The evolving and dynamic era of social media has been influencing the mankind drastically. It has been observed that currently social media has created the dynamic impact on effective communication process. According to Schivinski and Dabrowski (2016), social media has changed the method of using internet worldwide. The drastic transformation in social media is both advantageous and disadvantageous. The study would reflect on the use of social media in shaping up the consumer behaviour in business industries. This chapter would develop the rationale for the study to understand the underlying research issues. The aim, objectives, questions, and hypothesis would be discussed in this section of the study. Depending on these specifications, the further information would be explored.
Social media marketing is the overreaching process in current business scenario. Majority of the business marketers have selected the social media marketing process as the most helpful source of promoting the brands (Schivinski and Dabrowski 2016). The major focus of the business marketers is to reach maximum number of the customers and create the most demanding brand image. The consumers seek information or share their experience that become much beneficial for shaping up the future business process. It creates the interactions among the people for exchanging or sharing information and experiences (Hajli 2014). In the corporate sectors, the social media marketing is generally use for promoting brands, establishing communication with the customers, and spreading information in the virtual communities and networks. Current world are much fascinated by the contents published in the social media sites.
The study would discuss the use of social media by River Island, one of the most demanding fashion retail brand based on UK. The company has been offering the high quality fashion brand to the potential customers for 60 years. The company is mostly renowned for the affordable and trendy fashion segments with the unique touches in the collection (Ashley and Tuten 2015). The great going outlooks and the occasion wear available in the store are much popular among the UK customers. However, currently, the company has been developing their social media marketing strategies to attract more customers from different locations. The company already has established almost 300 stores across the globe. In fact, it is an award-winning online fashion retail site. The company has captured the leading position among the biggest in-house design teams on the British High street. River Island is committed to nurture new talent that has made them one of the most successful fashion retailers in the UK market. Having an ambition to lead in multimarket and create the multichannel brand, the company is organizing the business process to develop the greater customer base. The sound CSR initiatives and development charities are also driving the company towards success. The company has the successful online presence, but the business competition is much high due to which the negative remarks on the social media sites are hampering the brand identity. It is necessary for the company to develop the fruitful social media marketing strategy to mitigate the challenges from the rivalries. The research would analyze the consumer responses and help in developing cautiousness to deal with the uncertainties.
The current developments in social media have become the important tool in the business world. Ashley and Tuten (2015) opined that the social media provides the passive information to the business marketers for developing their knowledge in strategic implementation in a competitive scenario. The negative ‘word of mouth’ influences the purchase decisions of the consumers that create terrible loss for the company. In fact, the emerging competitiveness is also one of the major threats for the business marketers. The availability of the numerous alternatives in the market makes the customer rethink about their future purchases. If the business marketers of a brand fail to satisfy the needs, the consumers tend to switch the brand any point of time. However, it has been interpreted that in spite of the positive influence on the consumer behaviour, the social media use can even turn out to be much challenging for the business marketers.
In usual cases, the business marketers create the social media pages for online promotion of the brand. These online pages in the social networking sites generally aim to reach the target customers. Ngai, Tao and Moon (2015) implied that positive remarks or comments create the positive ‘word of mouth’ among the other users of social media. On the other hand, according to Hajli (2014), the negative remarks for the brand can turn out to be much challenging for the business scenario since it may affect the consumer behaviour. The social networking site is the place for open communication, which can influence the consumers during their purchase of any product or service in both positive and negative way (Dessart, Veloutsou and Morgan-Thoma 2015). Hence, it is essential to understand the specific method of using social media by considering the negative and positive impact.
The research study would thus provide the conceptual analysis of the social media and the consumer purchasing decision making process. The exploration of the significance would present the enriched idea about the potential impacts of the social media that creates both negative and positive influence on the customers. River Island is completely relying on the social media sites to develop the string customer base and understand the requirements of the customers to offer best fashion segments. However, the threats from the external competitors and increasing negative remarks on the social network sites are affecting the brand promotions in a significant way. The information gathered from the secondary source would develop knowledge regarding the strategic implementations to mitigate challenges encountered in using social media.
The aim of the research is to identify the negative and positive impact of social media to influence the consumer behaviour during their purchase of any product or service. The research also attempts to recognize the specific method of promotional activities presented through social media that nurture the urge of the consumers to purchase the products or service repeatedly.
To explore conceptual analysis of social media and consumer decision making process
To critically analyze the impact of social media on consumer behaviour decisions
To identify the potential challenges faced by the business marketers while using social media for product or service promotions
To present the preferable recommendations for the challenges encountered
How the current era of social media use changing the business scenario?
How social media influences the purchasing behaviour of the consumers?
What are the recognizable challenges faced by the business marketers in using social media for brand promotions?
What social media strategies are needed to be implemented for influencing the repeat purchase of the consumers?
H0: Social media does not create impact on the consumer purchase decisions
H1: Social media creates impact on the consumer purchase decisions
The research study would be structured by developing the following steps:
The introduction chapter provides the outline of the research by stating the aim, objectives, questions, hypothesis, and research rationale. It provides the overview of the research along with the company background.
