Impact of SMM on Consumer Buying Behaviour - A case study of Tesco - UK

Introduction

Social media marketing (SMM) has had a wide range of effects on customer purchasing decisions in recent years. The impact of SMM on consumer behaviour is dynamic due to the constant changes in the attitudes, behaviours, and thoughts of both the target customer group and society as a whole. Acquisition, consumption, and disposition can happen in a dynamic order across time. Customers desire content from brands that are genuine and non-promotional. Influencers on social media have the potential to be more genuine than traditional advertisements, and their relatable material can increase engagement and have an impact on consumer decisions. Around 34% of UK-based grocery retailer shoppers confirmed that they had heard about Tesco on social media in November 2023 (Statista, 2023). This research is focused on finding the level of impact of SMM on Tesco's consumers, who are one of the largest retailers in the UK.

Research Aim

The aim of this research is to find the relationship between SMM and consumer engagement at Tesco PLC and recommend whether UK-based retailers should implement SMM or not.

Research Objectives

• To identify the impact of SMM on consumers of Tesco

• To determine the challenges of implementing SMM

• To Recommend the most effective marketing strategy to influence Uk based retail consumers

Research Questions

• What is the impact of SMM on consumers of Tesco

• What are the challenges of implementing SMM

• How retailers can implement an effective marketing strategy to influence Uk based retail consumers

Literature review

Purchase decisions may be influenced by positive social proof. Social media reviews are an ever-changing source of social proof that has a big influence on how people behave. Companies that actively participate in customer reviews can gain the trust and loyalty of their customers. More and more consumers are making direct purchases on social media platforms, and they anticipate two-way interactions with businesses, with the advent of internet-based advertising. The number of users is growing daily. Social networking sites are being overused by consumers and even

advertisers, and as a result, traffic is increasing daily, up to 80% more than it was previously (Manzoor et al., 2020). Brand loyalty is yet another significant benefit of social networking sites. When a customer is happy with a product, they should never purchase it from another company. Brand loyalty is produced via this. Tesco PLC uses a social media marketing strategy that is highly organised with content planning for high end audiences and content creation for boosting the brand value and creating online presence. Various kinds of frequent in sentences are provided to the consumers who comment on the post of Tesco and a lot of promotional offers attract potential consumers which include which discounts. Through direct mail and online marketing tools like pop-ups, the internet is a major factor in informing customers about new products. When redeveloping their techniques, marketers face challenges because of the preferences and inclinations of their clientele (Omar and Atteya, 2020). These strategies must meet the needs of their target market or customers in order to guarantee that they will be satisfied with the company's products and services for a long time. Customer behaviour focuses on the where, when, and why of product purchases. It combines aspects of economics, sociology, psychology, and social anthropology (Hanaysha, 2022). Notwithstanding the fact that there has been a lot of research on the subject over the past few decades, the notion of consumer buying behaviour is still relevant today.

Problem statement

Problem of this research context is whether the customers are interested in buying products from Tesco for its social media contents or its promotional offers for social media. This research will help to solve this problem and identify the main reason behind growth of Tesco PLC and contribution of social media marketing to eat.

Methodology

Positivism research philosophy

Positivism research philosophy often involves the use of existing theories to develop hypotheses to be tested during the research process (Kirongo and Odoyo, 2020). Positivism philosophy gives flexibility in the data collection process and empower researchers to deal with uncertain situations while connecting data for that reason is the most relevant and effective research philosophy.

Deductive research approach

Deductive research approaches start with theories, hypotheses, or generalisations and then test them through data collection and observation (Grinchenko and Shchipova, 2020). This research will be tested during the research process.

Descriptive research design

Descriptive research design techniques can be used to get more information about the impact of SMM on consumer buying behaviour (Tomaszewski, Zarestky and Gonzalez, 2020). Using descriptive statistics for sections of a large number of the population will be analysed statistically and the final result of these research will be prepared.

Quantitative research strategy

The qualitative research strategy provides an in-depth understanding of human behaviour through statistical data (Alessi and Kahn, 2022). Quantitative research strategy uses pie charts and bar diagrams in order to analyse research outcomes which help the learners to easily understand the creation of final results. This research strategy is chosen and it is the most effective research strategy for primary research.

Data collection and Sample size

Primary data collection methods will be used, and 101 participants will be recruited for the survey to collect data. The target population for this survey is UK-based Tesco retail consumers. The primary data collection method is easy, and an online survey will help to collect data from all over the UK without any complications.

Random Sampling

Random sampling will be used for this research, which is the most straightforward probability sampling method (Berndt, 2020). Using a random sampling method, there will be no chance for including personalised data and creating a result that is universally acceptable.

Ethical Consideration

Ethics will be maintained in this research, and there will be no misleading information given to the participants. All the data will be secured with an encrypted password.

References