International Journal of Marketing and Human Resource Management (IJMHRM)

Volume 15, Issue 1, January-April 2024, pp. 14-20, Article ID: IJMHRM_15_01_003
Available online at https://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJMHRM?Volume=15&Issue=1
ISSN Print: 0976-6421 and ISSN Online: 0976-643X
Impact Factor (2024): 18.34 (Based on Google Scholar Citation)

© IAEME Publication

THE IMPACT OF INFLUENCER MARKETING ON

CONSUMER PURCHASING DECISIONS - A
SURVEY BASED ANALYSIS
Dr. Sarathsimha Bhattaru
Associate Professor, Department of MBA,
KG REDDY College of Engineering & Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

G. Suvarsha
II MBA, KG Reddy College of Engineering & Technology,
Hyderabad, Telangana, India

ABSTRACT
Since the introduction of social networking sites (SNS) and their widespread adoption
by the world's population, the internet has become significantly more personal. Social
networking websites have drawn millions of users ever since they were first introduced, and
a significant number of these people utilize these sites on a daily basis. An excessive amount
of its use can have an effect on the physical health of those who use it. As a result of their
capacity to facilitate the collaboration of virtual communication and to provide an
environment for mutual sharing and interaction, social media has accelerated the growth
of human interaction in modern times to a degree that has never been seen before. This new
media has garnered the attention of both organizations and individuals. As a result of the
widespread use of social media platforms for advertising purposes by corporations all over
the world, a significant number of corporations today have official Facebook pages, Twitter
accounts, and corporate blogs. According to all of these scientific findings, social media
has developed into an essential component of the daily lives of consumers as well as the
operations of corporate organizations in the present day. The goal of the study is also to
provide insights into the use of social networking sites by consumers of all generations,
particularly teens, and how these sites influence their purchasing decisions.
Key words: Influencer Marketing, Social Media, Reviews and Ratings, Consumer Lifestyle

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 The Impact of Influencer Marketing on Consumer Purchasing Decisions - A Survey Based
Analysis
Cite this Article: Sarathsimha Bhattaru and G. Suvarsha, The Impact of Influencer
Marketing on Consumer Purchasing Decisions - A Survey Based Analysis, International
Journal of Marketing and Human Resource Management (IJMHRM), 15(1), 2024, pp. 14–
20
https://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJMHRM?Volume=15&Issue=1

1. INTRODUCTION
Consumers' growing distrust of traditional marketing tactics makes it challenging for companies to
persuade and attract them (Majerova, 2014). More marketers are taking advantage of influencer
marketing to promote their businesses and products on social media platforms. Influencer
marketing is selecting and motivating social media influencers to promote a company's offer by
engaging their followers. Companies hire individuals, organizations, or virtual avatars to provide
services. Influencers use internet channels like social media to build their networks of followers.
Influencers may have a large following and celebrity status, but their fame stems from a different
source than superstars. Celebrities differ from influencers due to their success in mandated or
institutional environments, such as sports, music, or acting (Leung et al., 2022). According to the
information provided, influencer marketing is considered a rapidly expanding strategy for gaining
new online clients and is viewed as a promising prospect (Oliveira & Chimenti, 2021).
Nevertheless, it is imperative to further investigate the matter of influencers, their impact, and their
ability to shape opinions within specific generational groups. Specifically, Generation Z, a
particular cohort of consumers, is regarded as the prime demographic for influencer marketing
owing to their adeptness in digital technology and preference for social media platforms. The
primary objective of the essay is to assess the influence of influencer marketing on the decision-
making process of Generation Z. Generation Z (born 1997-2012) has grown up in a digital world
and has never known life without the Internet. Reed Brand Communications found that this
generation mostly uses social media to connect with friends, follow celebrities, find entertainment,
and gain inspiration. They oppose "fake news" and promote accurate information. According to
Atherton (2022) and Lazo & Velasco (2021), social media can create feelings of envy and need,
thus it's important to avoid too pushy marketing tactics targeting this age. This generation is
characterized by heavy reliance on social media and early adoption of technological devices
(Novotna, 2017). Also, according to Sak (2018), this group's members refuse to interact with real
people and instead spend all of their time online. They document nearly every aspect of their day
with photographs and then post them online (Horvathova et al., 2016). Internet and social media
use ranks high among Generation Z's most popular pastimes, according to Jankova's (2020)
research, and nearly all members of this generation access the web daily through mobile device.
Influencer marketing is all the rage, but studies examining its effects on Generation Z,
particularly in Slovakia, are few and far between. This is why this article's primary objective is to
analyze how Gen Z decision-makers are influenced by influencer marketing. Theoretical
foundations and analyses of influencer marketing from both Slovak and international authors are
also part of this. We administered a poll to members of Generation Z to learn how they were
influenced by influencer marketing to make certain purchasing decisions. Analysis and survey
results inform the proposal of strategies for leveraging influencer marketing to reach Generation Z,
with an emphasis on the advantages of this approach.