The literature review would be structured by depending on the conceptual and theoretical analysis of the associated variables. The information obtained from the literature would be linked with the research study. The gaps in the literature study would be presented.
The research methodology chapter provides the method of conducting the research in a structured way. The appropriate philosophy, approach, and data collection techniques would be identified in the methodology section.
The data collection process determines the findings and discussion of the obtained from either primary or secondary source. This particular research study is based on the secondary data collection process. Therefore, the study depends on the theme-based analytical process
The conclusion chapter provides the links identified between the collected data from secondary sources and literature review. This chapter summarizes the entire research study. This chapter provides the preferable recommendations after identifying the issues from the information extracted from various sources.
The chapter identifies the considerable research issues that would be further drawn in this study. Identifying the specific aim, objectives, questions, and hypothesis, the research would develop the literature based on the research area. The conceptual analysis of social media and consumer purchasing decisions would be further explored.
The literature study provides the insightful knowledge about the subject area by exploring the underlying theories. The study is widely concentrating on the impact of social media on consumer behaviour and decision-making process. (Ngai, Tao and Moon 2015) The literature study helps in identifying the core concept of the variables and establishing the links between these variables. The theoretical knowledge obtained from the study helps in identifying the secondary data for further evaluation. The literature study would also provide the insights regarding the negative and positive impact on decision making behaviour of the consumers. The information derived from this section would be utilized further.
Social media is generally conceptualized as the series of applications and websites for allowing people to share different contents efficiently, quickly, and in real-time (Dessart, Veloutsou and Morgan-Thomas 2015). Most of the people use the social media on their mobile, tablets, and different devices. It creates the interactions among the people for exchanging or sharing information and experiences. In the corporate sectors, the social media marketing is generally use for promoting brands, establishing communication with the customers, and spreading information in the virtual communities and networks. In majority of the cases, the business marketers use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchats for spreading awareness among the customers. According to Kumar et al. (2016), social media is mainly used for building the relationships and connecting with the audiences worldwide. However, on the other hand, Godey et al. (2016.) argued that while using social media for customer services, it is necessary to maintain the authenticity, open communication, and honesty.
The customers would depend on the virtual information if they receive any positive focus. Hence, the business marketers require being much cautious while sharing information with the target customers over the social media. As stated by Solomon et al. (2014), in spite of the extensive benefits ensured by the social media, it may create the negative impact on the consumers as well. The influence of social media in shaping up the consumer behaviour is quite significant. The enabling technologies in last few years have made the social networking system accessible to a wider audience (Hajli 2014). People spend a quality time in social media that influence their minds in various ways. Similarly, the use of the brand promotion through social media has the significant impact on the customers’ buying decisions. Therefore, it has become much easier to influence the consumers’ attitudes in differentiating the products or services.
The social impact theory was introduced by the psychologist of Ohio State University, Bibb Latane. The theory was developed by conducting a series of experiments on influence of social platforms (Ngai, Tao and Moon 2015). However, it is noticed that the social impact theory was developed long before the social media existed. Latane has presented the three rules of influences, such as strength, immediacy, and number. These three rules depend on three specific factors, which are as follows:
Impact is the association of strength, immediacy, and number of the sources.
If the number of the sources is greater, it would create the greater impact as well (Hudson et al. 2015).
In majority of the cases, most of the impacts occur between 0 sources and 1 source.
These factors were introduced before the social media has come into the attention of the people. However, the principles followed in this theory are aptly applied to the context of social media. The application of the social impact theory in the social media presents the following concerns:
Social media provides the strengths in the form of audiences that are connected from the different corner of the world (Ashley and Tuten 2015). Thus, it can be a greater platform to build relationships with the target audiences or the ones who are essential for the company or any specific purpose.
Social media offers the immediacy-both virtually and temporally. The business marketers can gather people by connecting the social media through mobile devices even.
It has been observed that social media provides the considerable opportunities for the number of audiences in the influencing group.
The current developments in the digital technologies are also contributing to the development of the social media marketing process. It connects a larger number of audiences from the different corner of the world (Hudson et al. 2016). Hence, it becomes easier for the business marketers to create the brand awareness and share the necessary information with the target consumers. However, the open communication through the social media sites can even turn out to be negative as well (Ioan?s and Stoica 2014). The negative remarks derived from the unhappy customers can affect the consumer purchase decisions. However, judging the consumer behavioral attribute is an integral part of the marketing. The following section of the study would shed lights on the theoretical underpinning of the consumer behaviour that lead them to purchase repeatedly.
The current world is highly influenced by the extensive uses of social media. People tend to search information for any specific aspect by browsing different sites. In addition to this, they share their experiences and connect with people from different parts of the world through such social media sites (Dijkmans, Kerkhof and Beukeboom 2015). Business marketers thus use these social media techniques to reach a larger group of consumers and create the strong brand image of the products and services. There are different types of social media that are mostly used and these are as follows:
Social Networks: Used for connecting people worldwide
Discussion Forum: Used for sharing ideas and news
Media Sharing Networks: Used for sharing videos, photos, and other media
Consumer Review Networks: Used for finding and reviewing businesses
Social shaping networks: Used for shopping online
Sharing Economy Networks: Used for trading services or goods
Anonymous Social Networks: Used for communicate with the people anonymously
Interest-based Networks: Used for sharing interests and hobbies
These networking sites are mostly used and the business marketers often derive benefits by using these sites. The consumers seek information or share their experience that become much beneficial for shaping up the future business process. (Agnihotri et al. 2016.) It creates the interactions among the people for exchanging or sharing information and experiences. In the corporate sectors, the social media marketing is generally use for promoting brands, establishing communication with the customers, and spreading information in the virtual communities and networks (Erkan and Evans 2016). Therefore, the business marketers need to be cautious about the pages that are shared in the social networking sites.
