IDJ, Volume 1 Issue 1 (2020), pp 1-14

doi: 10.19184/ijl.v1i1.19146
Published online November 2020
© University of Jember, 2020

The Impact of Influencers in Consumer Decision-Making: The Fashion

Industry

Siti Nurfadila
Economic and Business Faculty Student, Universitas Mercu Buana, Jakarta, Indonesia
fadilladici@gmail.com

Setyo Riyanto
Associate Professor, Universitas Mercu Buana, Jakarta, Indonesia
Setyo.riyanto@mercubuana.ac.id

Abstract
The internet and social media play a key role in helping consumers finding items of their interest. Fashion
companies are keenly trying to establish a strong presence in social media platforms, often, through collaborations
with fashion influencers. The increasing popularity of influencers - and their strong impact on consumer choices
- has led to a transformation of digital marketing in the fashion industry. This research article explores influencer
marketing strategies used by the fashion companies, as well as the impact that media influencers can have on
patters of consumer decision-making.

Keywords: Social media, Fashion industry, Influencer marketing, consumer behavior, consumer decision-making

I. INTRODUCTION
As with other sectors, the fashion industry has to adapt to the shifting influencer landscape.
There was a time when fashion and trends were largely dictated by industry experts.
Something was in season, or it wasn’t.
These days things aren’t so clear cut. Customers have taken to social media. They’ve
started fashion blogs, and become famous for their fashion photography on Instagram. They
create their own mix and match styles, sharing them with their social following. In doing so,
some have managed to acquire thousands, or even millions, of followers. Traditional opinion
setters aren’t as influential as they once were.
Social media has become a part of our globally connected world in multiple ways, and most
recently the fashion industry is seeing a major shift in its inspiration for designs and trends, all
thanks to social media and blogging sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr.
In the fashion industry, social media platforms can be used to interact with the consumer,
as a means of networking with others in the industry, and as a way of building an online
presence. But social media can also influence designers in unique ways that are changing the
way many designers create their fashions.
Impact of Influencers in Consumer Decision-Making: The Fashion Industry 2

It's not just the inspiration and influences on major fashion designers that social media is
evolving; it's also the way we view fashion and the industry as a whole. For decades, a few big
names dominated the fashion industry in a very top-down fashion but now the average fashion
blogger can influence major designers via social media outlets.

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

A. Digital marketing
It is an component of marketing that utilizes internet and online based digital technologies
such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote
products and services. Its development during the 1990s and 2000s, changed the way brands
and businesses use technology for marketing. As digital platforms became increasingly
incorporated into marketing plans and everyday life, and as people increasingly use digital
devices instead of visiting physical shops, digital marketing campaigns have become prevalent,
employing combinations of search engine optimization, search engine marketing , content
marketing, influencer marketing, content automation, campaign marketing, data-driven
marketing, e-commerce marketing, social media marketing, social media optimization, e-mail
direct marketing, display advertising, e–books, and optical disks and games have become
commonplace. Digital marketing extends to non-Internet channels that provide digital media,
such as television, mobile phones, callback, and on-hold mobile ring tones. The extension to
non-Internet channels differentiates digital marketing from online marketing.
In today's digital era, marketing a product involves competing against other companies in
influencing the purchasing behavior of online consumers. According to Setyo and Mangandar
(2019) a competency is a particular skill, knowledge, or characteristic necessary to perform a
role effectively and to help a business meet its strategic objectives. Competence models are
used to build leadership qualifications and improve effectiveness in relation to future business
challenges. The main categories of competence include leadership, analytical thinking,
communication, decision-making, relationship building, strategic planning or emotional
intelligence.
Social media platforms are a powerful tool in digital marketing campaigns as they allow
companies to engage with followers and to advertise their products towards a tailored
audience. In recent years, the fashion industry has gained exponential visibility in social media
which in turn has resulted in many social media users developing an interest in fashion trends
and events. The availability of different fashion outlets in digital platforms exposes users to a
wide variety of domestic and international brands and trends, as well as influences users’
purchasing behavior. The fashion industry is, thus, putting its focus on developing efficient
digital marketing tools. This involves the innovative use of media and technology alongside
with the most recent and popular fashion trends.

B. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing (a.k.a. influence marketing) is a form of social media marketing involving
endorsements and product placement from influencers, people and organizations who have a
Impact of Influencers in Consumer Decision-Making: The Fashion Industry 3

purported expert level of knowledge or social influence in their field. Influencer content may
be framed as testimonial advertising; influencers play the role of a potential buyer, or may be
involved as third parties. These third parties can be seen in the supply chain (such as retailers
or manufacturers) or as value-added influencers, such as journalists, academics, industry
analysts, and professional advisers.
Influencer marketing can be defined as a process of identifying and activating individuals
who have an influence over a specific target audience or medium, in order to be part of a brand's
campaign towards increased reach, sales, or engagement. Influencer marketing is an extension
to the original concept of word-of-mouth marketing, focusing on a social context and
performed in a more professional way. It is a form of relationship building which may be very
helpful for brands that seek to expand their audience and turn them into loyal customers
through trust and authenticity.
Influencer marketing tends to be broken into two sub practices: The first one is earned
influencer marketing. It stems from unpaid or pre-existing relationships with influencers or
third party content that is promoted by the influencer to further their own personal social
growth. And the second one is paid influencer marketing: the Paid influencer marketing
campaigns can take the form of sponsorship, pre-roll advertising or testimonial messaging and
can appear at any point in the content. Budgets vary widely and are usually based on audience
reach. Influence can come from a wide range of places. Any person, group, brand, or place could
potentially be an influencer. Influencer marketing has many applications. Some marketers use
influencer marketing to establish credibility in the market, others to create social
conversations around their brand, others yet to drive online or in-store sales of their products.
Therefore, the value that influencer marketing creates can be measured in multiple ways.
Some marketers use influencer marketing to establish credibility in a market; others use it to
create social conversations about their brand, and still others focus on driving online or in-
store sales. Marketers leverage credibility gained over time to promote a variety of products or
services. They measure their success in several ways, including earned media value,
impressions, and cost per action.
As social learning theory suggests, influencers serve as informed consumers. When
credible influencers match up with the product, consumers will consider their
recommendations.
Consumers see influencers as a neutral authority assessing a product. Especially when
compared to brand’s ambassadors, influencers are exponentially perceived as more
approachable and trustworthy. Because the majority of millennials and baby boomers prefer
word of mouth over corporate advertisement, research shows that influencer marketing is
more effective on younger demographics. With the rise of social media influencers, influencer
marketing could become a trend on marketing strategies.
Impact of Influencers in Consumer Decision-Making: The Fashion Industry 4

Source: www.clickz.com/wp-content/influence-posting

C. Platforms for influencers

The most pertinent platforms for influencers marketing are:

1. Instagram. Using Instagram influencers as a marketing channel can be a very effective and
affordable way of marketing your product or business. People instinctively desire social proof.
This makes consumers far more likely to purchase a product or service when it is recommended
by an influencer they trust
2. YouTube videos. YouTubers upload numerous videos about fashion and beauty tips that are
shared with people all over the world. These videos inspire viewers to try on these tips and
techniques as they can simultaneously watch and do their own make-up.
3. Facebook. The idea behind influencer marketing on Facebook is, fundamentally, the same as
influencer marketing on any other online platform. It starts with a brand identifying a
Facebook user with a medium-to-large (and highly-engaged) follower base that overlaps with
the brand’s target audience. The brand then reaches out to the influential Facebook user to see
if they’re interested in posting about the brand’s products.
4. Blogs. Fashion Blogs are usually maintained by an individual or business with regular entries
of commentary, description of events, or other material such as graphics or video. 'Blog' can
also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog”. Fashion blogging has
become popular since 2011, blogs often cover the industry as a whole, personal style, reviews of
clothing items and collections. Fashion bloggers have a very high status of legitimacy and those
with large followings have power in the fashion world.
5). Twitter, Linkedln, Pintrest, and many other apps are highly used today to sway how one
understands and captures fashion. The photo apps are geared toward the younger generation.
Impact of Influencers in Consumer Decision-Making: The Fashion Industry 5

The reason for their success relies on their ease and their instantaneous qualities. For a
generation that lives in a fast paced world, convenience and quickness is the key to success.

D. The Consumers and Decision-Making in Fashion

Consumers are actors on the market place stage. Consumers, in general, can be referred as
individuals who purchase or consume products and services; however, in terms of buyer and
consumer, there is a slight difference. Buyers are the people who are acting either as ultimate,
industrial, or institutional purchasers. Consumer exhibits various behavior patterns during
purchase process and disposing of goods, services, ideas or experiences. They are eagerly
observing the cues of the fashion industries with which they can set perceptions for fulfilling
their needs. Inevitably, businesses encounter bottlenecks where the message is not reaching
their consumers and prospects, with the fact that, at times, consumers and prospects are facing
significant blocks in their decision process. If not, each of them should be fully committed,
loyal, enthusiastic, repeated consumers; however, this is not the case. Today the accessibility
and transparency of information has profoundly influenced the decision making process;
therefore, it is important to examine what are the hurdles and fiction points that hold
prospects becoming consumers, or keeps consumers hesitating from repurchasing.
Fashion is of great importance to many consumers, it is defined as “the process of social
diffusion by which a new style is adopted by some group of consumers.” Fashion influences
many aspects of our lives, it has both economic and social value and provides individuals with
a tool to express themselves and create an identity. It is therefore important to understand the
process of decision making within the fashion industry.

