The impact of influencers' visual content in social media on consumers' purchase intention: the case of SMEs restaurants in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The impact of information on consumers' purchase intentions has been known for quite some time. Ever since the idea of consulting family members and friends regarding their purchase, and with the evolution of the Tv and the Internet, consumers have reached a new level of access to products' related content. So they can be informed and evaluate purchases and share their experiences not only with people close to them but also with an endless number of current and potential consumers. Moreover, such a way of content sharing between people had primarily been formed in the verbal and textual form, more precisely verbally in face-to-face interaction and textually through the Internet, all to serve the purpose of informing other consumers about brands. Researchers have long acknowledged and investigated such a way of content exchanging under the well-known topics of word of mouth (WOM) and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) and their influence on consumers' purchase intentions. With the constant evolution of the Internet, a new communication channel has emerged known as social media platforms. A way of connecting with people worldwide so that they can reach each other all the time, regardless of any barriers. An area of interest that academics have found fascinating in investigating eWOM and its impact on consumers' choices. Such an exchange of words over social media applications can reshape consumers' intentions regarding their potential purchases. However, as we live in a world where technology evolution never stops, these social media applications have reached different and more exciting features, as users not only can interact verbally but now have the ability to interact visually via different online platforms. So the entire idea of eWOM has changed to a more advanced level, known as visual eWOM. Moreover, users of such applications can share brand-related content visually in the form of pictures and videos. A feature that makes platforms developers race against time to develop the best way to introduce new applications that make the best use of such a modern technological feature.

So nowadays, we can see an endless number of social media applications that enable people to communicate visually. Nevertheless, there are few applications which have been tremendously popular. Instagram and Snapchat are two relatively recent platforms that can be mainly viewed to serve the visual exchange of content. Their popularity has reached almost most social media users worldwide. From such a perspective, the idea of exploring and investigating such visual content and how it influences consumers have become highly crucial. Not only due to how such content impacts consumers but also to how this content on social media applications can be spread among millions of people, as well as how brands can take advantage of such an excellent way of communication with current and potential consumers. An area of interest that this thesis aims to investigate. To do so, this research is built into two main phases; the first phase aims to explore the usage of social media among Saudi consumers and gather as much information as possible on their usage behaviour and the impact of social media influencers on their purchase behaviour. Through a survey of 512 Saudi consumers. The results show that Saudi consumers use social media at a very high rate, more precisely Instagram and Snapchat, and they follow and view social media influencers' content at a tremendously high percentage. However, when it comes to the impact of such content on consumers, the results indicate a low influence on consumers' purchase intentions regarding their restaurants' choices. The second phase of this thesis is to analyse content on social media applications. In detail, it examines the content, the source of the content (social media influencers), and consumers' behaviour toward the content. In order to reach such, a theoretical model was developed based on the integration of the Information Acceptance Model (IACM). The results highlighted that visual content quality, source credibility, source experience, content quantity, adoption of content, attitude toward content and subjective norms are the primary factors for visual eWOM in social media (Instagram and Snapchat) that influence consumers' purchase intentions. This thesis contributes to theoretical implications through its validated model and introduced vital findings. Moreover, the research model highlights a new approach to information adoption by expanding the IACM and introducing new insights to researchers. Future studies can consider the research model to investigate the visual content in social media and its influence on consumers' purchase intentions. Moreover, this study's results can help researchers consider other factors in studying the impact of such technology, such as employing the results to examine other social media applications that serve the visual feature, such as TikTok. Also, since this research was only conducted through a quantitative method, employing qualitative or mixed methods can be beneficial in providing a complete picture of visual eWOM influence. A further benefit of this study is how it considers the cultural character of Saudi consumers. Yet, other studies might find it worth considering other cultural factors or employing such findings in different countries. The same goes with considering different categories besides SMEs restaurants.