A MINOR PROJECT REPORT

On
“A Study on impact of social media on
consumer behaviour”

Submitted in the partial fulfilment for the award of Degree of Bachelor in

BBA: 2022-25

Under The Guidance: Submitted By:

Mr. Kamal Batra Muskan Garg
Assistant Professor, CPJCHS 03921501722
Batch: 2022-25

CHANDERPRABHU JAIN COLLEGE OF HIGHER STUDIES & SCHOOL OF LAW

An ISO 9001:2015 Certified Institute (Approved by the Govt of NCT of Delhi
Affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi)

Plot No OCF Sector A-8, Narela New Delhi –110040

 DECLARATION

This is to certify that the Minor Project Report entitled “A Study on the Impact
of social media on Consumer Behaviour” which is submitted by me in partial
fulfillment of the requirement for the award of a degree BBA to GGSIP
University, Dwarka, Delhi comprises only my original work and due
acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used.

Date: Name and Signature of Student

Approved By:

Name of Subject Teacher/ Supervisor

 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Minor Project Report entitled “A Study on the Impact of
social media on consumer behaviour” which is submitted by Ms. Muskan in
partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of a degree BBA to GGSIP
University, Dwarka, Delhi is a record of the candidate own work carried out by
her under my supervision.

Date Supervisor Signature

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I offer my sincere thanks and humble regards to Chanderprabhu Jain College of

Higher Studies & School of Law, GGSIP University, New Delhi for imparting us
very valuable professional learning in the Minor Project Report of BBA.

I pay my gratitude and sincere regards to Mr. Kamal my project Guide, for
imparting his knowledge. I am thankful to him as he has been a constant source
of advice, motivation and inspiration. I am also thankful to him for giving his
suggestions and encouragement throughout the project work.

I take the opportunity to express my gratitude and thanks to our computer Lab
staff and library staff for providing me with the opportunity to utilize their
resources for the completion of the project.
I am also thankful to my family and friends for constantly motivating me to
complete the project and providing me with an environment that enhanced my
knowledge.

Student’s Signature
 TABLES OF CONTENTS

S. NO. CONTENTS PAGE NO:

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1-4

CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 5 - 22

CHAPTER 3 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 23 - 33

CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 34 - 40

DATA ANALYSIS AND
CHAPTER 5 41 - 62
INTERPRETATION
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS &
CHAPTER 6 63 - 67
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY 68 - 69
 LIST OF TABLES
TABLE
TITLE PAGE NO:
NO:
5.1 Age Group 42

5.2 Usage of social media 43

5.3 Purpose of usage of social media 44

5.4 Type of social media used daily 45

5.5 Time spent on social media per day 46

5.6 Attention paid to advertisements on social media 47

5.7 Trust in social media 48

5.8 Influence of social media on the buying decision 49

5.9 Percentage of purchases influenced by social media 50

The preferred source of information for buying
5.10 51
decision
Type of social media that influences purchase
5.11 52
decision
5.12 Factors that drive attention in social media 53
Factors that motivate consumers to shop through
5.13 54
social media
5.14 Mostly preferred online shopping sites 55
Advantages of social media compared to traditional
5.15 56
media
5.16 Ability to seek out products/services information 57
Influence of advertisements on social media for
5.17 58
trying new brands
Influence of promotions and discounts in social
5.18 59
media on consumer behaviour
Use of the information on social media in case of
5.19 60
uncertainties regarding a purchase
Introduction of effective platforms by social media to
5.20 61
gain customer attention
Enhancement of knowledge regarding products with
5.21 62
the help of social media
 LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE
TITLE PAGE NO:
NO:
5.1 Age Group 42
5.2 Usage of social media 43
5.3 Purpose of usage of social media 44
5.4 Type of social media used daily 45
5.5 Time spent on social media per day 46
5.6 Attention paid to advertisements on social media 47
5.7 Trust in social media 48
5,8 Influence of social media on the buying decision 49
Percentage of purchases influenced by social
5.9 50
media
The preferred source of information for buying
5.10 51
decision
Type of social media that influences purchase
5.11 52
decision
5.12 Factors that drive attention in social media 53
Factors that motivate consumers to shop
5.13 54
through social media
5,14 Mostly preferred online shopping sites 55
Advantages of social media compared to
5.15 56
traditional media
5.16 Ability to seek out products/services information 57
Influence of advertisements on social media for
5.17 58
trying new brands
Influence of promotions and discounts in social
5.18 59
media on consumer behaviour
Use of the information on social media in case of
5.19 60
uncertainties regarding a purchase
Introduction of effective platforms by social
5.20 61
media to gain customer attention
Enhancement of knowledge regarding products
5.21 62
with the help of social media
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

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 INTRODUCTION

Social media has occupied an important position as a communication tool. It is

all about facilitating people to express and share ideas, thoughts and opinions
with others. People across the globe use social media to connect with other people
or organisations. The latest trend in marketing is the introduction of social media.
Nowadays Social media had became a very strong tool in influencing buying
decisions of consumers. Social media has the power to influence potential
customers from the start until the stage of the purchase and beyond as well. There
are four ways in which social media influences consumer behaviour. They are:
social media(a) builds product awareness,(b)social proof as a greater force of
buying decisions, (c) promotions discounts and deals on social media, and
(d)social media influencers.

Social media is a huge influence on consumers when they are attempting to build
awareness about a particular product. A large section of the audience gets to know
your brand through the content that is distributed on social media, in this way
people get to know about your product. Social proof has emerged due to the
tendency of people to imitate the behaviour of people around them. Happy
customers tend to go about praising the products with likes, shares, reviews and
comments on social media.

When consumers see promotions, discounts and deals on social media, it

influences their buying behaviour. Consumers are more likely to buy when they
get recommendations from a person they trust. Celebrities and popular people
inspire their audience and influence their buying behaviour. Social media which
includes content, visuals, promotions, discounts and influencers can influence the
buying behavior of consumers.

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In the modern era, the using of social networking websites has extensive effects
on consumers in various ways. Many online networking sites affect consumer
behaviour. They are Google+, LinkedIn, Youtube etc. Nowadays social media is
used by almost all the ages of consumers like college students, working class and
even old age people too. The main aim of this study is to examine how social
media will affect the final consumer behaviour among people who mostly use
social media websites. The consumer referred to here is the general public. The
study has also undertaken to analyze how social media will affect buying
decisions of the general public and the factors that motivate the general public to
shop through social media platforms.

1.1 Statement of the problem

In today’s world people start their day with smartphones and they are easily
attracted towards recent updates and ads on social media accounts. Nowadays
social media platforms like Whatsapp, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook etc.
influence consumer behaviour a lot and also make purchases very easy online.
Hence this study aims to examine how social media will influence the consumer
behaviour of the general public and also analyze the factors affecting the general
public to purchase through social media platforms.

1.2 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of social media on
buying behaviour of consumers. Specific objectives of the study are:-

1. To analyse how have social media channels affected buying behaviour of

consumers.

2. To identify the factors that motivate consumers to shop through social

media platforms.

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 3. To suggest ways how social media impact the upcoming generation.

1.3 Scope of the Study

The scope of the study covers the general public, the study will help us to
understand the impact of social media on consumer behaviour.

1.4 Significance of the Study

Social media has an important role in influencing buying decisions of consumers.
This study has attempted to understand the influence of social media on consumer
behaviour. Social media has the power to influence potential customers from the
start until the stage of the purchase and beyond as well. The study is greatly
significant because, in today’s world, social media has an important role in the
day-to-day activities of people. The study will also reveal how social media will
affect buying decisions of the general public and the factors that motivate the
general public to purchase through social media platforms.

