SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCE AND FAST FASHION TREND:

A BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS

INTRODUCTION
As social networking sites have become more popular, customer interactions and
communication have become increasingly crucial. Online platform activities allow companies
to grow indirectly through communities that are engaged by customers, or actively on brand
pages and advertisements. (Wang, 2021). Businesses employ celebrities to draw attention to
their brands, but superstars in the mainstream are not the only ones who can inspire adoration
from audiences these days. Influencers are a new class of celebrities that use social media
platforms like blogs, vlogs, and tweets to change their audience's mind (Freberg et al., 2011).
Traditional celebrities and influencers at social media are similar. The main difference is that
influencers come across as more trustworthy and personable (Abidin, 2016).
Influencers have existed since the seventeenth century, despite the fact that this may appear
implausible. Influencer theory originally came into being in the 1760s. Josiah Westwood, a
potter, made Queen Charlotte a tea set and advertised himself as the “Potter of her Majesty."
With this title and the support of the royal family, his brand became well-known, earning him
the moniker "father of modern marketing." (2021). Visit https://findyourinfluence.com/.
Budgets for influencer marketing have increased by over 100% in recent years.2019; Lou and
Yuan; Jin et al. For instance, 63% of businesses raised their spending for influencer
marketing in 2020, up 59% from the year before, according to Martínez-López et al. (2020).
Instagram was selected for this study's research setting because, as a result of influencer
marketing, it has become the primary platform for sponsored content (Haenlein et al., 2020;
Sashittal and Jassawalla, 2020). According to studies on social media influencer sponsorship
by Pozharliev et al. (2022) and Jin and Ryu (2020), Instagram is now the most popular
medium for brand promotion. However, the commercial focus these sponsorships place on
Instagram postings causes consumers to question the veracity of influencer, claims (Boerman
and Müller, 2022). Apart from Jin et al. (2019) and Martínez-Lopez et al. (2020), not many
studies have looked at how sponsorship disclosure affects influencer credibility in the context
of visual-based social media platforms.
Influential social media users have an impact on Generation Z consumers' purchase decisions
(Krol and Zdonek, 2020; Parker and Igielnik, 2020). Despite making up 26% of world's
population overall, Gen Z has the ability to control the consumer market (Statista, 2022b).
Young people's intention to acquire luxury apparel is significantly influenced by opinion
leaders, peers, and celebrities (Sun et al., 2021). Previous research indicates that the public
views influencers as more trustworthy, useful, and likeable than traditional celebrities
(Schouten et al., 2020). 76% of individuals worldwide follow at least one social media
influencer (Thomala, 2021), while 26% of the general public and 44% of young people said
they have made purchases based on suggestions from influencers (Williams, 2020).
The boundaries of this study have issues, just like any other scientific study. First, a method
called non-probability sampling was used to select the research participants, who were mostly
female members of Generation Z, within the context of a particular country (Sri Lanka).
Djafarova and Rushworth (2017) report that 61.2% of female members of Generation Z in the
research sample are very active on Instagram, regularly following at least one social media
influencer. However, additional research in cross-national contexts with a random sample
representative of all Instagram users could strengthen the validity and dependability of the
study's conclusions. Second, additional characteristics like the personality or persuasiveness
of social media influencers and their past brand attitudes could be included in future studies
to observe how these variables expand.
The results of the study theoretically expand on earlier research on influencer marketing in a
number of significant ways.A significant amount of study on the topic has focused on the
characteristics of social media influencers, despite the growing popularity of influencer
marketing (Jin et al., 2019; Kim and Kim, 2021). (De Veirman et al., 2017; Lou and Yuan,
2019; Martínez-Lopez et al., 2020).
Globally, fast fashion is taking over the fashion business. Fast fashion is defined as low-
quality clothing that is produced at a low cost [1]. People, especially those in the younger
age, have a tendency to purchase these clothes frequently in a variety of styles and trends due
to their inexpensive cost. Several well-known fast-fashion labels include Zara, Gap, Uniqlo,
Mango, Shein, H&M, Forever 21, and so forth. More apparel is produced by these well-
known brands at lower costs than by luxury fashion labels. Between 2000 and 2014, the
average Filipino consumer purchased 60% more apparel from these overseas brands [2].
A large number of consumers, especially those in the younger generation, are ignorant of the
harm that fast fashion causes to the environment. Because of this, a variety of awareness
initiatives have been launched by governments and other sustainability advocates. Some
nations are moving toward sustainable and environmentally friendly consumption on a global
scale.For instance, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been leading the way in
implementing plans to accomplish the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [8]. In
order to encourage sustainable production and consumption, the Philippine government also
initiates new initiatives and programs [9]. How these initiatives would impact Filipino
consumers is still unknown.

Hence the Objectives of the Research are:

1. Influencers on social media and their effect on consumer purchasing decisions.
2. How do attitudes towards fast fashion, social media use, and sustainability awareness affect
purchase intentions among consumers.
3. Analyze the relationship between followers' inclination to search for product-related
information and their perception of the influencer's reliability and credibility..

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