Social Media Influencers and a Contextual Factor Behind: Exploring Credibility, In-Group Identification, and Product Availability on Purchase Intention

¹ School of Arts, Xi’an International Studies University, Xian, Shaanxi, China
² Suzhou Experimental High School, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
³ Chongqing Nankai Secondary School, Chongqing, China

^* Corresponding author: 107242022002859@stu.xisu.edu.cn

Abstract

Human beings have stepped into the age of digital communication over ten-plus years, and the form of the communication tool--media--has changed with this rapid development. Though both social media and influencer marketing have drawn great attention from academics, few studies have focused on the combination. In that context, this paper examines the association among the social media influencer credibility, group identification, product availability, and the consumers’ purchase intention during the marketing of social media influencers. Using an online questionnaire, which involves 171 effective results, with the calculation of the Pearson correlation, the research unveils these three variables’ positive correlations with the purchase intention. Also, it points out that the influencer’s credibility contributes most to the change in purchase intention. This conclusion provides channels for brands and influencers to improve their selling approaches while also leaving a few questions that need to be optimized in the future, calling for more researchers to further study the function of the in-group identification.