1.5 Limitations of the Study

• Respondent's bias towards the questions.

• The study is conducted within a limited time.

• Lack of face-to-face interaction with respondents.

• Primary data obtained may not be accurate to a great extent.

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 CHAPTER 2
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

5
 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is interactive digitally-mediated technologies that facilitate the
creation or sharing/exchange of information, ideas, career interests, and other
forms of expression via virtual communities and networks. Social media are used
to document memories; learn about and explore things; advertise oneself; and
form friendships along with the growth of ideas from the creation of blogs,
podcasts, videos, and gaming sites.

Some of the most popular social media websites, with over 100 million registered
users, include Facebook, TikTok, WeChat, Instagram, QZone, Weibo, Twitter,
Baidu Tieba, and LinkedIn. Depending on interpretation, other popular platforms
that are sometimes referred to as social media services include YouTube, QQ,
Quora, Telegram, WhatsApp, LINE, Snapchat, Pinterest, Vi ber, Reddit, Discord,
VK, Microsoft Teams, and more. Wikis are examples of collaborative content
creation.

2.2 DEFINITION OF SOCIAL MEDIA

 Merriam-Webster defines social media as "forms of electronic

communication (such as websites for social networking and micro-
blogging) through which users create online communities to share
information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos)."
 “Social media are primarily Internet-based tools for sharing and discussing
information among human beings.”- Wikipedia

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2.3 FEATURES OF SOCIAL MEDIA

While challenges to the definition of social media arise due to the broad variety
of stand-alone and built-in social media services currently available, there are
some common features:-

1. Social media are interactive Web 2.0 Internet-based applications.

2. User-generated content—such as text posts or comments, digital photos
or videos, and data generated through all online interactions—is the
lifeblood of social media.
3. Users create service-specific profiles for the website or app that are
designed and maintained by the social-media organization.
4. Social media facilitate the development of online social networks by
connecting a user's profile with those of other individuals or groups.

2.4 CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

1. Web space:- The website should provide the users with free web space to
upload content.
2. Web address:- The users are given a unique web address that becomes their
web identity. They can post and share all their content on this web address.
3. Build profiles:- Users are asked to enter personal details like name,
address, date of birth, school/college education, professional details etc. The
site then mines the personal data to connect individuals.
4. Connect with friends:- Users are encouraged to post personal and
professional updates about themselves. The site then becomes a platform to
connect friends and relatives.
5. Upload content in real-time:- Users are provided with the tools to post
content in real-time. This content can be text, images, audio, video or even
symbolic likes and dislikes. The last post comes first, giving the site
freshness.
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6. Enable conversations:- Members are given the right to comment on posts
made by friends and relatives. The conversations are a great social
connection.
7. Posts have time stamps:- All posts are time-stamped, making it easy to
follow posts.

2.5 TYPES OF SOCIAL MEDIA

1. BLOGS
A blog is a discussion or informational website published on the World
Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries
(posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order,
so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page.
Many blogs provide commentary on a particular subject or topic,
ranging from politics to sports. A typical blog combines text, digital
images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related
to its topic.
2. ENTERPRISE SOCIAL NETWORKING
Enterprise social networking focuses on the use of online social
networks or social relations among people who share business interests
and/or activities. Enterprise social networking is often a facility, which
is essentially used in "enterprise" (business/commercial) contexts. It
encompasses modifications to corporate intranets (referred to as social
intranets) and other classic software platforms used by large
companies to organize their communication, collaboration and other
aspects of their intranets.

3. FORUMS
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where
people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They
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 differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line
of text, and are at least temporarily archived. Forums have a specific
set of jargon associated with them; for example, a single conversation
is called a "thread", or topic.
4. MICROBLOGS
Microblogging is an online broadcast medium that exists as a specific
form of blogging. A micro-blog differs from a traditional blog in that
its content is typically smaller in both actual and aggregated file sizes.
Micro-blogs "allow users to exchange small elements of content such
as short sentences, individual images, or video links", which may be
the major reason for their popularity. These small messages are
sometimes called micro-posts.
5. PHOTO SHARING
Image sharing, or photo sharing, is the publishing or transfer of a user
and administrator equate digital photos online. Image-sharing
websites offer services such as uploading, hosting, managing and
sharing photos (publicly or privately). This function is provided
through both websites and applications that facilitate the upload and
display of images.
6. PRODUCTS/SERVICES REVIEW
A review site is a website on which reviews can be posted about
people, businesses, products, or services. These sites may use Web 2.0
techniques to gather reviews from site users or may employ
professional writers to author reviews on the topic of concern for the
site.
7. SOCIAL BOOKMARKING
Social bookmarking is an online service that allows users to add,
annotate, edit, and share bookmarks of web documents. Many online

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 bookmark management services have launched since 1996; Delicious,
founded in 2003, popularized the terms "social bookmarking" and
"tagging". Tagging is a significant feature of social bookmarking
systems, allowing users to organize their bookmarks and develop
shared vocabularies known as folksonomies.
8. SOCIAL GAMING
A social network game (sometimes simply referred to as a social
media game, social video game or online social game) is a type of
online game that is played through social networks. They typically
feature multiplayer gameplay mechanics. Social network games were
originally implemented as browser games.
9. SOCIAL NETWORKS
A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors
(such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other
social interactions between actors. The social network perspective
provides a set of methods for analyzing the structure of whole social
entities as well as a variety of theories explaining the patterns
observed in these structures. The study of these structures uses social
network analysis to identify local and global patterns, locate
influential entities, and examine network dynamics.

10. VIRTUAL WORLDS

A virtual world (also called a virtual space) is a computer-simulated

environment that may be populated by many users who can create a
personal avatar, and simultaneously and independently explore the
virtual world, participate in its activities and communicate with others.

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 These avatars can be textual, graphical representations, or live video
avatars with auditory and touch sensations.

2.6 ADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL MEDIA

1. You reach a large audience:- There are millions of people using

social media platforms. It’s a great opportunity for your business to

reach a large pool of people that are interested in your products or
services. The ability to reach large audiences is a huge advantage of
social media. It opens the door for your business to find more leads that
want your products or services.

2. You have a direct connection with your audience:- Social media

is one of the few marketing strategies that allow you to connect directly
with your audience. You know who is interested in your business
because they choose to follow your social media account.

3. You can create organic content:- The ability to post organic

content for free is an incredible benefit of social media for business.
This opens many opportunities for your company to connect with
valuable leads at no cost. It’s one of the reasons why companies love
using these platforms.
4. You have access to paid advertising services:- If you want to go
beyond organic posting, there is an option to run paid advertisements.
Each social platform offers its form of paid advertising.

5. You build your brand:- One advantage of social media marketing

is the ability to build your brand. When you connect with interested
leads, you expose them to your brand. The ability to post organic

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content for free allows you to build brand recognition repeatedly with
your audience. This builds brand loyalty.

6. You drive traffic to your website:- Social media is a great catalyst

for driving traffic to your business’s website. Most social media
platforms allow you to post content with a link to your website. When
you create compelling content, you can entice your audience to click on
the link. This directs them to your site, where they can learn more about
your business.