Consumer behaviour is the conceptual ideas about the perceptions of the groups, individuals, or organisations to select, purchase, and utilization of any service, products or experience (Kim, Li and Brymer 2016). The measurement of their satisfaction or dissatisfaction level decides their behaviour or the future purchases. The advancements in the technologies, products and services have changed the demands of the consumers. Their behavioural changes in purchasing products or services have become much complex and dynamic. For example, in the fashion retail sectors, the customers opt for more trendy clothes that are updated with the current trends. Moreover, they seek product variations as they tend to compare these products with other competitors in the market. On the other hand, (Nadeem et al. (2015) implied that the consumers seek more information from various sources. The ‘word of mouth’ can change their purchasing decision in a positive or negative way. However, the consumer behaviour depends on the systematic phases, which determines the result at the end.
According to Chae and Ko (2016), the consumer purchase decision making process depends on the sequential process that the marketers usually use for identifying and tracking the decisions made by the potential consumers. There are five individual stages that demonstrate the decision making journey of the consumers. These stages are described further:
The very first stage of the decision making process is to identify the specific needs or demands of the potential clients. According to VanMeter, Grisaffe and Chonko2015), the customers tend to select the products that fall under their preference lists or that satisfy their expectation level. The business marketers always need to be cautious about this expectation or preference level to deliver such specific product or services. On the other hand, Solomon et al. (2014) explained the customers’ needs are often changing, which becomes quite difficult for the business marketers to fulfill. Therefore, when the business marketers are targeting the demographic segment, it is essential for them to develop knowledge about the specific needs of the customers. For example, in the fashion retail sector, the customers look for various fashion segments, trends, designs, colours, and diversifications in the clothes (Oladepo and Abimbola 2015). The fashion retailers need to concentrate on these needs to fulfill their expectation level.
The method for searching information has changed in a drastic way. Before purchasing any product or services, the customers tend to derive the expensive knowledge from diverse sources (Rani 2014). Google is the biggest search engine that is usually used for searching information (Farah and Ramadan 2017). Gathering the adequate information from different sources make them more knowledgeable about the current trends, better opportunities, competitive prices, and so on. It is quite challenging for the business marketers since the customers can switch the brand at any point of time if they receive better opportunities (Pappas 2016). The recommendations received from the people also create the significant impact on their minds.
According to Jamil et al. (2017), there are two types of the information sources, such as internal and external. The internal search describes the experiences and former information of an individual that provides the assumptions about the customers’ behaviour in future. In fact, it has been observed that in spite of the interests towards the offerings, sometimes such offer will not be comprehended as per the expectations (Goodrich and De Mooij 2014). On the other hand, the external information can be obtained from the external sources, such as Google, social media sites, and customers’ ‘word of mouth’. Social media is also a remarkable source for obtaining external information. For example, people who intend to purchase the fashionable clothes may seek information from others about the brand relevancy (Chen et al. 2015). The business marketers thus need to create the significant brand image to develop the extensive customer base.
The consumers mainly seek the suitable options as per the needs of an individual. The ideas about such needs and preferences help in identifying the best option for an individual. During such time, the consumers opt for the alternative solutions. The focus on the observations, goals, and the motives help identifying the suitable benefits. Alavi et al (2016) suggested that there are two types of experience relevance exist for ensuring outcome, such as direct and indirect experiences. If the individuals are inexperienced towards any specific products; the direct experience would to be preferred (Raheem, Vishnu and Ahmed 2014). The consumers are more likely using the social media for sharing their experiences, comparing alternatives, and searching for the relevant information. The emerging trend of sharing through online sites and developing WOM (word of mouth) influence the business sustainable in a significant way. The negative experience, in such case, can turn out to be much costly or it may damage the reputation as well. After identifying the alternatives, the consumers are more likely formulate the values of the identified alternatives in terms of their intentions, attitudes, and specific choice. (Karimi, Papamichail and Holland (2015) argued that the decision makers often seek the simplified ways to develop a n evaluation process during the complex situation. Finally, they prepare themselves for making the final decision.
Farah and Ramadan (2017) opined that after completion of the evaluation process, the consumers tend to pick up their choices among the brand. There are two main factors that may affect the choice of the consumers to develop the purchase intention and purchase decisions, such as the unanticipated situational crisis, and the individuals’ attitudes.
