Vishweshwar Education Society’s

Dr. Mar Theophilus Institute of

Management Studies

PROJECT REPORT ON
GENERAL MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONAL

“IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER BUYING

BEHAVIOR”

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT

ALL INDIA COUNCIL FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION – NEW DELHI

Submitted by Mr. Siddhesh Manoj Patkar

ROLL NO. 2022022

2022-2024

Under The Guidance of Prof. Lalit Bhole

1
 Vishweshwar Education Society’s

Dr. Mar Theophilus Institute

of Management Studies

PROJECT REPORT ON
GENERAL MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONAL

“IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER BUYING

BEHAVIOR”

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT

ALL INDIA COUNCIL FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION – NEW DELHI

Submitted by Mr. Siddhesh Manoj Patkar

ROLL NO. 2022022

2022-2024

Under The Guidance of Prof. Lalit Bhole

2
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this project report submitted by me in partial fulfillment of

the requirement for the award of Post Graduate Diploma in Management
(PGDM), of the All-India Council for Technical Education – New Delhi is a
bonafide work undertaken by me and it has not been submitted to any other
University or institution for the award of any other degree or diploma certificate
or published any time before.

Name: Siddhesh Manoj Patkar

Roll No.: 2022022

Signature of the student

3
 Vishweshwar Education Society’s
Dr. Mar Theophilus Institute of
Management Studies

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project entitled ‘Impact of Social Media on

Consumer Buying Behavior’ submitted by Mr. Siddhesh Manoj Patkar in
partial fulfilment for the award of Master of Management Studies of Mumbai
University is his original work and does not form any part of the projects
undertaken previously.

Date:

------------------------------ ---------------------------
DR. SUSEN VARGHESE PROF. LALIT BHOLE
DIRECTOR

4
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project has been a great learning experience for me. I take this
opportunity to thank Prof. Lalit Bhole, my internal project guides whose
valuable guidance & suggestions made this project possible. I am extremely
thankful to him for his support. He has encouraged me and channelized my
enthusiasm effectively.

I express my heart-felt gratitude towards my parents, siblings and all those

friends who have willingly and with utmost commitment helped me during the
course of my project work.

I also express my profound gratitude to Dr. SUSY KURIAKOSE, In charge

Director of Indira Institute of Business Management for giving me the
opportunity to work on the projects and broaden my knowledge and
experience.

I would like to thank all the professors and the staff of Indira Institute of
Business Management especially the library staff who were very helpful in
providing books and articles I needed for my project.

Last but not the least, I am thankful to all those who indirectly extended their
co-operation and invaluable support to me.

5
6
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The impact of social media on consumer buying behaviour project delves into how platforms
like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter influence the purchasing decisions of individuals. This
project also explores the contemporary marketing landscape in India. We conducted this
research utilizing an online questionnaire to understand the impact of social media on
consumer purchasing behaviour. Consumers are information seeker and they collect
information before buying any product. The presentation tools use for this research is pie
charts and bar graphs. Advertisements also have great influence on consumers and many
people buy their products through online. The main objective of this research is to find out
how much customers know about social media and factors influencing changing buying
behavior of consumers. More details about findings are given in this project.

7
 Contents

Chapter Description Page No.

No.
Declaration 3
Certificate 4
Acknowledgement 5
Executive Summery 6
List of Tables 20-29
List of Charts/Graphs 20-30

I INTRODUCTION 8-11
 Introduction 9
 Statement of the Problem 10
 Objectives 10
 Scope of the Study 10
 Limitations of the Study 10-11

II REVIEW OF LITERATURE 12-15

III METHODOLOGY 16-17

 Data collection 17
 Primary Data 17
 Secondary Data 17
 Sampling Design 17
 Sampling Population 17
17
 Sampling Size
17
 Statistical tools used
18

IV DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION 19-30

V FINDINGS 31-32

VI SUGGESTIONS 33-34

VII CONCLUSION 35-36

BIBLIOGRAPHY 37-38

APPENDIX 39-42

8
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

9
 I. 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 other people or organizations. The latest trend in
marketing is the introduction of social media.
Now-a-days social media had become very strong tool in influencing buying decisions of
consumer. Social media has the power to influence potential customers from the start until
the stage of a purchase and beyond as well. There are four ways in which social media
influences consumer behavior. 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, (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 behavior 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 behavior. 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 behavior. Social media which includes the content, visuals, promotions, discounts and
influencers has the ability to influence the buying behavior of consumers.