7. You can evaluate your performance:- The last advantage of social

media marketing is the ability to assess your performance. Whenever
you run a marketing campaign, you want to know how it’s performing.
Social media platforms make it easy for you to track your campaign to
see if you’re driving valuable results.

8. You can join social media networks for free:- One of the biggest
advantages of social media marketing is that it is entirely free to start.
None of the largest platforms has signup fees of any sort, so the only
investment you’ll need to make is in the form of time.

9. You can create viral content:- Perhaps the most unique advantage
of social media is the ability to get help from your followers. People
love to share things with their networks, from photos and recipes to
interesting articles and hot deals.

10.You can uncover valuable insights:- You can also use social media
to gain valuable information about your customers that will help you
make smarter business decisions. For example, social listening allows
you to discover how people feel about your company and brand. With

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 social listening, you can uncover conversations about your business and
answer questions about your offerings.

2.7 DISADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL MEDIA

1. You can receive negative feedback:- People use social media to post
content they love, but they also use it to share experiences they didn’t
love. If someone had a poor experience with your business, it opens a
door of opportunity for them to share their poor experience with
others.
2. You can open up the potential for embarrassment:- It’s easy for
posts to go viral on social media. People keep a close eye on the good
and the bad on social media. If you aren’t careful about the content
you post, you can end up embarrassing your company and getting
caught in an awkward situation.
3. You have to wait to see results:- When companies invest in
marketing strategies, they want to see immediate results. You want to
know that your strategies are working and that the investment is worth
your time.
With social media marketing, you don’t see immediate results.

2.8 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and all

the activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and
services, and how the consumer's emotions, attitudes and preferences affect
buying behaviour. The study of consumer behaviour formally investigates
individual qualities such as demographics, personality lifestyles, and behavioural
variables (such as usage rates, usage occasion, loyalty, brand advocacy, and
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willingness to provide referrals), in an attempt to understand people's wants and
consumption. Also investigated are the influences on the consumer, from groups
such as family, friends, sports, and reference groups, to society in general,
including brand influencers and opinion leaders.

The study of consumer behaviour assumes that consumers are actors in the
marketplace. The perspective of role theory assumes that consumers play various
roles in the marketplace. Starting from the information provider, from the user to
the payer and to the disposer, consumers play these roles in the decision process.
Consumer behaviour entails "all activities associated with the purchase, use and
disposal of goods and services, including the consumer's emotional, mental and
behavioural responses that precede or follow these activities.

2.9 DEFINITIONS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

 According to American Marketing Association, consumer behaviour can

be defined as "the dynamic interaction of effect and cognition, behaviour,
and environmental events by which human beings conduct the exchange
aspects of their lives."
 According to Engel, Blackwell, and Mansard, ‘consumer behaviour is
the actions and decision processes of people who purchase goods and
services for personal consumption’.
 According to Louden and Bitta, ‘consumer behaviour is the decision
process and physical activity, which individuals engage in when
evaluating, acquiring, using or disposing of goods and services’.

2.10 CHARACTERISTICS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

1. Consumer Behaviour involves Products, Services, Activities, and

Ideas: In the scope of consumer behaviour, not only products (like toilet
soaps), are included but also services (flying by an airliner), and activities

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 (getting children vaccinated for polio), and ideas (saying no to drugs). Thus
consumer behaviour rotates around offerings.
2. Consumer Behaviour involves more than Buying: Consumer behaviour
is not restricted only to buying the offering. It includes buying (acquiring
the offering), using, and disposing of. Usage has many connotations – first,
it has important symbolic implications for the consumer. Usage can also
influence other behaviours. Secondly, it may also influence other
behaviours. Not being satisfied with the product or services may lead to
consumer complaints and protests. Finally, consumer behaviour also
evaluates how consumers get rid of an offering, they previously acquired.
3. Consumer Behaviour is a Dynamic Process: Consumer Behaviour is
dynamic because the thinking, feelings, and actions of individual
consumers, targeted groups, and society at large are constantly changing.
The sequence of acquisition, consumption, and disposition can occur over
time in a dynamic sequence.
4. Consumer Behaviour involves Interactions among Many People:
Consumer behaviour does not mean the action of a single individual.
Interactions may take place among a group of friends, a few co-workers,
or an entire family. The individuals may take different roles.
5. Consumer Behaviour involves Many Decisions: Consumer behaviour
needs to understand whether (to acquire/use/ dispose of an offering), what
(to acquire/use/dispose of), why (to acquire/use/dispose of an offering or
not)), when (time), where (place), how (ways of acquiring, using, and
disposing of), how much (volume), how often (frequency), and how long
(till what time) consumers will buy, use or dispose of an offering.
6. Consumer Behaviour involves Exchanges: Consumer behaviour
involves exchanges between human beings. People give something of
value to receive something of value. Indeed, the role of marketing is to help
15
 society to create value through exchanges by formulating and
implementing marketing strategies.
2.11 NATURE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

1. Influenced by various factors:

The various factors that influence consumer behaviour are as follows:

a. Marketing factors such as product design, price, promotion, packaging,

positioning and distribution.
b. Personal factors such as age, gender, education and income level.
c. Psychological factors such as buying motives, perception of the product
and attitudes towards the product.
d. Situational factors such as physical surroundings at the time of purchase,
social surroundings and time factors.
e. Social factors such as social status, reference groups and family.
f. Cultural factors, such as religion, social class—caste and sub-castes.
2. Undergoes a constant change:
Consumer behaviour is not static. It changes over some time depending on
the nature of the products. For example, kids prefer colourful and fancy
footwear, but as they grow up as teenagers and young adults, they prefer
trendy footwear, and as middle-aged and senior citizens they prefer more
sober footwear. The change in buying behaviour may take place due to
several other factors such as an increase in income level, education level
and marketing factors.
3. Varies from consumer to consumer:
All consumers do not behave in the same manner. Different consumers
behave differently. The differences in consumer behaviour are due to
individual factors such as the nature of the consumers, lifestyle and culture.
For example, some consumers are technologies.

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4. Varies from region to region and country to county:
Consumer behaviour varies across states, regions and countries. For
example, the behaviour of the urban consumers is different from that of the
rural consumers. The rich rural consumers may think twice to spend on
luxuries despite having sufficient funds, whereas the urban consumers may
even take bank loans to buy luxury items such as cars and household
appliances.
5. Information on consumer behaviour is important to marketers:
Marketers need to have a good knowledge of consumer behaviour. They
need to study the various factors that influence the consumer behaviour
of their target customers.

6. Leads to purchase decision:

Positive consumer behaviour leads to a purchase decision. A consumer
may decide between buying a product based on different buying motives.
The purchase decision leads to higher demand, and the sales of the
marketers increase. Therefore, marketers need to influence consumer
behaviour to increase their purchases.
7. Varies from product to product:
Consumer behaviour is different for different products. Some consumers
may buy more quantity of certain items and very low or no quantity of
other items. For example, teenagers may spend heavily on products such
as cell phones and branded wear for snob appeal, but may not spend on
general and academic reading.
8. Improves standard of living:
The buying behaviour of the consumers may lead to a higher standard of
living. The more a person buys goods and services, the higher the standard
of living. But if a person spends less on goods and services, despite having
a good income, they deprive themselves of a higher standard of living.
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 9. Reflects status:
Consumer behaviour is not only influenced by the status of a consumer,
but it also reflects it. Consumers who own luxury cars, watches and other
items are considered to belong to a higher status. The luxury items also
give a sense of pride to the owners.

