Role of beauty influencers in the digital age: A study of the influence of purchase intention among Gen Z consumers in USA

Research Proposal
Technology Park Malaysia
BM070-3-2-BRSM
Business Research Method
Title:
Role of beauty influencers in the digital age: A study of the influence of
purchase intention among gen z consumers in USA

PREPARED BY : Samia Erum

TP NUMBER : TP057601
INTAKE CODE : UC2F2008BM-EBUS
HAND IN DATE : 26 MAY 2021
LECTURER : DR. JUGINDAR SINGH A/L KARTAR SINGH
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Role of beauty influencers in the digital age: A study of the influence of purchase intention among Gen Z consumers in USA

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction 3
1.1 Background 3
1.2 Problem Statement 4
1.3 Research Questions 4
1.4 Objectives 5
1.5 Significance of study 5
1.6 Scope 5
1.7 Limitations 5
1.8 Key Terms 6
Chapter 2 Literature Review 6
2.1 Hypothesis Testing 6
Chapter 3 Research Methodology 9
4.0 References 9
5.0 Appendix 11

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Role of beauty influencers in the digital age: A study of the influence of purchase intention among Gen Z consumers in USA

Chapter 1 Introduction
The impact of beauty influencers' social media ads was investigated in this study. The effect
of Celebrity Credibility, which includes Attractiveness, Trustworthiness, and Expertise as
well as Persuasive Capabilities and Reputation, on Purchase Intention was investigated. In
this study, 100 young women from Gen Z who lived in Washington DC and followed social
media beauty influencers who recommended cosmetic brands were asked to participate. The
Multiple Linear Regression analysis was used in this study as a quantitative tool. Just two
independent variables correlated with the beauty influencer, namely Persuasive Capabilities
and Attractiveness, had a substantially positive impact on Purchase Intention, according to
the findings of this report. The rest of the factors, on the other hand, were not important. Both
independent variables had a substantial effect on Purchase Intention at the same time. Finally,
all independent variables explained 72.4 percent of the dependent variable, with the
remainder explained by variables not investigated in this study. (Widyanto, 2020)
1.0 Background
In terms of influencer scope, beauty was the fourth-largest industry in the United States in
2014. These internet influencers, labeled "Beauty Gurus," use their makeup skills to partner
for cosmetic brands, earning big bucks and the brand awareness. Influencers have increased
in importance as a result of the growth of social media and their ability to engage with their
consumer peers. These self-made social media figures are critical to brand storytelling, and
their thoughts and perspectives can be more persuasive than tweets directly from beauty
brands. As a result of this realization, advertisers and marketing experts are looking at
opportunities to use these emerging influencers to change their digital brand discourse. This
research would delve into the world of beauty social influencers, primarily looking at the
brand Maybelline, to provide further insight into this field. With more than $86 million in
sales at the end of January 2016, Maybelline is the world's best-selling cosmetics firm and the
leader on the Nielsen "Top 10s" Health and Beauty chart. Maybelline's social media approach
involves the use of social influencers and YouTube advertorials to spread trends and brands
in the social room. This is an excellent case study for determining the traits of effective
cosmetic brand influencers. This paper would examine the influential traits of social
influencers and how they are used to benefit Maybelline's branding. (Forbes, 2016)
Companies normally permit social media influencers, consisting of bloggers with lots of fans
to their social media pages, to function as brand ambassadors primarily based totally on the
tenets of influencer advertising. Users additionally view social media influencers' messages
as extra truthful and persuasive, as proven by eighty-two percentage of fans' surveys, which
display that consumers are much more likely to obey their desired influencers' advice.
Because in their amiability in setting up a rapport with customers, social media influencers
are taken into consideration extra reliable, truthful, and in a position than the celebrity
endorsement advertising technique particularly for organizations that concentrate on Gen Z
purchasers. The aim of this study is to better understand the concept of social media
influencers by looking at how they affect customer's purchasing intentions. Purchase
intention is a commonly used marketing instrument that can be used to forecast revenue and
market share by estimating the success of a marketing campaign. This research uses five
constructs to measure the efficacy of social media influencers: expertise, trustworthiness,
attractiveness, reputation, persuasion skill on consumer’s purchasing intention. Young
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Role of beauty influencers in the digital age: A study of the influence of purchase intention among Gen Z consumers in USA