E. Influencers and Decision Making

Consumer's decision making within fashion is influenced by the information available in the
society from many different sources like advertising, magazines, celebrities, online, friends,
family and bloggers. Further, a fashion purchase is a devoted task that requires more detailed
involvement from consumers. In today's society social influencers, like journalists, celebrities,
bloggers, magazines and brand advocates, are regarded as “the most powerful force in the
fashion marketplace.” They impact customers purchasing decisions based on their personal
opinion, ability and position and are often considered experts in their field by consumers.
Social influencers therefore have a great deal of influence on consumers purchasing decisions
and can influence what becomes a trend and a “must have” fashion as consumers tend to copy
their style and believe that they are the experts within the product category. Consumers in
today's society are therefore influenced by social influencers to a greater extent than before.
Impact of Influencers in Consumer Decision-Making: The Fashion Industry 6

Source : Data – mediakix

III. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Digital marketing is an umbrella term for all online marketing efforts. Businesses leverage
digital channels such as Google search, social media, email, and their websites to connect with
their current and prospective customers. Digital marketing can work for any business in any
industry. Regardless of the company sells, digital marketing still involves building out buyer
personas to identify your audience's needs, and creating valuable online content. Today,
monotonous advertising and marketing techniques have given way to digital Marketing. In
addition, it is so powerful that it can help revive the economy and can create tremendous
opportunities for governments to function in a more efficient manner.
Digital marketing is the use of technologies to help marketing activities in order to
improve customer knowledge by matching their needs. Consumer behavior is defined as the
study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use or dispose of
products, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy needs and desire.
A person who has indicated his/ her willingness to obtain goods or services from a supplier
with the intention of paying for them is called a Consumer (Solomon M. et al (2006). Schiffman
and Kanuk (2010) mentioned that the consumer made the purchase decision is influenced by
several measurements, namely (1) the measurement of culture, which has the most influence
and the most extensive in the behavior of consumers so that marketers need to understand the
influence of culture, sub-culture, and social class of consumers; (2) social measurement, which
need to be considered when designing a marketing strategy because these factors can affect
consumer responses; (3) personal measurements, which consist of the age and stage of life
cycle, occupation, economic situation, lifestyle, personality, and self-concept affects the
consumer on what is purchased; and (4) psychological measurement, include motivation,
perception, learning and beliefs and attitudes also influence the selection of consumer
purchases.
Impact of Influencers in Consumer Decision-Making: The Fashion Industry 7

Mir and Zaheer (2012) explained through the “Social Impact Theory” that, marketers now
must understand how to “position themselves to benefit from fundamental changes that are
occurring in the ways people decide on which products and services to consume, and how they
actually consume them.” Sedeke (2013) stated that Fashion blogs dominate this
communication in the fashion industry, enjoying the attention of users due to the platform's
personal and interactive approach versus the standardized treatment through mainstream
media.
McCracken's (1989), through his study observed that a celebrity endorser is an individual
who enjoys public recognition and who uses this recognition on behalf of a consumer good by
appearing with it in an advertisement. Celebrity endorsement influences the feelings of the
consumers and can also influence the attitude consumers have towards the advertisement and
attitude towards the brands, which can increase the purchase intentions and, consequently,
increase sales. Tripp C Jensen T.D. and Carlson L. (1994) found that how much consumers
trust the celebrity endorser to be credible, when a celebrity endorses one or two products it is
significantly more trustworthy than a celebrity who endorses even more products. Hence he
states that there is always the possibility of negative effect due to multiple endorsement
programs by a single celebrity. McCracken (1998) proposes that superstar is considered like
memorial, entertainer or representative of the business organization. Investigation has
established that spokesperson endorsement influence consumers' mind-set in common and it
may change the feelings of customers towards the commercial and products as well. This may
perhaps effect in improvement of acquisition plan and as an outcome in increase of trade.
The trends in fashion change very often. Digital media, nowadays, is given such an
importance that it redefines the fashion industry tremendously. A fashion world makes use of
social media in a way that it invites bloggers to several fashion shows. Moreover, models
contribute in generating a social media following, and the designers, on the other hand, make
use of Instagram to inspire the people who look forward to a fashion in trend. Furthermore,
the increasing numbers of influencers are being followed by a number of like-minded followers
who tend to follow the fashion in a number of ways.
According to Sedeke, (2013) Fashion is a consistently changing industry with new
products and trends being created and new designers itching to be publicized around the
world at any given moment, making identification with loyal consumers and their preferences
vital to any amount of success. As a low-cost form of distributing online media, specifically
important to new designers whose budgets remain at lower capabilities, bloggers spend their
time searching for high-quality information, including products and trends, to supplement a
blog post to attract the largest audience possible.
IV. METHODOLOGY
A comprehensive review of most pertinent past research papers about fashion industry and
influencers on consumer behavior has been carried out and researchers understand that there
Impact of Influencers in Consumer Decision-Making: The Fashion Industry 8