2.12 FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Marketers try to understand the actions of the consumers in the marketplace and
the underlying motives for such actions. These motives are the factors that
influence consumer behaviour. These are:

1. Psychological Factors: Human psychology plays a crucial role in designing

the consumer’s preferences and likes or dislikes for a particular product and
service. Some of the important psychological factors are:

• Motivation
• Perception
• Learning
• Attitudes and Beliefs

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2. Social Factors: Human beings live in a complex social environment
wherein they are surrounded by several people who have different buying
behaviours. Since man is a social animal who likes to be acceptable by all tries
to imitate socially acceptable behaviours. Hence, social factors influence the
buying behaviour of an individual to a great extent. Some of the social factors
are:

• Family
• Reference Groups
• Roles and status
3. Cultural Factors: It is believed that an individual learns a set of values,
perceptions, behaviours, and preferences at a very early stage of his childhood
from the people especially, the family and the other key institutions which were
around during his developmental stage. Thus, the behavioural patterns are
developed from the culture where he or she is brought up. Several cultural factors
are:

• Culture
• Subculture
• Social Class
4. Personal Factors: There are several factors personal to the individuals that
influence their buying decisions. Some of them are:

• Age
• Income
• Occupation
• Lifestyle
5. Economical Factors: Last but not least is the economic factors that have a
significant influence on the buying decision of an individual. These are:

• Personal Income
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 • Family Income
• Income Expectations
• Consumer Credit
• Liquid Assets of the Consumer
• Savings
2.13 TYPES OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
There are four main types of consumer behaviour:
1. Complex buying behaviour
This type of behaviour is encountered when consumers are buying an
expensive, infrequently bought product. They are highly involved in the
purchase process and consumers’ research before committing to investing.
Imagine buying a house or a car; these are an example of complex buying
behaviour.

2. Dissonance- reducing buying behaviour

The consumer is highly involved in the purchase process but has difficulties
determining the difference between brands. ‘Dissonance’ can occur when the
consumer worries that they will regret their choice. Imagine you are buying
a lawnmower. You will choose one based on price and convenience, but after
the purchase, you will seek confirmation that you’ve made the right choice.

3. Habitual buying behaviour

Habitual purchases are characterized by the fact that the consumer has very
little involvement in the product or brand category. Imagine grocery
shopping: you go to the store and buy your preferred type of bread. You are
exhibiting a habitual pattern, not strong brand loyalty.
4. Variety-seeking behaviour

In this situation, a consumer purchases a different product not because they

weren’t satisfied with the previous one, but because they seek variety. Like when
you are trying out new shower gel scents.

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2.14 IMPORTANCE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Production Policies

The study of consumer behaviour affects the production policies of the business.
Consumer behaviour discovers the needs, tastes, and choices of consumers, and
such discovery enables the business to plan and implement products according to
these specifications. Every business needs to be in constant touch with the change
in consumer behaviour so that necessary changes in products are made on time.

Price policy

Consumer behaviour is equally important in having a price policy. The buyer only
purchases your product, which is cheaper or has distinctive features than your
competitor's.

The decision regarding the channel of distribution

The goods and services which are sold solely based on low prices must have an
economical distribution channel. In this case, such products as T.V. sets, Air
conditioners, etc., must have different distribution channels. Thus, decision-
related on the channel of distribution are taken based on consumer behaviour.

The decision regarding sales promotion

Consumer behaviour plays a vital role in deciding sales promotion. It enables the
producer to motivate and encourage the consumer to make a purchase decision,
and the same is used in promotional campaigns to awaken the desire to purchase
the product.

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Exploiting marketing opportunities

The study of consumer behaviour helps a marketer identify the needs, wants,
desires and problems, etc. of the consumer. This information and knowledge help
the marketer exploit market opportunities and meet the challenges in the market.

Consumers do not always act or react predictably

The consumers compare the past to react to price levels as if price and quality
had positive relations. Today, the consumer gives less value for money but gives
more attention to superior features.

Highly diversifies consumer preferences

The consumer can shift from your product to another due to the unavailability of
choices. Thus, a proper understanding of consumer behaviour will help you
identify changes in consumers' preferences. It also helps in retaining and
sustaining the customer for a long time.

Implementing marketing concepts

All customers need to be given equal importance; therefore, implementing and

identifying the target market before production is important to deliver the desired
customer satisfaction.

22
 CHAPTER 3
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

23
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

1. M. Nick Halji (2014) The study was conducted to examine how social media
facilitate the social interaction of consumers and to understand the role of social
media in the development of e-commerce into social commerce. The study showed
that trust has a significant direct effect on the intention to buy.
2. Sunghun Chung, Animesh, Kunsoo Han and Alain Pinsonneault(2014) The
study was undertaken to examine how firms’ social media efforts—in terms of
intensity, richness, and responsiveness— influence consumer behaviour
(engagement and attention) and firm performance. They found that the richness and
responsiveness of a firm’s social media efforts are significantly associated with the
firm’s market performance.
3. Elenica Pjero and Donika Kёrcini (2015) The study focused on Social Media and
their ability to influence consumer behaviour worldwide and specifically in Albania
reality. The study showed the reasons for the use of Social Media and user attitudes
towards them and also revealed consumer behaviour.
4. Duangruthai Voramontri and Leslie Klieb (2019) The goal of the paper was to
research empirically the role of social media in consumers' decision-making process
for complex purchases - those characterized by significant brand differences, high
consumer involvement and risk, which are expensive and infrequent. The result
showed that social media usage influences consumer satisfaction in the stages of
information search and alternative evaluation, with satisfaction getting amplified as
the consumer moves along the process towards the final purchase decision and post-
purchase evaluation.
5. Fred Bronner and Robert de Hoog(2014) The study focused on the relationship
between the information people search regarding aspects or properties of choice
options and the types of social media used for finding it. They found that domain-
specific social media with limited opportunities for self-disclosure, like Tripadvisor,
are more frequently used for search-determined sub-decisions than for experience-
determined sub-decisions. For domain-independent social media with large
24
 opportunities for self-disclosure, like Twitter and Facebook, it was found that they
are used with equal frequency for both types of subdivisions.
6. Abdul Bashiru Jibril, Michael Adu Kwarteng, Miloslava Chovancova and
Michal Pilik(2019) This paper aims at examining the mediating role of online
based-brand community (OBBC) through social media platforms (SMP) given the
interplay of consumers’ purchasing attitude in a virtual space. The findings
generated through the partial least square and structural equation modelling (PLS-
SEM) showed that OBBC on the social media platform positively initiates
consumer-brand engagement and user-brand relationship.
7. Yong Wang, Shamim Chowdhury Ahmed, Shejung Deng and Haizhong
Wang(2019) The study examined the overall performance achievement of social
media marketing (SMM) in Bangladesh by determining whether social media is
successful in creating brand consciousness (i.e., brand preference, brand attachment,
brand association, and brand loyalty) toward online consumers, which in turn may
lead to buying commitment. They found strong evidence that SMM efforts
(SMMEs) of the local Bangladeshi fashion industry are successful in establishing
consumer attachment and preference.
8. Laurence Dessart, Cleopatra Veloutsou and Anna Morgan Thomas (2015) The
study aims to delineate the meaning, conceptual boundaries and dimensions of
consumer engagement within the context of online brand communities both in terms
of the engagement with the brand and the other members of the online brand
communities. It also explores the relationships of consumer engagement with other
concepts, suggesting antecedents of engagement. The study suggests that
individuals are engaging in online communities on social network platforms both
with other individuals and with brands. The study also identifies three key
engagement dimensions (cognition, affect and behaviours). The study further
suggests key drivers, one outcome and objects of consumer engagement in online
brand communities.
9. Ismail Erkan and Chris Evans (2016) the study aimed to examine the influence
of these conversations in social media on consumers' purchase intentions. The

