Analysis of the impact of social networks on customers’ decision to buy online: research concept

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ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKS ON CUSTOMERS' DECISION TO BUY ONLINE: RESEARCH CONCEPT

Almandeel Munther Amin Hasan, A.I. Ukhova, I.P. Savelieva

The article discusses in detail the theoretical foundations of the development of Internet commerce and the factors influencing the decision to buy online from the point of view of the concept of Web 2.0. The authors have developed and substantiated the concept of marketing research aimed at studying the factors of social networks in making a purchase decision. In this case, the independent variables are factors such as customer support, information exchange, product rating, the dependent variable in the developed study is customer intention to purchase. To test the hypotheses formulated in the article, it is proposed to conduct a survey with a detailed study and justification of the factors that influence online purchases. This topic is undoubtedly relevant in modern market conditions.

Keywords: social media, social networks, buying decision, customer support, product evaluation.

internet social making concept

Алмандил Мунчер Амин Хасан, А.И. Ухова, И.П. Савельева

АНАЛИЗ ВЛИЯНИЯ СОЦИАЛЬНЫХ СЕТЕЙ НА РЕШЕНИЕ ПОКУПАТЕЛЯ О ПОКУПКЕ ОНЛАЙН: КОНЦЕПЦИЯ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ

Подробно рассмотрены теоретические основы развития интернет-торговли и факторы, оказывающие влияние покупателей на решение о покупке онлайн с точки зрения концепции Веб 2.0. Авторами разработана и обоснована концепция проведения маркетингового исследования, нацеленного на изучение факторов социальных сетей на принятие решения об онлайн покупке. При этом независимыми переменными выступают такие факторы, как поддержка покупателей, обмен информацией, оценка продукта, зависимая переменная в разрабатываемом исследовании - намерение покупателя совершить покупку. Для проверки сформулированных в статье гипотез предполагается проведение опроса с подробным изучением и обоснованием факторов, оказывающих влияние на онлайн покупки. Данное направление исследований несомненно является актуальным в современных рыночных условиях.

Ключевые слова: социальные медиа, социальные сети, решение о покупке, поддержка покупателей, оценка продукта.

Introduction

In Russia, there has been an increase in the number of users and online buyers, as well as an increase in the number of electronic stores that sell goods to customers, and the number of Internet users in Russia reaches 109.6 million users. In 2019 most of them (75 %) live in urban areas where there are more opportunities to engage in electronic commerce. In addition, the Russian e-commerce market in the first half of 2019 grew by 26 % year on year to 725 billion rubles ($ 11 billion). The number of online purchases for the reporting period reached 191 million, an increase of 44 % [1].

This is evident in the e-commerce market that online presence is a specific and important factor for the relationship between retailers and customers, especially after the recent economic problems in world markets. Electronic markets have helped ensure recovery in some markets that they are faced with in their marketing strategies, and for this reason it is very important that electronic retailers strive to pay attention to issues. This is due to the quality of websites, such as improving website usability, increasing accessibility, increasing the conversion rate to their sites and maintaining customer loyalty and other characteristics of the website.

On these issues, the advent of the second generation of Web 2.0 has created features for websites that have made them more efficient and effective in finding fundamental solutions that allow the client to interact with the site more than on traditional sites that uses [2; 3]. Studies show that using the Internet helps companies increase customer satisfaction, as retailers have recognized the most promising competitive advantage of using Web 2.0, and many have adopted this technology as a way to interact, share, and create value with customers. Many well-known electronic retail stores, such as Amazon, have gained customer experience and are fully aware of the customer and his requirements through the use of Web 2.0 tools, even though they sell similar products sold by competitors and the same product specifications [3;4].

Several studies have also pointed out the role of social networks (one of the most important factors of Web 2.0) in increasing customer satisfaction and influencing purchase intentions [3; 5]. There are also several studies and research on the causal relationship about customer satisfaction on the Internet and their intention to make a purchase, and the repeated process of re-buying from the same retailer if they wish to purchase a similar product. Therefore, those who have a high degree of satisfaction intend to make a purchase with a high degree of. In other words, the most satisfied customer buys more often [3].

