Instagram Advertising among Young Consumers in Wearable Fitness Trackers: The Moderating Role of Technology Acceptance Factors

Abstract

The main focus of research studies assessing consumers’ attitudes toward advertising has shifted to social media platforms, replacing traditional advertising. In this regard, Instagram is considered one of the most popular social media platforms, with a global user base of 700 million active users. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the key factors that affect young consumers’ attitudes toward the digital advertising of fitness trackers on Instagram. The study is based on the self-administered survey questionnaire responses collected from young Indian consumers. Structural Equation Modeling has been used to analyze direct and moderating effects. The obtained results found that variables such as informativeness of Instagram advertising, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use of fitness trackers play a central role in developing respondents’ attitudes. This study pioneers in providing empirical evidence revealing the moderating effect of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use on the relationship between advertising value factors and consumers’ attitudes toward advertising. The present study also offers valuable insights for marketers to design social media communication strategies on Instagram, showcasing the ease of use and utility of fitness trackers while delivering entertaining values.