Others’ attitude towards the purchase of the products refers to the negative views towards the preferred alternatives. It sometimes indicates the reluctance to meet the supporting terms and purchasing intentions. In such cases, the adjustment in the purchase intentions is needed to be performed. Lerrthaitrakul and Panjakajornsak (2014) also suggested that some of the info-media or the publishing houses also influence the consumers in a significant way. For example, the review blogs n Amazon.com, bulletin boards, and other sites provide the keen ideas about the products and services (Zhang et al. 2014). The customers also alternate their views as per the reviews present in these sites. On the other side, the unanticipated situational factors often erupt to alter the decision-making process of the consumers. For instance, a customer is determined to purchase any outfit after comparing with other alternatives, but the decision may alter if any unexpected crisis comes up. Customers then gather ideas about certain information, which was not previously learnt (Zhang, Wu and Mattila 2016). Hence, such situation may affect the purchasing decisions of the consumers in a significant way.
The extent of the consumers’ experiences, whether it is positive or negative, is referred as the post-purchase decision making process. Grewal et al. (2016) implied that the post-purchase decision of the customers highlights two major possible consequences, satisfaction or dissatisfaction. If the consumer experience satisfaction or dissonance towards the purchase, the consumers start searching for more information and look forward to the future purchase. The frequent use of the products or services can also determine the future purchase until the alternative option better than the current purchase is available. Park and Nicolau (2015) suggested that the entire process of decision making depends on the psychological judgment of the customers. Their attitudes and beliefs towards purchasing a product determine whether they want to purchase the product in future as well.
The technological innovations and advancements have created the greater impacts on the consumers in current time. Similarly, the emergence of social media has changed social environment by developing new ideas and sharing the vast knowledge. According to Banerjee, Bhattacharyya and Bose (2017), social media is one of the greatest technological innovations experienced by the people worldwide. In today’s world, majority of the organisations are interested in incorporating social media for different purposes (Filieri 2015). These social media sites are especially used for influencing the purchasing behaviour of the customers by creating the remarkable brand image. This platform is quite beneficial in understanding the needs, preferences of the customers as they share their experiences with others. However, such open communication about the products and services can also turn out to be disadvantageous for the business marketers. Wu et al. (2017) argued that the influence of the social media sites may affect the purchasing behaviour of the consumers. People share their experience over the social media sites that help in deciding the future possibility of purchasing any good or service. The negative ‘word of mouth’ thus can create the adverse effects, which may turn out to be disadvantageous.
Shepherd and Rudd (2014) implied that social media includes numerous benefits and opportunities, but sometimes quite difficult to manage. For instance, the consumers associated with the fashion retail sectors always share their views ad experiences about the trendy and fashionable clothes that improve the brand image much significantly. In fact, they can gather information from different customer reviews posted on the social networking sites. Apparently, these reviews create the sense of reliability and preferences among the target customers. In fact, it is also noticed that the open communication helps in developing the transparent and reliable relationships with the brand. On the contrary, Newell and Shanks (2014) implied that the negative reviews from the customers may affect the brand image in a significant way. The negative ‘word of mouth’ influences the purchase decisions of the consumers that create terrible loss for the company. In fact, the emerging competitiveness is also one of the major threats for the business marketers. The availability of the numerous alternatives in the market makes the customer rethink about their future purchases. If the business marketers of a brand fail to satisfy the needs, the consumers tend to switch the brand any point of time.
King, Racherla and Bush (2014) implied that the emerging interests of the consumers towards using social media have altered in a recognizable way. Every organisation tends to promote their brands through social networking sites. For example, the retail sectors promote their brands by providing the glimpse of product variations. The promotions through social media cut down the operational cost due to which the business marketers are more likely utilize these platforms. The customers are also browsing these sites that are altering their purchase intentions due to the diverse options for the latest trends. It is quite challenging for the business marketers to achieve the maximum customer base by maintaining a good reputation of the brand. Hence, it can be implied that the social media has the significant impacts on consumer purchasing decision making.
The literature study analyses the theoretical evaluation of the subject variable. It bridges the connection between the social media use and the customer purchase decision making. The major gap was found in developing the extensive research on the subject area. The current world is rapidly changing due to which the demands of the customers are also repeatedly altering with time. The time constraints prevent here to develop more extensive knowledge regarding the subject area. On the other hand, there is no scope to examine the authentication of the sources used for deriving information in this literature section. Moreover, the lack of in-depth analysis due to the time limitations is the major gap identified in this literature study. If some more times were allowed, the research would have created the clear insights related to the subject areas.
The above figure presents the conceptual idea about the entire literature review. The study is widely focusing on the impacts of the social media on consumer purchase decision making. The development of the theoretical analysis presents the clarified concept of the variables that are linked with subject. Analyzing such theoretical evaluation, the study develops the clear linking of the social media with the consumer purchase behaviour.
The literature section develops the underpinning theoretical knowledge about the subject variables. The understanding of the different social media types and theoretical evaluation of the consumer purchase decision making is developed in this literature section. The information obtained from the literature study would be utilized further to link with the secondary data. The further section of the study would develop the ideas about the suitable methodology used in this research process.
