SOCIAL MEDIA FACTORS AND PURCHASE INTENTION OF BEAUTY PRODUCTS IN MAURITIUS

Abstract

Social Media Marketing has become increasingly popular in Mauritius as businesses have found a mean to advertise their products or services and achieve their marketing objectives. Social media marketing has shown its impact when it comes to boosting e-commerce. However, there are very limited academic research which focuses on the relationship between social media marketing and purchase intention of beauty products. The purpose of this research is to investigate how social media marketing increase purchase intension through platforms such as Electronic Word of Mouth, Social Networking Sites and Mobile Applications. The geographic focus of the study is in Mauritius where descriptive research designed is employed in this research. The study population involves 267 questionnaires filled by the female population of different age groups, using convenience sampling method. Pilot test (N=30) was firstly conducted to ensure reliability is supported to proceed for further analysis. Multiple regression analysis was then conducted using SPSS. The research findings do not support the third hypothesis which is the relationship between Mobile Applications and purchase intention. The research finds significant positive relationship between Electronic Word of Mouth and Social Networking Sites and purchase intention. Social networking sites has a stronger effect on purchase intention as the beta coefficient value was highest. In this respect, beauty product seller could benefit from this research by obtaining better understanding on social media marketing strategies. Finally, this research also has contributions to the academia with statistical evidence that this research could provide on the context of beauty industry.