are not many researches were conducted on the impact of influencers in fashion industry.
Thus keeping in view the gap identified through review we set the following objectives:
I) To identify how the fashion industry is currently using influencer marketing, ii) To study
the impact of influencers on the consumers buying decision process in fashion industry, and
iii) To find out the influencer marketing techniques used by fashion industries.

A. Hypotheses

The following research hypotheses are formulated to test the aforementioned objectives:
H1: There is a significant difference between the use of various types of social media platforms
in influencer marketing
H2: There are significant differences between marketing through influencers or through other
marketing sources
H3: There is a significant use of social media in marketing by influencers

B. Research Methodology

The research was conducted on exploratory mode as there is no pre-defined problem but can
provide significant insight into a given situation. A structured questionnaire is given to 200
women across all demographic areas based on judgmental and snow bowling technique. The
research is not intended to provide conclusive evidence, but helps researchers to have a better
understanding of the problem. The focus is on gaining insights and familiarity for later
investigation.

C. Data Collection Techniques

Data collection is done using secondary data collected from the website and previous studies.
V. OUTCOME
In today's society even the apparel customers like fashion trend seekers are influenced by
journalists, celebrities, bloggers, magazines and brand advocates and they are regarded as “the
most powerful force in the fashion marketplace.” They impact customers purchasing decisions
based on their personal opinion, ability and position and are often considered experts in their
field by consumers.
Impact of Influencers in Consumer Decision-Making: The Fashion Industry 9

Source : Data - Mediakix

71% Of Marketers Say The Quality Of Customers & Traffic From Influencer Marketing Is
Better Than Other Sources, Most marketers agree that the quality of visitors and customers
from influencer marketing is better than other channels, and 18% of marketers strongly agree
with this sentiment—only 5% disagree.

Source : data – mediakix

89% Say ROI From Influencer Marketing Is Comparable To Or Better Than Other Marketing
Channels, Nearly half (48%) of marketers say that ROI from influencer marketing is better
than other marketing channels, and 41% say returns are equal to other sources. As more
marketers improve their measurement and optimize their tactics, we expect more marketers
to improve their returns in 2019.
Impact of Influencers in Consumer Decision-Making: The Fashion Industry 10

Source: Data – mediakix

65% Of Influencer Marketing Budgets Will Increase In 2019
Last year, 39% of marketers planned to increase their influencer marketing budgets for 2018.
This year, confidence in influencer marketing appears to be notably stronger, as 65% of
marketers plan to increase their budgets for 2019—while only 2% will decrease.

Source: Data – Mediakix

Over ⅔ Of Marketers Will Spend The Most On Instagram In 2019

69% of marketers plan to spend the most on Instagram in 2019—that’s over 6X as much as
YouTube (11%), the second most-selected influencer marketing channel. This suggests that
Instagram is not only strategically important to marketers, but will also be attracting the vast
majority of influencer marketing ad spend in 2019.
Impact of Influencers in Consumer Decision-Making: The Fashion Industry 11

Source: Data – Mediakix

A. Looking Ahead

96% Of Marketers Don’t Believe Influencer Marketing Can Be Fully Automated

The industry remains divided over whether such a deeply human channel can be fully
automated in the future, but it appears that marketers are fairly certain that it can’t. Only 4%
of marketers believe that all aspects of influencer marketing can be automated. The vast
majority (72%) believe that there will always be a human component, and 24% don’t believe it
can be automated at all.