Research methodology is the systematic development of any research process by applying the appropriate method. According to Flick (2015), research methodology is generally used for collecting relevant information in purpose of developing any research project. The application of appropriate philosophy, design, approach, and data collection techniques help in conducting the research in a synchronized and systematic way. This research study develops the understanding regarding the impact of the social media in shaping the consumer purchase behaviour with the special reference of River Island. The use of the appropriate data collection would help in generating the extensive knowledge regarding the subject area. The research is mainly developed by conducting the secondary data collection process in which the secondary information would be gathered from outside sources. The discussion of the appropriate designs is presented further.
Secondary research often involves the information that is collected from the outside sources, such as books, journals, websites, and blogs. According to Humphries (2017), one of the biggest advantages of using secondary research method is the frequent availability of the existing research materials. The existing information is readily available and it does not cost much. In fact, it is also notable that the development of the theme-based analysis focuses on a specific information revolving around the subject variables. However, on the contrary, Panneerselvam (2014) argued that secondary research often lacks the specificity and fails to address the area of concern. In fact, it is also some of the external data sources are not enriched in quality and mostly are outdated that are needed to be strictly eliminated. The upgraded fashion industry is much influencing for the consumers worldwide. The social media is also playing the most significant role in influencing the customers with the updated trends in the fashion segments. Hence, the updated information is much necessary to conduct this research study. However, the themes formulated in the secondary research would help in identifying the clear observation of the challenges faced by River Island in influencing the customer purchasing decision through social media use.
Research onion was developed by Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2009), to describe the systematic stages of a research process. The first stage of the research onion is the description and selection of research philosophy. The research philosophy determines the appropriate method of describing the collected information. The second stage of research onion is research approach that indicates whether the research should use the hypothetical views or depend on the existing theory. The third stage of research onion determines the use of the relevant research strategy to develop the entire research process (Choy 2014). The fourth stage creates the timeframe within which the entire research study would be scheduled. The fifth layer identifies the appropriate data collection method for the research. The purpose of formulating the research onion is to develop the clear understanding about the sequential steps that are to be followed during the research process.
Ontology is a part of research methods that perceives different views than epistemology. These terms are used to describe the suitable philosophy used in a research study to interpret the data in a significant manner. According to Wiek and Lang (2016), ontology concentrates on the central questions that are needed to be either subjective or objective. Objectivism reflects the social entities that exist in the external reality and asserts the social phenomenon. On the other hand, subjectivism perceives the social phenomenon, which is formulated from the consequent action or perception of the social actors. However, identification of the appropriate philosophy would be helpful for the research process to analyze the secondary data collected from existing research sources.
Sekaran and Bougie (2016) explained that research philosophy generally deals with the nature, source, and knowledge developmental factors. It is often considered as the belief related to the method of collecting data and analyzing it by maintaining research relevancy. Each stage of the research process deals with the assumptions of the knowledge nature and the sources. Research philosophy thus deals with the important assumptions of the author that serve as the base of appropriate research strategy. Research philosophy is categorized into four major divisions, such pragmatism, positivism, realism, and interpretivism (Alvesson and Sköldberg 2017). The general discussion of the research paper usually deals between two types of philosophies, such as positivism and interpretivism. Positivism philosophy deals with the hidden facts and the responses derived from the real life scenario. On the other hand, the interpretivism philosophy deals with the human interpretation of the fact that is sometimes involved with assumption based ideas.
The secondary analysis of the research requires the application of the ideas obtained from the external scenario. The study thus deals with the interpretivism philosophy to interpret the collected secondary data. The appropriate use of the interpretivism philosophy has developed the enriched knowledge about the subject area. The data is needed to be discussed by developing the clear understanding of the research area. Moreover, the use of interpretivism philosophy adds more in-depth analysis of the current data. Hence, the use of the interpretivism philosophy is appropriate.
Research approach is conceptualized as the procedure and plans for the research study by analyzing the collected data in a detailed way. According to Bryman (2015), research approach often involves with the decisions to develop the understanding in a selective way. Research approach is characterized into two specifications, such as deductive approach and inductive approach. Deductive approach formulates the set of hypothesis developed for conducting research based on the subject matter. On the other hand, the inductive approach depends on the existing theory that helps in understanding the research subject area. The study develops the understanding of the hypothetical values to shed lights on the use of social media that alters the purchasing behaviour of the customers. Therefore, the use of the deductive approach is appropriate in this study.
The study concentrates on the impacts of social media on consumer purchasing decision making. The study requires in-depth analysis of the conceptual ideas along with the theoretical links. Therefore, the secondary data collection process is conducted in this study. According to Palinkas et al. (2015), secondary data is collected from the previous research studies and it includes the tested facts and figures. In order to conduct the secondary data, the researcher has collected the information from secondary data sources, such as books, journals, and website articles. The extensive research on the social media use and how it alters the purchase decision of the customers would develop the complete research study. The information is also collected from official and corporate websites of River Island to understand their business tactics to deal with the online customers. The information obtain from the secondary sources would also provide the adequate knowledge about the availability of the numerous alternatives in the market makes the customer rethink about their future purchases. This platform is quite beneficial in understanding the needs, preferences of the customers as they share their experiences with others. However, such open communication about the products and services can also turn out to be disadvantageous for the business marketers. The appropriate analysis process would also help in identifying the underlying issues and it would also meet the predetermined objectives of the research.
