Influencers and the Purchase Decision: A Correlation in the Personal Care Products Sector

Abstract

Nowadays, influencers have become a fundamental part of innovative marketing strategies in global brands and companies. Since the emergence of social networks, they have become more relevant in these virtual spaces where Millennials have become the main protagonists, causing personal care brands to direct their efforts towards these new strategies. Within this context, the objective of this research is to determine whether there is a relationship between influencers and the decision to purchase products in the personal care market through the social network Instagram, in Lima, the capital of Peru. The research is applied with a quantitative approach, correlational in scope and non-experimental in nature. The survey was used as a research technique and the questionnaire as a data collection instrument with Likert scale questions, to assess reliability a Cronbach's Alpha of 0.810 was obtained, the sample consisted of young people aged 18 to 25 years and the fieldwork was conducted through social networks. The results show a significant correlation between influencers and the decision to purchase personal care products, with a Spearman's Rho of 0.309. In addition, it was also revealed that 38% of the respondents considered that a large number of followers was not enough to determine the credibility of an influencer. Finally, it was possible to verify that the alternative hypotheses were accepted and that there is indeed a relationship between influencers and the purchase decision. It can be concluded that influencers are considered an important source of information, they determine the purchase decision in well-positioned companies and enterprises, but this depends a lot on the impact of their speech; it is also concluded that many speeches reduce their relevance because they do not feel sincere and show only the purpose of selling.