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The Influence of Social Media Vloggers on Gen Z Consumers’ Decision-Making Process: A
Perspective from a Developing Country
Jannatul Ferdous, Bangladesh University of Textiles; Md Arif Iqbal, California State Polytechnic
University, Pomona; Jin Su, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Effat Hasan Mahdi &
Mahin Akter, Bangladesh University of Textiles
Keywords: Social media, Influencer, Vlogger, Gen Z, Decision making, Developing country
Introduction and Purpose: Social media influencers have been a novel driving force impacting
consumers’ purchase decision-making in recent times (Mumuni et al., 2019). As young consumers
are the major users of social media, their purchasing behavior toward fashion items (apparel, food,
travel, etc.) is mostly influenced by these influencers. Although recent researchers have been
studying social media’s impact on young consumers’ shopping behavior, research related to this
topic from a developing country’s perspective is very limited (Hill et al., 2020). This study aims to
understand the perception of Gen Z consumers about the influence of social media vloggers on their
purchase decision-making process of fashion items (apparel, food, travel, etc.) in the context of a
developing country (Bangladesh). More than one-third of the Bangladeshi population were 18-37
years old in 2020, and young consumers in Bangladesh represent a powerful fashion consumer
segment (Su et al., 2023).
Literature Review and Theoretical Grounding: Researchers have examined how certain
characteristics of recommendation contents influence consumers’ decision-making process (Yang et
al., 2023). Nowadays, there is a growing trend among young consumers to check social media for
reviews of a product’s quality before making a purchase (Mumuni et al., 2019). Some studies showed
how social media vloggers with high popularity are able to influence consumers (Hill et al., 2020).
For example, the study of Cheng et al. (2023) demonstrated how travel vlogs influence tourists’
decisions to select a destination. Briliana et al. (2020) examined the influence of food vlogs on
consumers’ selection of food.
In this study, the five-stage consumer decision-making process (Kotler & Keller, 2006) was
used to understand, analyze, and explain the perception of Gen Z consumers about the influence of
social media vloggers on their purchase decision-making process of fashion items. The five-stage
decision process model is a popular tool used by marketers to understand their consumers’ purchase
behavior. According to this model, a consumer’s purchase behavior is a forward-moving process that
starts well before the actual purchase and continues after the purchase. There are five distinct steps in
the process, including need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase
decision, and post-purchase evaluation (Kotler & Keller, 2006).
Methodology: A qualitative research design was adopted, and an in-depth interview was employed
to collect data from Gen Z consumers in Bangladesh. Following a purposive sample, a snowball
technique was used to recruit the participants. A total of 15 interviews were conducted and the
sample size was established on the basis of data saturation (Hodges, 2011). Interviews were
performed in person, over the phone, and through online chat and meeting facilities (Zoom,
WhatsApp, etc.). Seven of the participants were men and eight were women, and their ages ranged
from 22 to 25. The participants were asked several open-ended questions, such as How are the
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ITAA Proceedings, #80 –
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vloggers influencing the people’s decision-making power? Will you consider vlogs as a major source
of information that motivates you to make a purchase decision for fashion items? Why? and Would
you please share your experience in any purchase where you took the suggestions of vlog(s)? After
collecting the data, the authors transcribed all the interviews and then collectively analyzed the
interview texts (Braun & Clarke, 2006). All the authors of this study worked together to analyze the
data, create codes, identify themes, and write up the results (Willis J., 2007).
Findings, Discussion, and Conclusions: The five themes that emerged from the data are relevant to
the five-stage decision process model (Figure 1). It is evident that social media vloggers influence
Bangladeshi Gen Z consumers at different stages of their fashion purchase decision-making process.
Theme #1: Creating Consumer’s Need or Desire. Participants of this study admitted that they spent
a significant amount of time on social media, which actually created their need for fashion items and,
in some cases, led to their impulse purchases. One participant said, “We have a tendency to go search
for everything on the internet, so the first impression what we have over something, most of the time
it’s coming from the vlogs” (P3). The participants also shared their concerns about creating false
needs by the vloggers. As participant P2 said, “For me, obviously, I’m getting influenced, but there
are people who are getting obsessed with the way vloggers behave, eat, style, and all, so for them it is
creating false needs.”
Theme #2: Creative and Informative Content. Consumers considered social media vlogs as an
information-gathering tool very next to Google. One participant stated, “It depends on what topic I’m
searching; if I would need a video for this, then obviously I’ll go for vlog but if the info can get from
Google, then I’ll go for Google” (P12). Another participant said, “I go for Google, and if details are
needed and vlogs are available, then why not?” (P2). Even vlogs are being used as the replacement
for direct conversation with other people, as participant P14 stated, “Yeah, as I’m getting help from
vlogs and I won’t need to go and ask anyone else about certain things, so I definitely consider vlogs
as a supporting friend.”
Theme #3: Trust Issue. With the increasing number of vloggers, the participants did have trust issues
in evaluating alternative options, especially with random vloggers. They were also concerned about
the paid reviews which are not declared in the vlogs. As participant P14 said, “When I compare
options, I am concerned like there are a lot of paid reviews.”
Theme #4: Influential Role in Decision Making. The data clearly showed how consumers are
subconsciously dependent on the influential opinions of the vloggers, which ultimately affects their
actual purchase decision. One participant explained, “I think this works automatically, like when I’ll
find someone having a better knowledge about something, I’ll naturally be influenced by him/her”
(P15). Another participant stated, “Even personally if I see any vlog referring to a product, that’s the
impression which will stick with me till I try that” (P10).
Theme #5: Interaction. Consumers can provide feedback and post comments on the vlogs, which
ultimately helps others. As one participant stated, “When I purchased something following the
2023 Proceedings
Baltimore, Maryland
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in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
ITAA Proceedings, #80 –
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opinion of some vloggers, I got both positive and negative results actually, sometimes I got
misguided but sometimes it saved me from being misguided” (P7).
This study contributes to the literature by exploring Bangladesh’s Gen Z consumers’
perceptions of vlogs related to their purchase decision-making. The five themes identified are clearly
relevant to Kotler and Keller (2006)’s five stages of the consumer decision-making process. This
study can help vloggers and content creators to know how they can improve their content by
knowing Gen Z consumers’ perceptions about them. Future research may employ a quantitative
approach to examine the impacts of vloggers on Gen Z consumers in Bangladesh, such as how
vloggers impact Gen Z consumers’ sustainable consumption behavior.
References
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