The collected secondary data is needed to be analyzed in an appropriate way (Sekaran and Bougie 2016). In this study, the collected secondary data will be analyzed by formulating several themes. It is necessary to present the in-depth analysis of the subject variables and the research areas in a detailed way. The themes would present the facts and the detailed analysis of the subject. The information gathered from these theme based analysis would develop the understanding the about the social media use and its positive and negative effects on the consumers’ behaviour. In fact, the ideas collected from these themes would be linked with the literature study to understand whether the research has met the aims and objectives or not.
Every research is conducted by developing the ethical parameter, which enhances the quality of the research. Collecting the data is not an easier approach. It is necessary to consider some of the ethical factors, which help in formulating an informative research study. The information sources used for collecting the secondary data are needed to be validated and authentic. The maintenance of the authenticity of data enriches the quality of the information. On the other hand, the information should be updated. The current world is rapidly changing and the upgraded information presents the complete evaluation of the research subject. Thus, it is quite essential to use the updated data. While conducting the research with the secondary information, it is essential to maintain the privacy. The data would not be disclosed to any other researcher. The data would be used for this particular research without harming any privacy concern. Maintaining these ethical concerns is quite essential for formulating the entire research project.
The major accessibility issues are found in collecting the updated research materials. The secondary data is based on the information collected from the corporate websites of the company. It is thus notable that some of the informative sites required proper authentication to access. On the other hand, the different perception present in diverse information sources is also quite confusing at times. Hence, the access to the appropriate research information was quite challenging for this research study.
This chapter provides the idea of the appropriate methodology used for this research process. The use of the appropriate research designs and data collection method is discussed in this section of the study. The study also provides the idea of theme based analysis as the data analysis technique. The further section of the study would develop the secondary research analysis.
This chapter discusses the secondary information collected from various sources. The major focus of the study is to analyze both the positive and negative influence of social media in shaping up the consumer purchase decision making process. The literature study has analyzed the theoretical underpinnings based on the subject matter. However, the study analyses the themes to understand the use of social media by River Island and the challenges the company has been facing. The results derived from this secondary analysis would be linked further with the literature section to identify whether the research objectives and aims are met.
Theme 1: Influence of the social media in the consumer of fashion retail sector
The extensive usage of the social media in the fashion industry started gaining recognition since 2009 (Ramanathan, Subramanian and Parrott 2017). It is noticed that the advancements in the technologies help the customers interact closely with the business marketers. The continuous interactions with the customers clarify the needs and preferences, which are quite essential to satisfy the expectation level. The increasing brand awareness through social media is not only creating the positive atmosphere, it may disrupt the purchasing behaviour of the consumers more significantly (Çifci et al. 2016). Moreover, the tendency of the consumers is to search for the information over the online sources. Especially, the fashion-prone consumers seek the latest updates about the trends and clothing brands.
It is evident that fashion retail sector is most demanding among the social media users worldwide. The social media is one of the most helpful platforms that gather people from different corner of the world. Moreover, it provides the extensive ideas about the different fashion brands available in the social media pages. Therefore, the consumers receive the opportunity to surf different online social media gather information and select the most preferred brands. Furthermore, the experiences shared by the consumers provide the insights about the brand specifications and quality (Blázquez 2014). The shared ‘word of mouth’ helps in creating the brand image that determines the willingness or reluctance of the consumers. The business marketers can even convey the messages to the targeted customers through the social media pages. It has been observed that the continuous experience sharing connects the customers from different areas (Godey et al. 2016). The extensive brand awareness through social media is even creating the negative consequences for the business marketers as well. Hence, the consumers’ purchase is mostly influenced by the social media usages. Especially, in the fashion retail sector, the influence of the social media is much recognizable.
The current digitalization has improved the business marketing procedures in a drastic manner. It is noticed that currently, River Island is completely relying on the social media sites for communicating with the consumers. The company is posting pictures on Twitter and Instagram along with the attractive hash-tags to promote the brand (River Island 2018). It is needless to mention that the posts receive the commendable responses from the online customers. The main motto of the company is to influence the needs of the customers by meeting their expectations and offering them more trendy clothes to create a reputed brand image (Taube and Warnaby 2017). However, the continuous challenges from the competitors are sometimes affecting the brand promotions. Moreover, the negative remarks from the customers create the negative WOM, which affects the perceptions of the consumers regarding the future purchase. In the year of 2015, the sales ratio of River Island edged up from £931.6 millions to £932.7 millions (BBC News 2016). Therefore, the company is mostly looking for the maximum number of the consumers who prefer most updated fashion segments. However, the continuous sharing of the negative remarks is affecting this sales ratio in a significant way.
The above information presented in a theme-based discussion develops the understanding about the demands of the social media sites in developing the consumer purchase behaviour. The findings from the secondary data analysis process indicate that consumers usually opt for the extensive information before they decide to purchase anything. The social media sites connect people worldwide who present their different need and preferences in fashion and trends (Shen, Qian and Choi 2017). The positive experience of the consumers develops the positive purchase intentions and vice versa. In today’s world, majority of the organisations are interested in incorporating social media for different purposes.