people, such as Gen Z’s, constantly search out influencers with which they can connect, and
the greater the influencers' Persuasive Capability, the more often they would be able to affect
the young target market's purchasing conduct. To put it another way, the more these
influencers can convince their fans, the more likely they are to buy the products. (Lim, 2017)
2.0 Problem Statement
Social media has become the preferred medium for businesses looking to disseminate product
information, generate public opinion, and gain followers due to its widespread availability
and use. To that end, social media influencers serve as a dynamic third-party endorser who
helps a brand's message reach a global audience. Social media advertisements attract
consumers who have a positive attitude toward social media credibility. The purpose of this
research is to look into the role of beauty influencers in influencing the purchase intentions of
Gen Z consumers in the United States. The study also uses a systematic review to assess the
different methods used by these influencers to influence customers. According to the study's
findings, these influencers have a large influence on customer perception and attitude because
they are more capable of communicating to a niche segment. This new technological means
of influencers pave the way for new competitive strength for agencies in engaging customers
and creating brand awareness when compared to traditional advertising strategies.
In order to fully explore this topic and produce highly comprehensive results, the data in this
study should primarily be based on a larger sample size. Because the respondents were
mostly teenagers with limited financial resources, their backgrounds were also a stumbling
block. As a result, they might not be an accurate predictor of purchasing power. To produce a
set of more credible findings, future studies should include a broader range of millennial
consumers, as well as possibly other generation cohorts. Furthermore, respondents'
questionnaire responses were largely based on previous purchasing experiences.
Respondents' attitudes and purchase intentions, for example, can be motivated through
preceding positive or poor buying experiences. This may want to bring about an excessive
opportunity of bias in questionnaire responses, which could have an enormous effect on the
records collected. To get rid of potential bias that might impact respondents' questionnaire
answers, future studies may want to use a fictitious emblem or social media influencers.
Communication, as the first interplay among influencers and purchasers withinside the value
creation process, may be brought as some other assemble to the model. To sell their
products, entrepreneurs have to dedicate a substantial quantity of time to undertake a genuine
and real-time talk with customers. Customized promotional content preferably resonates with
the target market even as additionally growing the rate of reach.
3.0 Research Questions
1. Does expertise influence the purchase intention among Gen Z consumers in USA?
2. Does trustworthiness influence the purchase intention among Gen Z consumers in
USA?
3. Does attractiveness influence the purchase intention among Gen Z consumers in
USA?
4. Does reputation influence the purchase intention among Gen Z consumers in USA?
5. Do persuasive capabilities influence the purchase intention among Gen Z consumers
in USA?

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Role of beauty influencers in the digital age: A study of the influence of purchase intention among Gen Z consumers in USA

4.0 Objectives
• To examine the relationship between expertise and purchase intention of Gen Z
consumers in USA.
• To examine the relationship between trustworthiness and purchase intention of Gen Z
consumers in USA.
• To examine the relationship between attractiveness and purchase intention of Gen Z
consumers in USA.
• To examine the relationship between reputation and purchase intention of Gen Z
consumers in USA.
• To examine the relationship between persuasive capabilities and purchase intention of
Gen Z consumers in USA.
5.0 Significance of study
The researcher used the social learning theory from the marketing sector to improve the
interpretation of the relationship between the efficacy of social media influencers and
customer purchasing intention in this analysis. Consumers' buying intentions were found to
be positively influenced by compelling social media influencers. The social learning theory
(Bandura 1963) argues that behavior is learned from the environment by an empirical
learning mechanism, which explains why the results in this research were so compelling. In
this analysis, six variables were used to support the social learning theory: expertise,
trustworthiness, attractiveness, reputation, persuasion abilities, and purchasing intention. As a
result, the results of this research confirmed the findings of a mediating role between the
efficacy of social media influencers and customer purchasing intention. From a managerial
standpoint, this analysis provided advertisers with some realistic considerations when
choosing a social media influencer for a specific campaign in order to achieve industry
comparative advantages. Selecting a social media influencer who can draw a focused
audience and captivate them with an impressive promotional campaign is the marketer's
prerogative and discretion. Consumer behavior has the largest impact size on purchasing
intention, according to the data report. As a result, advertisers should focus on finding the
right social media influencer to improve buyer attitudes and affect purchasing intent. (Lim,
2017)
6.0 Scope
This is a quantitative research that focuses on beauty influencers impact on the purchase
intentions of Gen Z consumers. The research was conducted in USA. This involves
questionnaires on Google forms with Likert scales ranging from 1 to 7. This study compile
with the researchers started January 3rd up to March 2021. Gen Z female consumers were the
respondents of this research. It is stated here in this research paper about consumers decision
of purchase after following and subscribing to beauty influencers.
7.0 Limitations
Female Maybeline cosmetics customers born between 1994 and 2001, Generation Z who
either followed or subscribed to beauty influencers who promote the brand on social media
are among the limitations. They all happen to settle in Washington, DC, the United States'
capital. Purposive sampling was used, and a total of 100 people responded.