25
 results confirm that quality, credibility, usefulness and adoption of information,
needs of information and attitude towards information are the key factors of
eWOM(electronic word of mouth) in social media that influence consumers’
purchase intentions.
10. L.E Taylor Trelford (2018) in a study of preference for Facebook versus
Instagram, it was revealed that the majority of participants prefer Facebook to
Instagram, although this finding was weaker in younger adults.
11. Daniela Baum, Martin Spann, Johann Fuller and Carina Thurridl (2019) The
goal of this study was to analyze the impact of a social media campaign on the
success of a new product introduction. The results of the study revealed that
campaign-related factors positively influence consumers’ attitudes toward the new
product, which in turn mediates the positive influence on purchase intention and
recommendation behaviour.
12. Albinali, E.A., Hamdan, A. (2021). The Implementation of Artificial Intelligence
in Social Media Marketing and Its Impact on Consumer Behavior: Evidence from
Bahrain. In: Alareeni, B., Hamdan, A., Elgedawy, I. (eds) The Importance of New
Technologies and Entrepreneurship in Business Development: In The Context of
Economic Diversity in Developing Countries. ICBT 2020. Lecture Notes in
Networks and Systems, vol 194. Springer, Cham.
13. Rosário, Albérico Travassos. (2022) "A Look at the New Online Consumer
Behavior on Social Media Platforms." Handbook of Research on the Platform
Economy and the Evolution of E-Commerce, edited by Myriam Ertz, IGI Global,
2022, pp. 344-369.
14. Dummanonda, Teeramedh, and Chompu Nuangjamnong.(2021) "The
influence of social media advertising value on consumer behaviour in renting
apartment rooms in Bangkok, Thailand." International Research E-Journal on
Business and Economics 6.1 (2021): 13-27.
15. Chaudhary, K., Alam, M., Al-Rakhami, M.S. et al.(2021) Machine learning-
based mathematical modelling for prediction of social media consumer behaviour
using big data analytics. J Big Data 8, 73 (2021).

26
16. Shu- Chaun Chu and Hsuan-Ting Chen's (2019) study examines how
consumers' corporate social responsibility (CSR) ‐related activities in social media
affect their responses to brands. The results suggested that consumers' CSR‐related
activities in social media significantly impacted eWOM intention and purchase
intention through enhancing identification with the brand and positive brand
attitude. This study provides important insights into consumer behaviour and CSR
by investigating social media, an important and emerging marketing platform.
Moreover, this study fills in the research gap about the association between
consumers' CSR‐related activities in social media and their responses to brands.
17. Ashika Anil, Dr Binod Sinh and Dr Vimal Bhatt (2020) The primary aim of this
research was to assess the impact of Social Media Marketing on consumer buying
behaviour towards apparel. The results showed a positive relationship between the
two. The study also reveals that Social Media Marketing is the most popular and
preferred form of digital marketing today and contributes to different theorists and
marketers who wish to work in a similar field of marketing.
18. Adnan Veysel Ertemel and Ahmad Ammoura (2016) The study has been
designed to answer the main question about the role of social media advertising on
consumer buying behaviour in a very active field which is the fashion retail industry,
then determine the differences that existed in this relation regarding the name of the
brands and consumer demographics factors. The findings showed weak relation
between social media advertising and consumer need recognition, no relation at all
with the search for information, strong relation with evaluating the alternatives, and
moderate relation for both buying decision and post-purchase behaviour. Moreover,
findings showed no changes in this relation regarding consumers’ age and education
level.
19. Mohammed Habes , Mahmoud Alghizzawi, Rifat Khalaf , Said A. Salloum
and Mazuri Abd. Ghani (2018) this paper aimed to highlight the impact of social
media on students in higher education universities and its impact on the student’s
academic performance. The study indicated that a large number of university

27
 students are using social media with more focus on Facebook, which in turn
negatively affects their academic results.
20. Walid Nabil Iblasi, Dr Dojanah M.K. Bader and Sulaiman Ahmad AlQreini
(2016) The purpose of this paper was to investigate the impact of Social Media as a
marketing tool on Purchasing Decisions; Social media becomes an important
communication tool that people use to connect to other people or organization. The
results showed that all members of the study sample with different percentages
spend a long time using social media websites which indicates that these websites
are a fertile and rich place to practice E-marketing and to influence the consumers
purchasing decisions. The study proved that there is an impact of using social media
websites as a marketing tool on the stages of purchasing decision (need recognition,
information search, alternatives evaluation, purchase decision and post-purchase
behaviour) which encourages going toward using social media in E-marketing.
21. Heba Sadek, Sarah Elwy and Mohamed Eldalla (2018) The purpose of this paper
is to examine the impact of firm-created and user-generated social media brand
communication on five consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) dimensions through
Facebook on the Egyptian fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. The
results of our paper showed that firm-created social media brand communication has
a significant positive direct impact on only four CBBE dimensions (brand
awareness, brand perceived quality, brand associations and brand trust). Whereas
user-generated social media brand communication has no significant impact on
brand perceived quality, brand loyalty, and brand trust. Additionally, it has been
found that user-generated social media brand communication harms brand
awareness and brand associations.
22. Namho Chung and Chulmo Koo (2015) This paper examines travel information
searches using social media as a new search behaviour from a value perspective.
The study revealed that the traveller’s perception of the value of social media is a
primary determinant of the traveller’s social media usage.
23. Rebecca Dolan, Gergely and Sharon Forbes(2018) This study investigates the
social media adoption and activities of 1173 wineries located in Germany, the USA,

28
 New Zealand and Australia. The results show that Facebook is the main platform
that wineries use to engage with consumers, but that the actual reasons social media
is used vary.
24. Xiang Chen, Haroon Qasim (2020) The study aims to examine the influence of
perceived social media marketing activities (SMMAs) on consumer‐based brand
equity and brand love and to analyze the mediating role of E‐brand experience
(EBE) between SMMAs and brand equity and between SMMAs and brand love.
The results of the research show that the positively perceived SMMAs have a great
potential to enhance consumer‐based brand equity as well as brand love.
Furthermore, it is found that the EBE serves as the significant mediating variable
between perceived SMMAs and brand love however, it does not serve as the
significant mediating variable between perceived SMMAs and brand equity.
25. Alireza Naser Sadrabadi, Mahyar Kamali Saraji and Mohammad
MonshiZadeh(2018) The study was conducted to evaluate the role of brand
ambassadors in Electronic Word of Mouth advertising on Instagram and the Novin
Charm brand. The study investigated dimensions of brand equity, brand awareness,
brand image and Electronic Word of Mouth advertising. According to research
results, the brand ambassador can affect electronic word-of-mouth advertising.
26. Benxiang Zeng and Rolf Gerritsen (2014) The study reviews and analyses the
research publications focusing on social media in tourism. The paper identifies what
we know about social media in tourism, and recommends a future research agenda
on the phenomenon. The study suggests that research on social media in tourism is
still in its infancy. It is critical to encourage a comprehensive investigation into the
influence and impact of social media (as part of tourism management/marketing
strategy) on all aspects of the tourism industry including local communities, and to
demonstrate the economic contribution of social media to the industry.
27. Areeba Toor, Mudassir Husnain and Talha Hussain (2017) The study
investigated the impact of social network marketing on consumer purchase intention
and how it is affected by the mediating role of consumer engagement. The findings
drawn from the study imply that marketers should respond to the rising importance.