These social media sites are especially used for influencing the purchasing behaviour of the customers by creating the remarkable brand image. This platform is quite beneficial in understanding the needs, preferences of the customers as they share their experiences with others. However, such open communication about the products and services can also turn out to be disadvantageous for the business marketers (Ramanathan, Subramanian and Parrott 2017). On the other hand, River Island is completely relying on the social media sites to develop the string customer base and understand the requirements of the customers to offer best fashion segments. However, the threats from the external competitors and increasing negative remarks on the social network sites are affecting the brand promotions in a significant way. Identifying these findings from the secondary sources, the further study would present the relevant discussion.
The chapter would provide the clear understanding of the research information derived from the secondary data sources. The information would be discussed and in detail and would be linked with the theoretical concept discussed in the literature section. It would provide the considerable knowledge about the actual scenario in the current world in terms of using social media that has the significant impact on the consumer purchase behaviour. The following discussion would develop the enriched ideas about the research area.
The findings from the secondary data sources indicate that the consumers are more likely using the social media for sharing their experiences, comparing alternatives, and searching for the relevant information. The emerging trend of sharing through online sites and developing WOM (word of mouth) influence the business sustainable in a significant way (Solomon et al. 2014). The ideas obtained from the findings highlight that consumers are more likely shop the online fashion retails due to which this sector has achieved maximum popularity in compare to other sectors. The consumers receive the opportunity to surf different online social media gather information and select the most preferred brands. Gathering the adequate information from different sources make them more knowledgeable about the current trends, better opportunities, competitive prices, and so on (Ngai, Tao and Moon 2015). It is quite challenging for the business marketers since the customers can switch the brand at any point of time if they receive better opportunities.
As per the ideas derived from the literature study, it is noticed that if the consumer experience satisfaction or dissonance towards the purchase, the consumers start searching for more information and look forward to the future purchase. The frequent use of the products or services can also determine the future purchase until the alternative option better than the current purchase is available. The advancements in the technologies, products and services have changed the demands of the consumers. Their behavioural changes in purchasing products or services have become much complex and dynamic. For example, in the fashion retail sectors, the customers opt for more trendy clothes that are updated with the current trends. Moreover, they seek product variations as they tend to compare these products with other competitors in the market. Gathering the adequate information from different sources make them more knowledgeable about the current trends, better opportunities, competitive prices, and so on. It is quite challenging for the business marketers since the customers can switch the brand at any point of time if they receive better opportunities
Furthermore, the experiences shared by the consumers provide the insights about the brand specifications and quality. The shared ‘word of mouth’ helps in creating the brand image that determines the willingness or reluctance of the consumers. It is thus quite necessary for the business markers to stay cautious about what are to be shared or providing the proper customer service to reduce negative remarks (Shepherd and Rudd 2014). As per the literature study, it has been observed that the customers tend to select the products that fall under their preference lists or that satisfy their expectation level. The customers’ needs are often changing, which becomes quite difficult for the business marketers to fulfill. Therefore, when the business marketers are targeting the demographic segment, it is essential for them to develop knowledge about the specific needs of the customers (Park and Nicolau 2015). . River Island is a world class fashion brand that has extended the business in the virtual world to develop the customer base and strengthen the brand image. However, it has been observed that the major focus of the business marketers is to reach maximum number of the customers and create the most demanding brand image. The business marketers always need to be cautious about this expectation or preference level to deliver such specific product or services.
On the other hand, the increasing options and alternatives are also quite distracting for the consumers when they decide to purchase products from one particular brand. The findings from the secondary data collection process indicate that River Island is focusing on meeting the expectation level of the consumers through social media sites. Hence, the company is developing message sharing centers, platform to share their experiences, and so on (Erkan and Evans 2016). However, the continuous challenges from the competitors are preventing the company to develop the strategy in a significant way. The literature study suggests that the unanticipated situational factors often erupt to alter the decision-making process of the consumers. It sometimes indicates the reluctance to meet the supporting terms and purchasing intentions. In such cases, the adjustment in the purchase intentions is needed to be performed. Recognition of the specific needs and requirements is essential for the business marketers to bring more product differentiations that may beat the competitors in the virtual world.
As per the consumer decision making process, discussed in the literature section, the consumers opt for the extensive ideas and the alternatives among the various options. It is noticed that the consumers are more likely using the social media for sharing their experiences, comparing alternatives, and searching for the relevant information. After identifying the alternatives, the consumers are more likely formulate the values of the identified alternatives in terms of their intentions, attitudes, and specific choice (Ngai, Tao and Moon 2015). Hence, the business marketers initially need to identify the basic preferences of the customers and the alternatives available on the social media sites. It would be much helpful in developing hands-on approaches to retain the existing customers and attracting those who are new to the brand(Erkan and Evans 2016). The social impact theory indicates that Social media provides the strengths in the form of audiences that are connected from the different corner of the world. Thus, it can be a greater platform to build relationships with the target audiences (Park and Nicolau 2015). Hence, the identification of the target audience is the foremost step that is needed to be undertaken. Their preferences and needs should be recognized if the company requires maintain the brand reputation and participate in the challenging social media business market.