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 Dr. Sarathsimha Bhattaru and G. Suvarsha

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Influencer marketing based on social media has become an important factor in consumer
purchasing decisions. The research results of Pick (2021) show that the perception of the credibility
of the influencer serves as an important criterion determining the purchase attitude, and the attitude
towards advertising; it also contributes to the creation of assumptions that are associated with the
influencer and can positively or negatively influence consumer behavior.
Kuligowski (2023) considers the most engaging contributions to be those that show behind the
scenes of a company or a well-known personality, demonstrations of the work commitment of
employees, such as production or live broadcasts, during which consumers can ask questions and
the company immediately offers them feedback, thereby creating with them closer relationships
and builds trust.
The proper influencer marketing application is cost-effective in promoting ideas, people and
goods, which brings creative content to the company and offers ways to reach the target audience
naturally 71 (Kadekova & Holiencinova, 2018). There are also negatives regarding influencer
marketing, such as detrimental effect on attitude towards the brand, based on the disclosure of the
sponsorship through higher awareness of the ad, which may ultimately have the effect of reducing
the credibility of the influencer or emphasising the adverse reaction of consumers to posts focused
only on products, which implies a significant financial motivation of the influencer. From the view
of consumers, it is, therefore, essential that advertised products are presented with basic information
(Jendoubi & Martin, 2020). The influencer must be familiar with the product and its features in
order to be able to present it in a highquality and appropriate way so that he can answer questions
about the product. From this point of view, companies can include a clause in contracts with
influencers to terminate the contract if the influencer fails to promote the product at the required
level (Michulek & Krizanova, 2022).

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology and systematic study in some field of knowledge which undertakes to facts
of principles, the study is to analyst the effectiveness of influencer marketing among the students.
• Research Design The study will analyses the popularity of effectiveness of influencer
marketing among the students this discusses the method used in gathering the necessary
information and procedure for collection of analysis of data collected
• Area of Study The study is under taken in Hyderabad city
• Sample Size Sample size measures the number of individual samples measured used in a
survey as sample size of 100 respondents was taken to conduct of study
• Data Collection the primary data was collected from 100 respondents using a structured
questionnaire. secondary data for his study was also collected through internet, and journals
on related topic.
• Sample Technique The sampling techniques used for the project is convenience sampling
method convenience sampling is a type of nonprobability sampling method that releases
data collection from population members who are available to participate in the study

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 The Impact of Influencer Marketing on Consumer Purchasing Decisions - A Survey Based
Analysis

4. SURVEY RESULTS
1.Gender

2.Which types of products or services are you more likely to consider purchasing
based on influencer recommendations

3.Who will influence you most of the times?

4.What types of content do you prefer from influencers?

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 Dr. Sarathsimha Bhattaru and G. Suvarsha

5.which factors are important to purchase the products?

6.What did you trust in case of influencer marketing?

5. DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The survey participants belong to the age bracket of around 18-25 years. Most of the female
respondents are well-informed about influencer marketing due to their frequent interactions
with influencers inside their buyer ecosystem. Therefore, the business organizations will
focus on utilizing influencer marketing to promote products that are specifically targeted
towards women.
2. The customers will often purchase fashion and cosmetic products. During the purchase
process, they carefully examined the opinions and recommendations shared by others inside
their influential network. Therefore, corporations must advertise and manufacture high-
quality products in order to persuade customers to make a purchase.
3. The decisions that teenagers make regarding their purchases are heavily influenced by
social media and their connections with their peers. The generations that are currently living
are making snap judgments on their transactions. As a result of the rapid expansion of social
media, young people are disseminating knowledge on a daily and minute-to-minute basis.
Because of this, businesses need to make advantage of social networking sites in order to
influence youngsters by publishing regular updates on the products and services they
provide.
4. 4. The young people are heavily influenced to make purchases by the lifestyles of the
influencers as well as the product reviews that they provide. A considerable amount of
information is available to teenagers as a result of social media, which includes customer
comments, ratings, and reviews. As a result, the organizations that are involved in business
are obligated to address the problems that are associated with their company, and they must
also select a well-known and fashionable influencer to serve as their brand ambassador.
5. In addition to the value of influencer marketing, the teenagers placed a significant amount
of importance on the quality of the product when making their purchase decision. As a result
of the availability of social networking and e-commerce websites, they will examine the
quality of information linked to the website in addition to the advice of authority figures.

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 The Impact of Influencer Marketing on Consumer Purchasing Decisions - A Survey Based
Analysis
Therefore, it is imperative that businesses prioritize the provision of high-quality products
in addition to knowledge.
6. Recommendations from friends and reviews found online are providing a significant
amount of influence to adolescents. This is the reason why businesses want their customers
to evaluate and tweet about the products they have purchased.

6. CONCLUSION
The objective of this research is to investigate the effects that influencer marketing has on young
people. In order to investigate and analyze the impact that social media influencers have on the
purchasing behavior of young people in Hyderabad city, the study was carried out with the
particular intention of investigating and assessing the impact. According to the findings of the
research, social media influencers play a significant part in shaping the behavior of customers in
the digital environment, particularly with regard to customers who are on the verge of making a
purchase. Prior to the development of social media influencers, advertising to consumers was a
one-sided process. Prior to the advent of social media, the only way for a consumer to get familiar
with a product was through advertisements advertised in print, on billboards, on the radio, and on
television. There is now the possibility for a consumer to engage with a product through the use of
social media. Consumers are able to feel as though they are making a more educated decision when
they are making a purchase when they watch a trusted source, such as a preferred influencer, utilize
a product. According to the findings of study, it is clear that social media influencer marketing has,
in fact, brought about a beneficial change in the manner in which businesses connect with their
customers. According to expectations, the success of social media influencer marketing can be
attributed to the fact that it allows for communication in both directions between the influencers
and the consumers.

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Citation: Sarathsimha Bhattaru and G. Suvarsha, The Impact of Influencer Marketing on Consumer Purchasing
Decisions - A Survey Based Analysis, International Journal of Marketing and Human Resource Management
(IJMHRM), 15(1), 2024, pp. 14–20

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