Research problem

The process of improving the shopping experience and the influence on the buying behavior of online shoppers creates problems for most electronic retailers, and since the success of any online retailer can be determined by the number of sales sold online [6], this is necessary for sellers improve online search results. An online search is an important Web 2.0 factor that positively impact a customer's purchase intent. Tasks include finding factors using Web 2.0 and exploring how these factors influence a customer's intention to shop online. And in order to find out these problems, we proposed a research model that assumes that social networks are a key aspect of Web 2.0 and affect the customer's intention to shop online. This measurement was taken on the basis of theoretical foundations that dealt with the topic of Web 2.0 in the context of ecommerce, after social networks returned to Web 2.0 tools that support communication operations and facilitate the purchase and sale of goods and services [7]. Therefore, the research problem, which is presented in the disclosure of the role of social networks in the customer's intention to make purchases over the Internet, and the problems facing the effectiveness of this role, it is not possible for most retailers on the Internet to adopt the experience of shopping through websites using social networks. And we can formulate the research problem in the following question: what is the role of social networks in the impact on the customer's intention to buy online? In cases where the relationship between social networks and customer buying intentions on the Internet will be measured through applied research and testing of relative importance to determine its importance for predicting customer behavior over the Internet.

Results and discussion

Social networks provide many advantages that allow companies to interact with customers and effectively sell, increase customer confidence and increase their satisfaction, creating a competitive advantage and success for a website, and also provide customers with a convenient way to work with websites [8]. The variety of features that will be provided on the site on a large scale, such as ease of use, usability, website design, trust, are broadly studied in the number of papers [9; 10], but it did not help identify factors related to Web 2.0 used in e-commerce. Although such Web 2.0 tools as social networks can provide what Web 1.0 tools cannot provide, methodological and applied knowledge about them is still limited, and knowledge about the impact of these factors on customer behavior over the Internet is still relatively small. To address the shortcomings, the importance of this study lies in its desire to identify factors associated with improving customer service in Web 2.0, represented by the use of social networks, which are one of the tools of Web 2.0. And how social networks influence customer buying intentions. In order to study the influence of this factor on the customer's intention to make a purchase through the Internet, the theoretical model will be investigated on the basis of the data that will be collected in the research. A theoretical review is the basis for developing a research model and hypotheses, as well as for obtaining answers to questions for study.

The research is aimed at achieving the following objectives:

- to provide a theoretical framework related to social media and online customer behavior;

- to measure the level of awareness of social media factors that influence the decision to buy online;

- to analyze the influence of the variable (social media factors) on the dependent variable (customer decision);

- to make decision-based recommendations to focus on important factors in Web 2.0 that help influence purchasing decisions.

The hypotheses of the study relate to differences in the perception of respondents in relation to the three dimensions of social networks (customer support, information exchange, product rating) in addition to the proposed test research model. Assumptions are as follows:

1) First to check the differences between the average in the perception of a sample of people for measurements of social networks: There were no statistically significant differences in the perceptions of individuals in the dimensions of social networks (customer support, information exchange, product rating) determined by gender variables (male and female), age, website visits and shopping on websites with significance level a < 0.05;

2) Secondly at the significance level, a statistically significant effect is not observed (a < 0.05) for customer support, for the exchange of information and product evaluation based on customer decision to buy online.

We clarified the study in more detail using a model that clarifies the main purpose of the message, which is summarized in the coherent Web 2.0 framework for the Internet of four factors that influence customer behavior over the Internet, which he established [7]. This study seeks to examine the impact of websites using Web 2.0, especially social networks, on a customer's decision to purchase online. This factor was chosen for two main reasons: firstly, social networks are the most important factor compared to other factors of Web 2.0 (added value and personalization); secondly, social networks are the closest factor to the important features of any ecommerce website. For example, let's look at the element of social trust as one of the main elements in the customer's intention to shop online and help to keep the customer, while the lack of this trust is the main reason why customers do not shop online.

To clarify the answer to the research questions, this study proposes a research model that checks social networks features that influences the customer's decision to buy online, and the model consists of an independent variable (“SN”, social networks) and a dependent variable (“CIP”, customer intention to purchase). The model shows the structural relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable, since the independent variable, which is a social network, consists of the following variables: customer support (“CS”), information exchange (“IE”), and product rating (“PR”). Fig. 1 shows the research model.

Social networks are usually described as people chatting on the Internet and often include a large number of participants [11]. Table 1 describes the named variables for the study purpose.

Table 1 Description of independent and dependent variables