c) Neither
d) Not likely
e) Very unlikely
33