Influence of e-marketing on purchase intention among customers in the information technology industry in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Retailers in the information technology (IT) sector are well-positioned to benefit from the expansion of social media platforms in order to increase their bottom line. They can leverage customers feedback and reactions towards tailor-making their social media activities to align to customers’ preferences. To ensure business survival, brand positioning and profitability, retail business have to rethink marketing. E-Marketing and specifically Social media marketing is an option to delve into, accrue its potential benefits to ensure retail business margins are guaranteed. This thesis investigated how clients in Nairobi City County, Kenya's IT sector react to purchase intention in relation to e-marketing. Addressed questions by the study were: how does online advertisement influence customers' purchase intentions in the IT industry in Nairobi County, Kenya? how do online communities influence purchase intentions in the IT industry in Nairobi County, Kenya? and how does word-of-mouth (E-WOM) influence purchase intention in the IT industry in Nairobi County, Kenya?The theoretical framework of the study was based on the theories of planned behaviour and social capital theory. Since the Social Capital Theory postulates a relationship between attitude towards behavioural intention and subjective norms, it served as the theoretical foundation for this study's analysis of E-Wom and online communities. The constructs of the theory of planned behavior which are—intention, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived control—aided in the operationalization of the variables. This study concentrated on Nairobi's IT retail customers who made up the unit of analysis. With the assumption that the population was homogenous, area of survey limited within Nairobi County and the number of consumers unknown, Slovin’s formula was used to determine the study population of 384. A total of 212 respondents fully completed the questionnaires and returned translating to a response rate of 55% which is acceptable with this kind of research. Primary data was collected with the use of a carefully designed questionnaires. In the pilot project, 38 respondents were used to examine content and construct validity as well as reliability as determined by Cronbach's alpha. The data that was analysed with SPSS version 29 is presented using tables, charts, figures, and models, among other visual aids. It was found that respondents demonstrated a significant reliance on social media in their purchase decisions thus a linear relationship between aspects of social media marketing(online advertisements, online communities and E-WOM) and purchase behaviour as the dependent variable. Brand visibility, consumer engagement and consequently purchase behaviour can be enhanced when retailers leverage social media marketing strategies. The study was limited on scope by looking at only three strategies of social media marketing. Future researchers can delve into other strategies for example search engine optimization( SEO), email marketing and mobile marketing. Additionally, a look at using not only questionnaires as characterised by this study can be considered by future researchers as well as ensuring a high response rate unlike this study’s 55%. Future research can also focus on whether consumer demographics moderate how social media marketing influences purchase behaviour in addition to exploring emerging issues scuh as artificial intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality(VR) and Augmented Reality(AR). In a nutshell, for IT retailers to accrue wholesome advantaged from social media marketing in increasing their consumers’ purchase behaviour, there is need for leveraging online advertisements, fostering customer engagement in online communities and harnessing the power of E-WOM to keep themselves in the customers’ conversation.