Love, Trust and Follow Them? The Role of Social Media Influencers on Luxury Cosmetics Brands’ Purchase Intention Among Malaysian Urban Women

Abstract

Luxury cosmetics brands are growing in Malaysia, especially among urban women. In this age, influencer marketing plays a significant role as many luxury cosmetic brands are partnering with social media influencers or key opinion leaders (KOLs) to increase their brand credibility and consumers’ desire. Despite this, the effectiveness of influencer marketing for luxury brands has resulted in mixed findings. As such, this study applies social influence theory to investigate the role of social media influencers (SMI), specifically on the relationships between trustworthiness and attractiveness towards the consumers’ attitude and purchase intention of luxury cosmetic brands. Using a quantitative survey of 240 Malaysian urban women collected from two major shopping malls, the data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique. Interestingly, the result of this study confirms that the attractiveness of the SMI was more critical than trustworthiness. Meanwhile, the attitude significantly mediated between attractiveness and their intention to purchase luxury cosmetic brands. This study also presents the implications and recommendations for future research. This study offers a novel perspective and gives insights to marketers of luxury cosmetic brands, especially on the suitability of selecting SMI to attract its target market.