Source: Data – Mediakix

With The Success Of Stories, Instagram Solidifies Its Position As Most Popular Influencer
Marketing Channel
Instagram Ranked The Most Important Influencer Marketing Channel In 2019. Since hitting 1
billion users in June of 2018, Instagram has only continued to innovate and grow. The launch
of IGTV represented a concerted push into video, and several shopping features rolled out in
September 2018 poised Instagram as a powerful revenue generator for e-commerce brands. The
Impact of Influencers in Consumer Decision-Making: The Fashion Industry 12

Instagram Stories feature in particular soared in 2018, with over double the number of active
users compared to Snapchat.
Top five most strategically important social media channels:
Instagram: 89% Blogs: 44%
YouTube: 70% Twitter: 33%
Facebook: 45%
VI. RECOMENDATION
The present paper analyzes the impact of influencers in various stages of consumer decision
process in fashion industry. In the beginning stages of the buying process, consumers tend to
realize the need for the product by following celebrities in Facebook, Instagram, twitter etc.
The consumers have used blogs as a way to find out information about the product they were
considering buying. The blogs also increase the amount of communication consumer's conduct
that occurs before the actual purchasing situation. With the use of blogs the phenomena of
passing on the message is highlighted in its efficiency. Research responses also suggest that
readers use blogs as a way of validating their purchasing decisions. They go online to find
reviews posted by bloggers about the product they might be interested in buying and by using
the communication tools of the blogs, they ask opinions from the blogger and other readers,
hoping to get help to their decision making.
The results of the research indicate that social media can have a significant impact on how
young women behave after reading a positive comment on a purchase, as they enjoy not only
having are liable source telling them their opinions on the products and having a source of
information, but also that they enjoy reading texts by someone they relate to. The style of the
blogger is what draws the reader to a specific blog, it is the pictures that attract readers coming
back and trusting their reviews. Bloggers often provide direct links to the specific items they
are talking about and provide the consumers with tips on good and safe places to shop from.
This can be seen both as a negative and a positive shift in terms of the company. If the
consumer is satisfied with the product, blogs can be a tool the customer uses to pass on a
message about the good experience to unlimited amount people. Without blogs, consumers
might talk about the product, but mainly only with their friends, limiting the number of
potential customers to a very small number. Therefore by writing about the experiences on
blogs, companies can get an idea of what they have done right and what they need to improve
on, getting the customer point of view. It is important to note that several companies operating
in the fashion industry have come to value and recognize the influence that bloggers can have
in terms of reaching their target customers, and have found an efficient way of marketing their
products. With these recommendations of investing into relationship building with a blogger
and indirectly engaging the company's target customer base, company trust and customer
loyalty can be built, resulting in higher sales and profitable long-term customer relationships.
 Impact Of Influencers In Consumer Decision Process: The Fashion Industry 15

DOCUMENTATION

File name of picture

Caption for picture (Example: Photo Credit (Example: J.
(Example:
Learning to sort plastic waste) Smith)
photo.JPEG)

REFERENCES
Delaney, J., Salminen, N., & Lee, E. (2012). Infographic: The Growing Impact of Social Media.
Dugan., L. (2012). How Do Consumers Use Social Media to Shop?
Google. (2012). The Customer Journey to Online Purchase.
Jacobs, D.L. (2013). Social Media Marketing: How to turn Satisfied Customers into 'Brand
Advocates.

Mohammed, R. (2001). Internet marketing. Mc Graw Hill, New York, Vol. 4.

Mowen, J.C. & Minor, M. (2000). Consumer Behavior. 5th Edition, New York: Prentice Hall,.

Mckinsey. (2009). The consumer Decision Journey. Mckinsey and Company.

Roberto, M. A. & Lynne C. L. (2005). Art of making change initiative sticks. Sloan Management
Review, 46(4), 53-60
Karimi, S. (2013)- A purchase decision-making process model of online consumers and its
influential factor a cross sector analysis.

Schiffman G. L. & Kanuk L. L. (2009). Consumer Behavior. 11th Edition, New Delhi: PrenticeHall
of India, Pvt., Ltd.
Riyanto, S. & Panggabean, M. (2019). The Impact of Leadership, Organizational Culture and

Organizational Climate on Employee Job Satisfaction. Advances in Economics, Business and

Management Research, 120.

Sproles, G. B. & Kendall, E. L. (1986). A methodology for profiling consumers decision making
styles. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 20(2), 267-279.
Impact of Influencers in Consumer Decision-Making: The Fashion Industry 14

Stelzner, M.A. (2012). Social Media Marketing Industry Report: How Marketers Are Using
Social Media to Grow Their Businesses.

Treme, J. (2010). Effects of Celebrity Media Exposure on Box-Office Performance, Journal of

Media Economics, 23(1), 5-16

Corresponding Author: setyo.riyanto@mercubuana.ac.id