In the modern era the using of social networking websites has extensively effect on the
consumers in various ways. There are many online networking sites which affect consumer
behavior. They are Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube etc. Now-a-days 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
behavior among person who mostly use social media websites. Consumer referred to here is
general public. The study has also undertaken to analyze how social media will affect buying
decisions of general public and the factors that motivate general public to shop through social
media platforms.

10
 II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

In today's world people start their day with smart phones and they are easily attracted towards
recent updates and ads in social media accounts. Now-a-days social media platforms like
WhatsApp, Instagram, You Tube, Facebook etc. influence consumer behavior a lot and also
make purchase very easy through online. Hence the aim of this study is to examine how
social media will influence consumer behavior of general public and also analyze the factors
affecting the general public to purchase through social media platforms.

III. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

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

1. To analyze how have social media channels affected buying behavior of consumers.
2. To identify the factors that motivate consumers to shop through social media platforms.
3. To find out which is the best social media preferred by customers.

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

V. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:

11
1. Social media marketing is not a new aspect and it is always changing and evolving.
There are many journals/articles on this topic but very few links social media with
changes in consumer behavior. The study is presented in a general manner.
2. As cultures and values change from country to country, consumer’s buying behavior
may also vary. A study involving many countries should be conducted on this topic
for more accurate and generalized results.

3. As the study was limited to a specific time period. Thus, it cannot be used to analyze
behavior over a period of time as the timing is not guaranteed to be representative.

12
 CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

13
REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

Dr. Manish Kumar Srivastava and Dr. A.K. Tiwari (2020):

The research was conducted to study the various popular social media platforms and the ways
in which it is being used by the consumers. They have also tried to study the impact of social
media on the consumer behavior. 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.

Clair McClure and Yoo-Kyoung Seock (2020):

The study examined the influence of consumer's 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 consumer's attitude towards the brand's
social 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.

Man Lai Cheung, Guilherme Pires and Philip J. Rosenberger (2020):

This paper investigates the impact of social-media marketing elements, namely
entertainment, customization, 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.

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, and 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.

14
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. 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’ attitude
toward the new product, which in turn mediates the positive influence on purchase intention
and recommendation behavior.

Shu- Chaun Chu and Hsuan-Ting Chen (2019):

The 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 on consumer behavior 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.

Jill Nash (2019):

The purpose of the study was to explore the levels social media (SM) platforms are
influencing 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 behaviors 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-makings.

15
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 of 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.

16
 CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY

17
 I. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

Research methodology is a process used to collect information and data for the purpose of
making
decisions. The methodology may include publication research, interviews, surveys and other
research techniques.

II. DATA COLLECTION

The data is collected from both primary and secondary sources.

III. PRIMARY DATA

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

IV. SECONDARY DATA

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

V. SAMPLE DESIGN

A self- designed questionnaire was developed and given to general public. The questionnaire
is related to
impact of social media on consumer behavior.

VI. SAMPLE POPULATION

The population of the study is general public of Navi Mumbai & Thane.

VII. SAMPLE SIZE

The sample size of the study is 61.

18
VIII. TOOL FOR ANALYSIS

Major tool used in the analysis process has been graphs and chart for interpreting the data
collected.

19
 CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

20
 I. INTRODUCTION:

In this chapter the analysis and interpretation of the study on impact of social media on
consumers
buying behavior based on the survey by a sample of 61 respondents selected from Navi
Mumbai & Thane city.

