Social Media Celebrity Endorsements Effect on Generation Z's Purchase Intentions

Abstract

<p>Although the Generation Z cohort is larger than Generation Y, limited marketing research has been conducted on best practices in marketing to this generation. Limited studies have examined celebrity endorsements through social media and their effect on actual purchases. This study attempts to determine whether celebrity endorsements on social media effects the buying behavior of Generation Z through an online survey developed to measure consumer's trustworthiness of celebrity endorsements, brand purchase intentions and purchase intentions for a celebrity endorsed product on social media.. The findings revealed Generation Z is following celebrities on social media and buying products they endorse on social media. These results are similar to Wei and Lu (2013) who found that a celebrity endorsement online evoked more action from the consumer than did online customer reviews. Therefore, celebrity endorsements on social media have been found an effective form of marketing to evoke action/purchase decisions from Generation Z.</p>