Effect of Social Media Influencers on Generation Y Purchase Intention: Evidence From Men’s Skincare Products In Malaysia

Abstract

Although the demand for men’s skincare products is becoming increasingly popular in Malaysia, previous studies of social media marketing have shed little light on the effect of social media influencers on men’s skincare purchase intention. Therefore, this research investigates the effects of social media influencers’ attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise, likability, similarity, and familiarity on purchase intention in men’s skincare products among Generation Y in Malaysia. An online questionnaire was implemented, and 279 respondents were gathered using the snowball sampling technique. After obtaining the desired responses, multiple regression analysis was adopted to examine the research model and hypotheses. The findings showed that social media influencers’ attractiveness, similarity, and familiarity positively affect the purchase intention of men’s skincare products. However, this paper found that the effects of social media influencers’ trustworthiness, expertise, and likability on purchase intention of men’s skincare products among Generation Y in Malaysia are insignificant. The research findings contribute to the current research literature by determining the six characteristics of social media influencers and purchase intention with new empirical insights from Malaysia in the context of men’s skincare products.