29
28. Jill Nash(2019) The purpose of the study was to explore the levels social media
(SM) platforms are influencing the consumer decision-making process for
Generation X and Y consumers in the retail fashion environment. The findings
revealed that consumers use a variety of internal and external motivations that
influence their behaviours and perceptions of high-street fashion retailers, and these
factors are aided and facilitated by the use of SM. However, the research also
revealed that SM is not the only source that motivates their consumer decision-
making process, and with the proliferation of active users on SM, these platforms
are (and will continue to have) an ever more increasing impact on consumer
decision-making.
29. Vikas Gautam and Vikram Sharma(2017) The main objective of the study was
to investigate the direct and indirect impacts of social media marketing activities
(entertainment, customization, interaction, word of mouth, and trend) on consumers'
purchase intentions in luxury fashion brands. They found positive significant
impacts of social media marketing and customer relationships on consumers'
purchase intentions.
30. Emerson Wagner Mainardes and Marcelo Vieira Cardoso (2019) The research
evaluates the effect of the use of social media on consumer trust, loyalty and
purchase intention in physical stores. The results suggest that the use of social
media, company and user-generated communication positively affects trust in the
physical store. Trust, in turn, has a direct positive effect on consumer loyalty to the
store, and both trust and loyalty have positive impacts on a consumer’s purchase
intention.
31. Dr Manish Kumar Srivastava and Dr A.K. Tiwari (2020) The research was
conducted to study the various popular social media platforms and how it is being
used by consumers. They have also tried to study the impact of social media on
consumer behaviour. The study concludes that social media has become an integral
part of consumers' life and it has also affected their behavior to a great extent.
32. Ali M . Shah and Syed Zeeshan Zahoor(2019) The study aims to explore the
impact of social media on purchasing behaviour with mediating effect of customer

30
 relationships. The findings indicate that the majority of the respondents use social
media for purchasing purposes and there is a positive relation between social media
and customer relationship, as well as social media and purchasing behaviour, with
customer relationships fully mediating and enhancing the relationship between
social media and purchasing behavior. It has been also found that the majority of the
respondents use social media for purchasing purposes.
33. Doga Istanbulluoglu(2017) The study explores how the response times of multiple
companies' responses on social media influence consumer satisfaction. Specifically,
the first response after the complaint and the conclusive response that closed the
complaint file were investigated concerning consumers’ objectives for complaining.
The study reveals that both a quicker first response and a quicker conclusive
response lead to higher satisfaction with complaint handling.
34. Denni Arli (2017) The purpose of the study was to explore the impact of social
media's features (i.e., entertainment, usefulness, informativeness and irritation) on
consumers’ attitudes toward the brand. Subsequently, this study explores the impact
of this attitude on consumers’ brand loyalty, brand awareness and purchase
intention. The findings show that the entertainment feature has the strongest impact
on consumers’ attitudes toward the brand's social media use, followed by
informativeness, usefulness and finally, irritation. Consumers’ attitude toward a
brand's social media strongly influences consumer loyalty, awareness and purchase
intention.
35. V. Geetha, V. Samuel Rajkumar and L. Arunachalam (2018) The study was
conducted to identify social media marketing factors that induce students to buy
products in online shopping. The results revealed that advertising has a significant
relation to students' purchase intention in online shopping by using various social
media sites.
36. Clair McClure and Yoo-Kyoung Seock's (2020) study examined the influence of
consumers' brand familiarity and the information quality of social media content on
their involvement with a brand on the brand's social media pages. Also studied were
the influence of involvement on consumers' attitudes towards the brand's social

31
 media page and the effect of their attitude on future purchase intention from the
brand. The results indicated that both brand familiarity and information quality had
significant effects on a consumer's involvement with a brand on its social media
page, yet the brand's social media content had a greater influence on a consumer's
involvement with the social media page.
37. Man Lai Cheung, Guilherme Pires and Philip J. Rosenberger (2020) This paper
investigates the impact of social media marketing elements, namely entertainment,
customisation, interaction, electronic word-of-mouth (EWOM) and trendiness, on
consumer–brand engagement and brand knowledge. The results reveal that
interaction, electronic word-of-mouth and trendiness are the key elements directly
influencing consumer brand engagement, then strengthening brand awareness and
brand knowledge.
38. Xiaolei Yu, Chunlin Yuan (2019) The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors
driving consumers’ social media brand experience and its effect on customer equity
and customer lifetime value (CLV). The results indicate that utilitarian and hedonic
values influence brand experience, and that brand experience directly influences
brand attachment, brand trust and customer equity drivers. There is a positive
relationship between brand attachment and trust. As a customer equity driver, brand
equity has a positive effect on CLV.
39. Constanza Bianchi, Lynda Andrews(2018) The purpose of this paper is to address
this gap and extend previous research by examining factors that influence
consumers’ attitudes and intentions to engage with retail brands through Facebook,
and ultimately purchase products and services. The findings provide an
understanding of the main drivers of consumer-brand engagement that can lead to
purchase intentions. Results show that consumers’ attitudes toward engaging with
retail brands through Facebook are influenced by peer communication,
compatibility and credibility, and that attitude has a strong influence on intentions
toward this behaviour. Furthermore, there is a strong relationship between intentions
to engage and the likelihood of purchasing through a retail brand’s Facebook page.

32
40. Kirti Arekar, Rinku Jain, Surender Kumar and Shalaka K. Ayarekar (2018)
This study explains a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of social media sites
on different parameters of consumer buying behaviour. It estimated the relationship
between several independent variables such as composite buying behaviour, usual
buying behaviour, and variety -seeking buying behaviour, disagreement buying
behaviour, impetuous buying behaviour and consumer buying behaviour as
dependent variables in the electronic appliances market. The major findings of the
study indicate there is a positive effect of social media
on variety-seeking buying behaviour, disagreement buying behaviour, usual buying
behaviour, composite buying behaviour and impetuous buying behaviour.

33
 CHAPTER 4
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

34
Research methodology is a process used to collect information and data to make
decisions. The methodology may include publication research, interviews,
surveys and other research techniques.

4.1 DATA COLLECTION

The data is collected from both primary and secondary sources.

4.1.1 Primary Data

The source of primary data is through a questionnaire based on the objectives.

4.1.2 Secondary Data

The secondary data were collected from books, journals, websites and other
published sources.

4.2 SAMPLE DESIGN

A self-designed questionnaire was developed and given to the general public.

The questionnaire is related to the impact of social media on consumer behaviour.

4.2.1 Sample Population

The population of the study is the general public.

4.2.2 Sample Size

The sample size of the study is 121.

35
4.2.3 Sampling Technique

The technique used for selecting the sample is non-random or non-probability

sampling techniques. Convenient sampling is used for collecting data in this
study.

4.3 TOOL FOR ANALYSIS

A major tool used in the analysis process has been graphs and charts for
interpreting the data collected.

