Social Media Influencers And Purchase Intention For Motor Vehicles In South Africa

Abstract

The effect of social media influencers on purchase intention for motor vehicles in South Africa. The motor-vehicle industry is one of the largest sectors in South Africa and the most dominant in the manufacturing industry. In 2022, the sector’s contribution accounted for 4.9% to the gross domestic product (GDP) making it a very consistent player in manufacturing. This industry is dominated by familiar and legacy brands such as Toyota, Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, Suzuki, and Renault to mention a few. The sector has recently seen new entrants namely Chinese and Korean brands enter the market and challenging the traditional players. This has prompted marketing practitioners to employ new innovative strategies such as using Social Media Influencers to shape consumer perception about their brands. Social Media Influencers are individuals who position themselves as experts in a particular field and they share their product knowledge with their online audience on social media channels. Therefore, the research study investigated the effects of Social Media Influencers particularly their expertise, credibility, trustworthiness, popularity, likability, and attractiveness on purchase intention for motor-vehicles in South Africa. The researcher followed a descriptive research design, where a research survey was randomly distributed to over 1000 post graduate students and working professionals. The findings revealed that a Social Media Influencer’s expertise, trustworthiness, and likability significantly affect consumer purchase intention when shopping for motor vehicles. Three of the six proposed hypotheses were supported by the research results. The study makes a significant contribution to academic literature as it shows the important role played by Social Media Influencers and how Motor-vehicle companies can partner with them to promote the brands and improve loyalty.