Table no.1:
Usage of social media YES NO
No. of Respondents 61 0

Figure no.1:

Usage of Social Media

YES
NO

100%

Interpretation:
Out of total respondents in this survey all the participants use social media. It can be
interpreted that social media has a great influence in the day-to-day life of the people.

Table no.2:
Purpose of Shopping Chatting Information Make Friends
Usage of social
media

21
 No. of 7 22 29 3
Respondents

Figure no. 2:

Purpose of usage of Social

Media
Shopping
11% Chatting
5% Information
Make Friends

48% 36%

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

Table no.3:
Types of social Facebook WhatsApp Instagram Snapchat
media used
No. of 5 15 40 1
Respondents

Figure no.3:

22
 Types of social media used

8% Facebook
2% WhatsApp
Instagram
25% Snapchat

65%

Interpretation:
Out of 61 respondents, majority of them are using WhatsApp daily. Some of them are also
using Instagram. Only few are using Facebook and snapchat daily.

Table no.4:
Time spent on 0 hour 1-5 hour 5-10 hour 10 hours or
social media per more
day
No. of 1 42 18 0
Respondents

Time spent on social media per day

2%
0 hour
1-5 hour
30% 5-10 hour
10 hours or more

69%

Figure no.4:

23
Interpretation:
Out of total respondents in this survey, majority of them spent time on social 1-5 hours per
day. Some of them spent 5-10 hours per day. None of them 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.

Table no.5:
Attention paid to YES NO MAYBE
advertisement on social
media

No. of Respondents 26 18 17

Figure no.5:

Attention paid on advertisement on

social media

Yes
No
28% Maybe
43%

30%

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

24
Table no.6:
Trust on social media Yes No
No. of respondents 40 21

Figure no.6:

Trust on social media

YES
34% NO

66%

Interpretation:
Most of the respondents trust on social media. Still 34.4% don't have trust on social media.

Table no.7:
Influence of social YES NO MAYBE
media on buying
decision
No. of Respondents 31 13 17

Figure no.7:

25
 Influence of social media on buying
decision

YES
28% NO
MAYBE
51%

21%

Interpretation:
Out of 61 respondents, the buying decision of 31 respondents are influenced by social media.
Buying decision of 13 respondents are not influenced by social media. Buying decision of 17
respondents may be influenced by social media.

Table no.8:
Percentage of Below 25% 25%-50% 50%-75% 75%-100%
purchase
influenced by
social media
No. of 14 34 13 0
Respondents

Figure no.8:

26
 Percentage of purchase influenced
by social media

Below 25%
25%-50%
21% 23%
50%-75%
75%-100%

56%

Interpretation:
From the above figure and table, we can understand that 25%-50% of purchase of 34
respondents are influenced by social media. Along with this 50%-75% of 46 purchases of 13
respondents and below 25% of purchase of 14 respondents are influenced by social media. It
is interpreted that 75%-100% of purchase of none of the respondents are influenced by social
media.

Table no.9:
Types of Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter Blog Post
social media
that influence
purchase
decision
Respondents 30 4 24 0 3

Figure no.9:

27
 Types of social media that influence
purchase decision
Instagram
Facebook
5% YouTube
Twitter
39% 49% Blog Post

7%

Interpretation:
Purchase decision of most of the respondents are influenced by Instagram and You Tube.
Only few of them are influenced by Facebook and blog post. None of them are influenced by
twitter.

Table no.10:
Factors that The Frequent Visual elements of How How a
drive exposure of advertisements/product important product is
attention in product/advertisement s a product liked
social media is to me commented
& shared by
others
No. of 12 13 26 10
respondents

Figure no.10:

28
 Factors that drive attention in social media
The Frequent exposure of
product/advertisement
9% Visual elements of ad-
10% vertisements/products
How important a product is to me
How a product is liked commented
23% 59% & shared by others

Interpretation:
The importance of a product to consumer is the most important factor that drives attention in
social media. Along with this exposure of products/advertisements, visual elements of
products/advertisements, likes and comments shared by others are also factors that drives
attention in social media.

