An investigation into how consumer behaviour is influenced by the retailers use of social media
Abstract
The topic of how consumer behaviour is influenced by how retailers use social media to advertise
their products and services is of particular interest because of social medias strong presence in
society (Godey et al. 2016). Retailers may use social media to successfully and effectively meet
their target market. They have realised that colourful signs and targeted advertisements are what
draw consumers to purchase goods and enable retailers to make a profit. As a result, it will be
important to see just how effective these advertisements are at attracting consumers and how
consumer behaviour is affected as a result of seeing these particular advertisements. Therefore,
the aim of this dissertation is to investigate the influence social media use by retailers has on
influencing consumer behaviour.
A quantitative approach was adopted in the form of an online questionnaire which helped to form
insights into how the use of social media by retailers affected consumer behaviour. Inclusion
criteria included participants over the age of 18, with a Facebook or Instagram account, or both.
Social networking was already a growing means of communication and marketing tool before the
Covid19 pandemic, but the arrival of the pandemic has accelerated this for companies that may
not have considered it previously. Understanding the results obtained would allow retailers to
better understand and adapt their social media advertising campaigns in order to persuade
customers to engage with them and buy their goods. Therefore, this is a valuable piece of
research that provides insight and possible indicators for future practices. It may also be helpful
for consumers to consider the strategies that marketers use to influence their own purchasing
behaviours. Findings indicated that the retail industry uses social media in order to interact with
consumers, with this being especially true since the Covid19 pandemic began. People in the 18-
25 age category appeared more influenced by social media usage and more likely to purchase from advertisements. Eye catching images, realistic models and popular clothing are most likely
to catch the eye of the consumer and influence their purchasing behaviour.