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Role of beauty influencers in the digital age: A study of the influence of purchase intention among Gen Z consumers in USA

8.0 Definition of Key Terms

Expertise – Expertise is characterized as elite, pinnacle, or extremely high levels of success
on a specific mission or in a specific domain. An expertise is anyone who has attained this
level of knowledge. (Bourne, L. E., Kole, J. A. and Healy, A. F.)
Trustworthiness – Trustworthiness is characterized as the believability of the researcher's
findings, i.e. all that the researcher has done in planning, carrying out and documenting the
study to make the results reliable. (THE RESEARCH DESIGN, 2021)
Attractiveness – Attractiveness is characterized as a necessary cue for achieving the dual
effects of endorser status and physical attractiveness. (Widyanto, H.A. and Agusti, C.R.,
2020)
Reputation – A person's social status in society is determined by their reputation. It's a test of
his or her strength. A individual with a strong reputation is certainly favoured for better jobs
and leadership positions. (The Importance and Psychology of Reputation In Human Lives,
2018)
Persuasive Capabilities – Persuasive Capability is the method of persuading someone else to
do something or commit to a proposal. (Persuasion Skills: Definition and Examples, 2021)
Purchase Intention - The seriousness of one's intention to partake in a certain activity or make
the decision to buy a good or service is referred to as purchase intention. (What is Purchase
Intention | IGI Global, 2021)

Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.0 Hypothesis Testing

(Widyanto, 2020)
From the above table, with a significance value of .333, which reaches the significance level
of .050, there is no substantially positive influence between Expertise and Purchase Intention.
To put it another way, the vector of Expertise has no bearing on the respondents' Purchase
Intention in this report. This observation is contrary with previous research, Chaovalit (2014),
There was a substantial positive association between expertise and purchasing intent,
according to this study. This result indicates that the respondents in this sample did not regard
beauty influencers as definite market experts who could affect their purchase intent. They
should have followed real make-up artists on social media instead of makeup influencers if
they wished to hear more about the makeup product from a true beauty expert.
Furthermore, Purchase Intention is influenced by Reputation. This result has a significance
level of.145, which is higher than the threshold of.050. This conclusion is additionally
intriguing since, contrary to Chaovalit (2014)'s earlier findings, the respondents in this study
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Role of beauty influencers in the digital age: A study of the influence of purchase intention among Gen Z consumers in USA

did not consider reputation to be an important factor that significantly predicts purchase
intention. This discovery might be specific to American residents' traits. Some controversial
social media influencers, such as Jeffree Star, James Chales, or Tati Westbrook, have a large
number of dedicated followers and brand endorsement opportunities despite their relatively
poor image. Consumers can nonetheless relate to and look up to influencers regardless of
their poor image, according to Bennett, Diamond, Miller, and Williams (2018), due to the
fact they view influencers via fantasy-based connections. People who have already got a
unique love for a celebrity, in step with Ahluwalia (2000), will frequently close out awful
facts about that star. Consumers' aid for influencers who endorse an emblem is reliant on
their ethical reasoning selection, in step with Lee & Kwak (2015). In different words, the
respondents on this survey do now no longer consider the influencers' reputation to be a
figuring out component of their choice to buy beauty products.
With a significance value of .288, trustworthiness has no effect on a customer's Purchase
Intention. This conclusion is noteworthy because it differs significantly from earlier findings
(example, Chaovalit, 2014), which revealed that Trustworthiness had a significant positive
impact on Purchase Intention. This conclusion, however, is consistent with Ohanian's (1990)
initial result, which revealed that trustworthiness had no substantial impact on purchase
intent. This makes sense because beauty influencers' followers are well aware that they are
often paid brand believers, implying that they aren't necessarily trustworthy. After all, they're
only going to say good things about the items, and their opinions are often subjective. This
study is consistent with Kuskov & Liao's (2019) findings, which found that when a product
has a lot of substitutes on the market, such as Maybeline's cosmetics, customers trust
influencers less. According to a recent survey by the media agency UM dubbed Wave X-
Remix Culture, which surveyed fifty six thousand internet users, over ninety six percent of
individuals do not trust what influencers say online (Stewart, 2019). Finally, this finding is
consistent with Rahmi et al., (2017), who found no significant link between
beauty influencer’s Expertise and customer’s Purchase Intention.
Attractiveness, on the other hand, has a considerable positive impact on Purchase Intention.
With a significance value of.000, this result may be seen. The current study's limitations may
explain this conclusion, which is female Generation Z respondents born between 1994 and
2001 who are part of a young adult generation searching for inspirational role models to
follow and emulate. Another factor, as mentioned by Ha & Lam (2016) , is that customers are
drawn to advertisements that include their favourite celebrities. When people can relate to the
celebrity endorsers they like, they may feel more linked to and inclined to buy specific items
(Khan, 2018). According to Pradhan, Duraipandian, and Sethi (2016), this is due to the fact
that the attractiveness of beauty influencers improves a cosmetics brand's purchase intention
due to the influencers' and the brand's match-up effects. As a result, the consumer's Purchase
Intention is influenced by the attractiveness of these celebrity endorsers. This study was
backed by previous research that indicated Attractiveness had a favorable impact on Purchase
Intention. Purchase Intention is significantly influenced by persuasion talents. This result has
a significance level of.000, which is lower than the threshold of.050. Chaovalit (2014)
established a link between Persuasive Capabilities and Purchase Intention. Young people
actively seek out influencers with whom they can connect, and the greater the influencers'
Persuasive Capability, the more likely they will be able to power the young target market's