4.4 QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Name:
2. Age Group:
• Under 18
• 18-25
• 25-40 • 40 & above
3. Gender:
• Male
• Female
• Other
4. Occupational status:
• Student
• Employed
• Unemployed
5. Do you use social media?
• Yes

36
 • No
6. You use social media for
• Shopping
• Chatting
• Information
• Make friends
• Other
7. Which of the following type of social media are you using daily?
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Whatsapp
• Snap chat
• Other
8. The time you spent on social media per day
• 0 hour
• 1-5 hours
• 5-10 hours
• 10 hours or more
9. Do you pay attention to advertisements on social media websites?
• Yes
• No
• Maybe
10. Do you trust social media?
• Yes
• No
11. Does social media influence your buying decision?
• Yes
• No
• Maybe
12. How much of the purchase do you feel was influenced by social media?
37
 • Below 25%
• 25%-50%
• 50%-75%
• 75%-100%
13. What is your preferred source of information for buying decisions?
• Company’ website
• Social media
• Friends & relatives
• Advertisements
• Other
14. Which type of social media influences your purchase decision?
• Instagram
• Facebook
• You Tube
• Twitter
• Blog Post
• Other
15. In your opinion which of these factors drives your attention in social
media?
• The frequent exposure of products/advertisements
• Visual elements of advertisements & products
• How important a product is to me
• How much a product is liked, commented & shared by others
• Other
16. In your opinion which of these factors motivate you to shop through
social media platforms
• Low price
• Saves time
• Quality of the product

38
 • Easy to make payment
• Offers & discounts on social media
• Other
17. Which of the following online shopping sites are mostly preferred by
you?
• Flipkart
• Myntra
• Amazon. in
• Other
18. In your opinion what are the advantages of social media compared to
traditional media
• There is more information and easier access
• Information reliability
• They save me time
• Better communication with other consumers and business
• Other
19. Do you think that with social media sites, you can seek out
product/service information actively?
• Strongly agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Strongly disagree
20. Do you agree that, for instance, advertisements/blog posts/ user reviews
on social media influence you to try new brands/ products/ services?
• Strongly agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Strongly disagree
39
21. Do you think that promotions, discounts and deals on social media
influence consumer behaviour?
• Strongly agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Strongly disagree
22. Do you agree that you use the information available on social media if
you have uncertainties regarding a purchase
• Strongly agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Strongly disagree
23. Do you agree that social media has provided more effective platforms
for new products/services/brands to draw consumer’s attention
• Strongly agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Strongly disagree
24. Do you agree with the statement that social media increased and
enhanced my knowledge regarding different products and services
• Strongly agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Strongly disagree

40
 CHAPTER 5
DATA ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION

41
 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Table No.: 5.1 Age Group

Age Group Under 18 18-25 25-40 40 above

No. of
9 103 5 4
respondents

Figure No: 5.1

Interpretation

Out of the total respondents in this survey all the participants most of the
respondents belong to the age group 25-40. It can be interpreted that young people
are more prone to participate in the survey activities.

42
 Table No: 5.2 Usage of social media

Usage of social media Yes No

No. of. respondents 120 1

Figure No: 5.2

Interpretation

Out of the total respondents in this survey, more than 99% of the participants
use social media. It can be interpreted that social media has a great influence
on the day-to-day life of people.

43
 Table No: 5.3 Purpose of usage of social media
Purpose of
Make
usage of Shopping Chatting Information
Friends
social media

No. of.
12 47 54 8
respondents

Figure No:5.3

Interpretation

Most of the respondents use social media for information. Along with this
they also use social media for chatting. Only a few use social media for
shopping and making friends.

44
 Table No:5.4 Type of social media used daily

Type of social
Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Snapchat
media used

No. of.
6 70 39 6
respondents

Figure No:5.4

Interpretation

Out of 121 respondents, the majority of them are using Instagram daily. Some of
them are also using WhatsApp. Only a few are using Facebook and Snapchat
daily.

45
 Table No:5.5 Time Spent on social media per day
Time spent
on social 10 hours or
0 hour 1-5 hour 5-10 hour
media per more
day

No. of.
2 103 13 3
respondents

Figure No: 5.5

Interpretation

Out of the total respondents in this survey, the majority of them spent time on
social 1-5 hours per day. Some of them spent 5-10 hours per day. Only a few
respondents spent 10 hours or more on social media. Only one respondent is not
spending time on social media daily. It can be interpreted that social media has
become part of our daily life.

46
 Table No:5.6 Attention Paid to Advertisements on social media

Attention paid to
advertisements Yes No Maybe
on social media

No. of.
38 33 50
respondents

Figure No: 5.6

Interpretation

Out of the total people who participated we can understand that most of the
respondents may be paying attention to advertisements on social media.
Some of them are not paying attention to social media. Some of them pay
attention to advertisements on social media.

47
 Table No:5.7 Trust on social media

Trust in social media Yes No

No. of. respondents 76 45

Figure No:5.7

Interpretation

Most of the respondents trust social media. Still, 37.2% don’t trust social media.

48
Table No: 5.8 Influence of social media on the buying decision

Influence of social
media on the Yes No Maybe
buying decision

No. of.
54 24 43
respondents

Figure No: 5.8

Interpretation

Out of 121 respondents, the buying decision of 54 respondents is influenced

by social media. Buying decisions of 24 respondents are not influenced by
social media. Buying decision of 43 respondents may be influenced by
social media.

49
 Table No:5.9 percentage of purchases influenced by social media

Percentage of
purchase
influenced by Below 25% 25%-50% 50%-75% 75%-100%
social media

No. of.
42 45 24 10
respondents

Figure No:5.9

Interpretation

From the above figure and table, we can understand that 25%-50% of the
purchases of 45 respondents are influenced by social media. Along with this
50%-75% of purchases by 24 respondents and below 25% of purchases by 42
respondents are influenced by social media. It is interpreted that 75%-100% of
the purchase of 10 of the respondents are influenced by social media.

50
 Table No:5.10 Preferred source of information for buying decision

Preferred
source of
Company’s Friends &
information Social media Advertisements
website relatives
for buying
decision

No. of.
47 29 22 23
respondents

Figure No:5.10

Interpretation

The company’s website is the most preferred source of information for buying
decisions and the next most preferred source is social media. The least
preferred source of information for buying decisions is friends and relatives and
advertisements.

51
 Table No: 5.11 Type of social media that influence the purchase decision
Type of social
media that
influences Instagram Facebook You Tube Twitter Blog Post
purchase
decision

No. of.
71 7 31 2 10
respondents

Figure No: 5.11

Interpretation

The purchase decision of most of the respondents is influenced by Instagram

and YouTube. Only a few of them are influenced by Facebook, blog posts
and Twitter.

52
 Figure No:5.12 Factors that drive the attention in social media
Factors that The frequent Visual How How a
drive exposure of elements of important a product
product/ is liked
attention in advertisements advertisements product is to
commented
social media & products me & shared by
others
No .of.
respondents 11 27 62 21

Figure No: 5.12

Interpretation

The importance of a product to consumers is the most important factor that

drives attention in social media. Along with this exposure to
products/advertisements, visual elements of products/advertisements, likes
and comments shared by others are also factors that drive attention in social
media.

53
Figure No:5.13 Factors that motivate consumers to Shop through social
media

Factors that
Offers &
motivate Low Easy to
Quality of discounts
consumers to Saves time make
price the product on social
shop through payment
media
social media

No. of.
12 28 35 2 43
respondents

Figure No:5.13

Interpretation

From the above table and figure, we can understand that most of the
respondents are motivated by offers & discounts in social media to shop
through social media. Along with this, they are also motivated by factors like
a low price, saving time, and quality of the product. Only of few of them are
motivated by the factor of easy to make payment.

