Influencer Endorsement and Customer Review on Purchase Intention: Role of Trust as Mediator

Abstract

Wardah as a local brand, offers a variety of sunscreen products to protect the skin from the sun and pollution. Wardah utilizes diverse marketing strategies, including electronic word of mouth, which includes customer reviews and influencer endorsement. However, data from the Top Brand survey indicates a decline in the brand index in the sunblock cream subcategory in the years 2022-2023. Therefore, this research is conducted to understand the influence of Wardah's marketing, whether through influencer endorsement or customer reviews, on the purchase intention of Wardah sunscreen, with the moderating variable of trust in this relationship. The population in this study consists of consumers who are aware of and have an interest in Wardah sunscreen products. The sampling technique employed is non-probability sampling, specifically utilizing the purposive sampling method. All collected data are analyzed using SEM-PLS with Smart-PLS. It was found that customer reviews have a positive and significant influence on the purchase intention of Wardah sunscreen products. Meanwhile, influencer endorsement does not have a significant positive influence on the purchase intention of Wardah sunscreen products. Trust, whether in influencer endorsement or customer reviews, does not exhibit a moderating impact but has a direct influence.