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Role of beauty influencers in the digital age: A study of the influence of purchase intention among Gen Z consumers in USA

consumption behaviour. To put it another way, the better these influencers can persuade their
followers, the more likely they are to buy the items.
The above data show that beauty and persuasive abilities have a significant positive influence
on customers' purchasing intent. Surprisingly, Abbas et al. (2018) discovered that the more
desirable an influencer is to their target audience, the more likely they are to persuade them.
As a result, cosmetics businesses must seek out beauty influencers who can capture the
attention of consumers by their appealing physical appearance and powerful persuasive
powers, which can influence someone's attitude or behavior to purchase the company's
products. Customers of traditional cosmetics products, on the other hand, do not consider
beauty influencers' knowledge, honesty, or reputation when determining whether or not to
purchase the things, according to past research. The most important factor is that they are
attractive and persuasive.
The following hypotheses are formulated as a result:
H1: There is a positive relationship between persuasive capabilities and purchase intention.
H2: There is a positive relationship between attractiveness and purchase intention.
2.1 Research Framework

Expertise

Trustworthiness

Purchase Intention

Attractiveness

Reputation

Persuasive
Capabilities

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Role of beauty influencers in the digital age: A study of the influence of purchase intention among Gen Z consumers in USA

Chapter 3 Research Methodology

This is a quantitative study that makes use of more than one regression analysis to look at the
most important effect of beauty influencers on social media's Expertise, Attractiveness,
Trustworthiness, Persuasive Capabilities and Reputation on customer’s purchase intention of
cosmetic items. To accumulate number one data, the researchers used online questionnaires
on Google Form with Likert scales starting from 8, strongly agree to 1, strongly disagree to
gauge the respondents' reviews on our variables. Study's goal populace with the aid of the
researchers have been supplied with questionnaires. (Widyanto, 2020)
The researchers distributed the questionnaire to 30 people for the validity test. The goal is to
determine if each of the statements is right. To compare the results, the researchers used the
Corrected Item Total Correlation and the r-table value of 0.361. Each object’s outcome
should be higher than the r-value. The table's any claim in this analysis that passed the r-table
test was found to be true. Cronbach's Alpha for all variables was 0.957 in the reliability test,
which is considered excellent or exceedingly reliable. The researchers then performed a
descriptive analysis, which included the mean and standard deviation. The highest mean is
Trustworthiness, whilst the lowest is Persuasive Capabilities. Finally, when it comes to
standard deviation, the highest attribute is Attractiveness, while the lowest is Reputation.
Following are the organizational meanings and metrics used to quantify the variables in this
study. Expertise, the first variable, has five measures and five sentences. Three indicators and
seven statements make up Trustworthiness, while three indicators and six statements make up
Attractiveness. Persuasive Capabilities has four claims and four indicators, while Reputation
has four statements and three indicators. Finally, there are five claims and three markers of
Purchase Intention. (Widyanto, 2020)

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5.0 Appendix
Widyanto, H.A. and Agusti, C.R., 2020. Beauty influencer in the digital age: How does it
influence purchase intention of generation Z?. Jurnal Manajemen dan Pemasaran Jasa, 13(1),
pp.1-16.

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