Exploring the impact of social media marketing and engagement on apparel purchase decisions : a study on Pakistani students in Finland

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of social media marketing and engagement on consumer purchase decisions. The focus was made on the apparel industry due to its growing poten-tial and impact through social media. Considering the diversity within the ethnic group in Finland, the study was conducted by focusing on Pakistani students. This study provided valuable insights into the apparel brands targeting this niche group. The theoretical framework was developed based on the empirical literature related to the relationship of social media marketing and engagement with apparel-consuming behavior. The study was conducted by adopting the quantitative methods. The reason for selecting this method was to gather a large amount of data by gathering opinions from an acceptable sample group. The data was collected through the structured questionnaire that was developed by adapting research variables’ items from past studies. The data was collected by using the Webroporlsurvey platform that helped with frequency distribution results. The response rate of the survey was 87% with responses from a diversified demographic group of respondents. The findings of the study revealed that social media marketing and engagement significantly affect consumer perception. The respondents agreed with the availability of the information on the brand pages that are used by them for making purchase decisions. Consumer purchase decisions are also observed to be affected by the opinions of others while engaging with them on social media plat-forms. The research findings provided important evidence regarding the relationship between social media marketing and engagement with apparel purchase decisions. The study concluded with the identification of the research limitations and providing guidance regarding the potential future re-search areas.