Conclusion
The study develops the detailed ideas about the impact of current social media usage on formulating the purchase behaviour of the customers. The development of the literature study provides the theoretical understanding of the social media uses and purchase decision making process. River Island is a world class fashion brand that has extended the business in the virtual world to develop the customer base and strengthen the brand image. However, it has been observed that the major focus of the business marketers is to reach maximum number of the customers and create the most demanding brand image. The consumers seek information or share their experience that become much beneficial for shaping up the future business process. It creates the interactions among the people for exchanging or sharing information and experiences.
On the other hand, the measurement of customers’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction level decides their behaviour or the future purchases. The advancements in the technologies, products and services have changed the demands of the consumers. Their behavioural changes in purchasing products or services have become much complex and dynamic. The major focus of the study is to identify the considerable influence of the social media in shaping the purchase decision making of the customers. The secondary research follows the most helpful social media strategy to influence the buyers’ decisions. However, the continuous threats from the other competitor brand exist in the social media sites are posing more challenges for the company. Moreover, the negative experiences are shared in the social media contents that affect the purchasing decisions of the other customers. Linking with the secondary research and information from literature review, it is noticed that improper maintenance of the social media use can turn out to be much disadvantageous for the business companies. The objectives of the study are met since it evaluates the areas of concerns more clarified way. However, some of the fruitful recommendation would be further provided to develop more suitable strategy that can reduce the threat of negative influence of social media.
The ideas derived from the secondary research and literature section reflects on the negative consequence emerge from the improper use of social media sites. In fact, it can be interpreted that the use of social media can influence the negative consequences while customers are making any purchasing decision. Observing the considerable challenges faced by the business marketers, some of the preferable recommendations are provided further:
The customer service providers who are associated with the online portals need to be cautious. They need to manage the customer review and respond accordingly. The greater customer service would help in establishing the effective relationships with the potential customers. It would even help in strengthening the brand image. It is important to face the customers and understand their concern at the first place. In addition to this, the needs and demands of the customer are also necessary to remain competitive. Managing the concerns and offering the products as per their needs can retain the consumers for a long time. Moreover, the positive experiences would generate the sense of reliability, which would lead them to purchase for the next time onwards. It would strengthen the possibility of the future purchase.
In the virtual world, people are much influenced by the presentation or the demonstration of the services. People tend to find the alternatives if their expectations are not fulfilled. River Island needs to promote the brand in a most attractive way that would strengthen the competitive position of the business by drawing the attention of maximum number of the customers. For example, presenting the fashion segments in a unique way or exploring the latest trends by presenting the exclusive collections would help in attracting the customers widely. It is noticed that the social media sites creates the interactions among the people for exchanging or sharing information and experiences. Hence, the company needs to develop such interactive session with the consumers or delivering some of the fashion advices from the experts would also be much helpful in such context.
Consumers seek more variations in their fashion segment. The fashion-prone consumers are more likely searching for the alternatives in quest of the better quality or designs. The competitors are always available to offer the best and most suitable fashion segment to the consumers. River Island thus needs to concentrate on their product diversifications. Extending the collection and more product diversifications would attract the amount of consumers available on the social media sites. The advancements in the technologies, products and services have changed the demands of the consumers. Their behavioural changes in purchasing products or services have become much complex and dynamic. Addressing such needs and offering best product segment would thus be much helpful for the company to create a strong brand image in this competitive scenario.
The major limitation identified in this research is the time constraints. The limited time has made this research process somewhat limited. On the other hand, the lack of the updated sources is also preventing the study to develop extensive and upgraded knowledge regarding the subject area. The study would have clarified the concept more if the primary research was conducted. The lack of sufficient capital resource was the major obstacle in such context. However, the in-depth analysis of the information gathered from the secondary source is quite helpful to generate the idea about the subject area. In fact, the clear elaboration of the concept has helped in accomplishing the research objectives as well.
This research journey has been quite promising for me that helped in every possible ways to strengthen my analytical skills. When the topic was first introduced to me, I felt much excited for conducting this research. I spend much time on browsing social media sites and gathering information about different news. It has always been an amusement for me to work in a research project where I can use my knowledgeable ideas to develop a complete research study. I started collecting more information on social media and its significant impacts on the consumer behaviour. The major challenges I faced during this research journey was the limited time. I wanted to add up more information if the time constraints were not present. The vast area of social media use and the enriched knowledge about the customer purchasing decision making process require some more time. Hence, I face challenges in this aspect. Moreover, collecting the accurate data related to the subject matter was also much challenging for me. I used my own skills and knowledge to develop an intact paper, which is quite informative. In fact, the difficulties I have faced during this journey have strengthened my analytical power more effectively. I am grateful to my professors and fellow friends, who helped me throughout this journey that would be helpful for the future as well.
The idea I have developed by conducting research on the subject area would be beneficial to develop the similar study in future, the information gathered from the literature review and the theme-based analysis would be used for the future similar type of research. The future researchers would even be able to develop their ideas regarding these specific subjects discussed in this study. The future evaluation of the subject matter can help in scoring good grades or in practical application in the business world as well.
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