Impact of online marketing activities on consumers' online purchase intentions in the Australian retail sector

Impact of online marketing activities on consumers' online purchase intentions in the Australian retail sector

Business platforms worldwide use online marketing tools extensively to market their goods and services. Most marketers and advertisers use this 21st century innovation as their standard operating procedure, as it is known to augment customer purchase intention. Online marketing platforms offer unparalleled development and enablement. Due to the widespread use of online marketing platform networks among internet users, marketing efforts have a higher influence on consumers' purchase intentions. However, understanding how motivators and demotivators play a role in the online purchase cycle lacks research. One of the top business sectors in the world that uses online marketing heavily for customer communication is the retail sector. This study thus examines the effect of online marketing on the purchase intention of online retail shoppers in Australia and investigates how online marketing platforms such as mobile marketing, social media marketing, and electronic word-of-mouth affect the relationship between online marketing and purchase intention. The study also encompasses various major determinants of online marketing as moderators, such as brand association, distrust, privacy issues, brand persona, celebrity endorsement and ad excessiveness. Based on pragmatic research philosophy and a mixed method approach, this study utilises a sequential explanatory mixed methods design and is conducted in two stages, primarily through a survey questionnaire, and then interviews are used to gather qualitative data in the second stage. The initial stage enables the investigation of aspects of online marketing activities through quantitative analysis while the second stage enables the explanation of the findings based on qualitative analysis of interview sessions. The quantitative part of this research is based on structural equation modelling (SEM). For quantitative analysis 666 survey questionnaires were handed out and only 614 filled questionnaires were received back. For qualitative interviews, a sample of 52 participants was chosen. The results indicate that brand association, privacy issues, celebrity endorsement, and brand persona have a moderating effect on the purchase intention of consumers. Overall, as per the analysis's results, it can be inferred that both mobile and social media channels play an important role in affecting consumers' purchase intentions, and that they tend to shop from both mediums. The results indicate that brand persona, brand association and celebrity endorsements significantly affect the purchase intention of consumers. Online shoppers in Australia tend to associate with popular brands by electronic word of mouth (eWOM). Moreover, eWOM also influences celebrity endorsement. As per the analysis it is imperative for retail owners in Australia to engage performance-driven retail marketing campaigns based on online marketing activities. To extract purchasing decisions, which is necessary to strengthen brand customer relationships, extrinsic and intrinsic motivators must be considered when designing online marketing activities.

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