The Impact of Social Media Marketing on Purchase Decision in the Retail Business Industry

Abstract

The study aims to examine how social media marketing impacts purchase decisions in the retail business industry and to examine whether social media marketing impacts purchase decisions in the retail industries varies with demographic factors of the users in the Colombo region. The research was conducted with a positivist research philosophy stands using a deductive approach by quantitative method for collecting and analyzing data to gain novel insights. Primary data were gathered through questionnaires from 250 social media marketing consumers from 13 D.S divisions in the Colombo region. Descriptive statistics, correlation, multiple regression, independent sample test and ANOVA are used to analyze the data. The results of the study reveal that peer communication, online advertisement, online network groups and purchase decisions in the retail business have positive relationships. Online advertisements and peer communication highly impact on purchase decisions in the retail business industry in Sri Lanka. Whereas online network groups have a moderate level of impact on purchase decisions in the retail business industry. Overall, social media marketing affects consumer purchasing decisions in a positive way.  So, this study’s finding helps retail businesses to improve their social media marketing techniques to increase customer preference.