Analyzing the Impact of Social Media: A Study on Online Shoppers of Apparel Companies in Bangladesh

Abstract

As most of the organizations are becoming onlinecentric, they have to offer and sell products through different online platforms. Social media platforms serve as the most useful media for offering products to customers. So, this is necessary for them to know customers’ purchasing behaviors toward different social media platforms. The purpose of the study is to enlighten how Social Media affects different stages of customers’ purchasing decision making this is influential than mass media. The study is quantitative. Convenient sampling method has been adapted to collect primary data, and statistical analysis has been used for data analysis. For comparing test samples, multiple regression analysis has been conducted. Five social media platforms are considered to know their impact on decision-making stages. The study found that the impact of social media differs at various stages of customers’ purchasing decision making process. More impact was observed on information searching decision, followed by evaluation of alternatives stage, purchasing stage, the post- purchasing stage and finally on need recognition stage. Influence of social networking site – Facebook was evidenced statistically significant. The impact of other social media platforms on customers’ decision-making stages was statistically insignificant. Social media is found to be more influential than mass media in terms of different factors.