54
 Figure No:5.14 Mostly Preferred online shopping sites
Mostly
preferred
online Flipkart Myntra Amazon. in Instagram
shopping
sites
No. of.
22 21 73 5
respondents

Figure No: 5.14

Interpretation

Amazon. in is the online shopping site that is mostly preferred and the next
most preferred app is Flipkart. The least preferred app is Instagram.

55
 Figure No: 5.15 Advantages of social media compared to traditional
media

Advantages of Better
There is more
social media communication
information Information They save me
compared to with other
and easier reliability time
traditional consumers and
access
media business

No. of.
51 21 36 13
respondents

Figure No: 5.15

Interpretation

Most of the respondents have the opinion that there is more information &
easier access to social media compared to traditional media. Some of them
have the opinion that social media saves time & has information reliability
compared to traditional media. Only a few of them have the opinion that
social media has better communication with other consumers and
businesses compared to traditional media.

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 Figure: 5.16 Ability to seek out products/services information

Statement SA A N DA SDA

I think that with social media sites, I

can seek out product/services 14 57 45 1 4
information actively

Figure No: 5.16

Interpretation

More than 50 respondents agree that with social media sites, they can
seek out product/service information actively. 45 of them have neutral
opinions. Only 1 respondent disagrees with the statement.

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 Figure No:5.17 Influence of Advertisements on social media for
trying new brands

Statement SA A N DA SDA

I agree with the fact that

advertisements/blogpost/user reviews on
20 55 39 6 1
social media influence to try new
brands/products/services

Figure No: 5.17

Interpretation

Out of the total respondents, 55 respondents agree with the fact that
advertisements/posts/reviews on social media influence to try new
brands/products/services. 39 people don’t have any particular or strong
opinion. 20 people strongly agree with this fact and few of them disagree
with this fact.

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Figure No:5.18 Influence of Promotions and Discounts in social media
on consumer behaviour

Statement SA A N DA SDA
I think that promotions,
discounts and deals on social
29 62 27 2 1
media influence consumer
behaviour

Figure No: 5.18

Interpretation

More than 60 respondents agree that promotions and discounts on social

media influence consumer behaviour. 27 of them have neutral opinions. Only
2 respondents disagree and one of them strongly disagrees.

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 Table No:5.19 Use of information on social media in case of
uncertainties regarding a purchase

Statement SA A N DA SDA
I agree with the fact that information
available on social media is used in case 13 56 45 6 1
of uncertainties regarding a purchase

Figure No: 5.19

Interpretation

More than 50 respondents agree with the fact that information available on
social media is used in case of uncertainties regarding a purchase. More
than 40 respondents don’t have any particular or strong opinion. Only 13
respondents strongly agree with this fact and only 1 respondent strongly
disagree with this fact.

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 Table No: 5.20 Introduction of effective platforms by social media to
gain customer attention

Statement SA A N DA SDA

I agree with the fact that social media has

31 66 22 2 0
provided more effective platforms to
new products to gain consumer’s
attention

Figure No:5.20

Interpretation

More than 60 respondents agree with the fact that social media has
provided more effective platforms for new products to gain consumers’
attention. 22 respondents have a neutral opinion. Only 2 respondents
disagree and none of them strongly disagree with this fact.

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Table No:5.21 Enhancement of knowledge regarding products with the
help of social media

Statement SA A N DA SDA
I agree with the statement that
social media had increased 26 65 23 5 2
knowledge regarding different
products and services

Figure No:5.21

Interpretation

More than 60 respondents agree with the statement that social media
increased knowledge regarding different products and services. More
than 20 respondents don’t have any particular or strong opinion. 26
respondents strongly agree with the statement and few of them disagree
with the statement.

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 CHAPTER 6
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND
CONCLUSION

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 FINDINGS

1. More than 99% of the respondents are using social media.

2. Most of the respondents use social media for information.
3. The majority of the respondents are using Instagram daily.
4. About 1-5 hours are spent on social media by the majority of respondents
per day.
5. Many of them are paying attention to advertisements on social media
websites.
6. The majority of respondents have trust in social media.
7. Buying decisions of the majority of respondents are influenced by social
media.
8. About 25% - 50% of purchases of most of them are influenced by social
media.
9. The company’s website is the most preferred source of information for
buying decisions of many of the respondents.
10. The purchase decision of most of the respondents is influenced by
Instagram.
11. The importance of a product to the consumer is the factor that drives the
attention of many respondents on social media.
12. The quality of the product is the factor that motivates many of them to
shop through social media.
13. Amazon. in is the online shopping site that is mostly preferred by the
majority of respondents.

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14. Many of the respondents have an opinion that social media has more
information and easier access compared to traditional media
15. Many of the respondents agree that through social media sites, they can
seek out product/service information actively.
16. More than 50% of respondents agree that advertisements & reviews in
social media influence them to try new brands.
17. More than half of the respondents are influenced by promotions, discounts
and deals on social media.
18. Many of them have agreeable opinions regarding the use of information
on social media in case of uncertainties in a purchase.
19. Many of them agree that social media has provided more effective
platforms for new products to draw customers’ attention.
20. The majority of respondents agree that social media has enhanced their
knowledge regarding different products and services.

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 SUGGESTIONS

• Advertisements on social media should be made more attractive so that

more people will be paying attention towards it.

• Social media can provide more information about products and services,
which will improve the knowledge of the consumer.

• Information provided on social media should be correct and reliable, which

will increase the trust of the people.

• More offers & discounts should be made on products on social media so

that more people will be motivated to shop through social media platforms.

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 CONCLUSION

This study shows that social media has a great influence on the behaviour of
consumers. Discounts and deals on social media likes and comments about the
product, social media influencers, and reviews about the product in social media
are the factors that influence consumer behaviour. It is also clear from the study
that social media has many advantages compared to traditional media.
Consumers are attracted towards the products by watching advertisements on
social media. It is found that the quality of the product, as well as offers &
discounts in social media, is the factor that motivates consumers to shop through
social media platforms. According to the survey, Amazon is the most preferred
online shopping site. Most people are using information available on social media
in case of uncertainties regarding a product. It can be concluded that social media
has the power to influence potential consumers from the start until the stage of
the purchase and beyond as well. It also enhanced the knowledge of consumers
regarding the products and services. There is no doubt that the importance of
social media will increase in future.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

68
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Keith A. Quesenberry, “ Social Media Strategy”- Third Edition

2. Claudiu v. Dimofte, Curtis P. Haugtvedt, Richard F. Yalch, “ Consumer
Psychology in a Social Media World”
3. Nripendra P. Rana , Emma L. Slade, Ganesh P. Slade, “ Digital and Social
Media Marketing”
4. Barry Connolly, “ Digital Trust”
5. Barbara Cruz, “ Purpose of Social Media”
6. Mufti Aydin, “ Social Media Marketing’s Impact on Brand Perception”
7. Gohar F. Khan, “ Creating Value with Social Media Analytics”
8. Brittany Hennessy, “ Influencer”
9. Philip Graves, “ Consumerology”
10. Nathalie Nahai, “ Webs of Influence”- 2nd Edition
11. Jerry C. Olson, “Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy”
12. www. clootrack.com
13. https://www.easymedia.in
14. https://en.wikipedia.org
15. https://www.webfx.com
16. https://www.shareyouressays.com
17. https://businessjargons.com
18. https://www.omniconvert.com

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