Impact of E-Word of Mouth (E-WOM) on Consumers’ Purchase Intention for Cosmetic Products: The Mediating Role of Brand Image (With reference to Facebook Users)

Abstract

Social media marketing (SMM) is one of the emergent trends and a different marketing strategy that advertisers worldwide use today with the competition. In day-to-day life, cosmetics play a significant part as cosmetics are used as a regular ritual by almost everyone. The Electronic Word of Mouth (E-WOM) generated by the comments on social networking sites can influence the consumers’ purchasing decisions due to the vital role played by the SMM. However, consumers' adoption of E-WOM information is influenced by different factors. This study aims to investigate factors that affect E-WOM adoption on consumer purchase intention with the mediating effect on the brand image. The lack of research attention has been given on the impact of E-WOM on purchase intention with the mediating effect of Brand image. Hence, the current research addresses the knowledge and empirical gap. The researcher used the quantitative method and the data was collected from a sample of 384 respondents from Facebook users from Generation Z residing in Western province based on random sampling techniques. The collected data were analyzed by the Smart PLS. According to the findings, the researcher concluded that E-WOM has a significant impact on purchase intention. Further, results revealed a partially mediating effect of brand image on the relationship between E-WOM and purchase intention. The findings provide insights for cosmetics marketers to successfully manage the E-WOM activities. Moreover, the spread of accurate information through Facebook can foster a strong brand image, which will finally result an actual purchase behavior by consumers.