Table no.11:
Factors that Low Price Save Time Quality of Easy to make Offers &
motivate the Product Payment Discounts in
consumers to social media
shop through
social media
No. of 11 12 11 5 22
Respondents

Figure no.11:

29
 Factors that motivate consumers to shop
through social media

Low Price
9% Save Time
10% Quality of the Product
Easy to make payment
Offers & Discounts in social media
23% 59%

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 low price, saves time, quality of the product. Only
of few of them are motivated by the factor easy to make payment.

Table no.12:
Mostly preferred Flipkart Amazon Myntra
online shopping sites
No. of Respondents 36 23 2

Figure no.12:

30
 Mostly preferred online shopping
sites

Amazon
11%
Flipkart
Myntra
25%
64%

Interpretation:
Flipkart is the online shopping site that is mostly preferred and next mostly preferred app is
amazon.in. The least preferred app is Myntra.

31
CHAPTER 5
FINDINGS

32
FINDINGS:

1. All the respondents are using social media.

2. Most of the respondents use social media for information.
3. Majority of the respondents are using WhatsApp daily.
4. About 1-5 hours are spent on social media by majority of respondents per day.
5. Many of them are paying attention to advertisement on social media websites.
6. Majority of respondents have trust on social media.
7. Buying decision of majority of respondents are influenced by social media.
8. About 25% 50% of purchase of most of them are influenced by social media.
9. Friends & relatives are the most preferred source of information for buying decision
of many of the respondents.
10. The importance of a product to the consumer is the factor that drives attention of
many of respondents in social media.
11. Offers & discounts in social media is the factor that motivate many of them to shop
through social media.
Flipkart is the online shopping site that is mostly preferred by majority of
respondents.
12. Half of the respondents are influenced by promotions, discounts and deals on social
media.
13. Many of them have neutral opinion regarding the use of information on social media
in case of uncertainties in a purchase.

33
 CHAPTER 6
SUGGESTIONS

34
SUGGESTIONS:

I. Advertisements on social media should be made more attractive so that more people
will be paying attention towards it.

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

III. Information provided on social media should be correct and reliable, which will
increase the trust of the people.

IV. More offers & discounts should be made on products in social media, so that more
people will be motivated to shop through social media platforms.

35
CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION

36
CONCLUSION:

This study shows that social media has a great influence in the behavior of the consumers.
Discounts and deals on social media, likes and comments about the product, social media
influencers, reviews about the product in social media are the factors that influence consumer
behavior. 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
in social media. It is found that offers & discounts in social media is the factor that motivate
consumers to shop through social media platforms. According to the survey Flipkart is most
preferred online shopping site. Most of the 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 start until the stage of a purchase and
beyond as well. It also enhanced the knowledge of consumers regarding the products and
services. There is no doubt that, importance of social media will increase in future.

37
BIBLOGRAPHY

38
BIBLOGRAPHY:

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. Mufit 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, "Consumer ology"
10. Nathalie Nahai, " Webs of Influence"- 2nd Edition
11. Jerry C. Olson, "Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Strategy"

1. www.clootrack.com
2. https://www.easymedia.in
3. https://en.wikipedia.org
4. https://www.webfx.com
5. https://www.shareyouressays.com
6. https://businessjargons.com
7. https://www.omniconvert.com

39
APPENDIX

40
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
 No

6. You use social media for?

 Shopping
 Chatting
 Information
 Make friends
 Other

41
7. Which of the following type of social media are you using on a daily basis?
 Facebook
 Instagram
 WhatsApp
 Snap chat
 Other

8. 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 advertisement 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. In your opinion which of these factors drives your attention in social media?
 The frequent exposure of products/advertisements

42
  Visual elements of advertisements & products
 How important a product is to me
 How much a product is liked, commented & shared by others
 Other

13. In your opinion which of these factors motivate you to shop through social media
platforms
 Low price
 Saves time
 Quality of the product
 Easy to make payment
 Offers & discounts in social media
 Other

14. Which of the following online shopping sites are mostly preferred by you?
 Flipkart
 Myntra
 Amazon.in
 Other

43