Effect of Digital Marketing Channels on Consumer Purchase Behaviour: An IT–Management Study Using ANOVA

Abstract

The growth of digital technologies has transformed the interaction of organisations with consumers so that the digital channels of marketing are
the key component of the modern business strategy. This paper investigates the impact of the following digital marketing channels, social media
marketing, email marketing, search engine optimisation/search engine marketing (SEO/SEM) and influencer marketing on consumer purchase
behaviour, through the prism of IT-management. The main aim is to determine the existence of significant differences between the role of these
channels in purchasing decisions and how systems that are supported by technology would make them effective. Quantitative, descriptive type
of research design was used, and a structured questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale was utilised to collect primary data from 220
respondents. The Cronbach's Alpha of the reliability analysis was 0.86, or very strong. One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to
test the hypotheses to compare the mean impact of various digital marketing channels on consumer purchase behaviour. The results reveal
statistically significant differences among the channels (p < 0.05). Social media marketing and influencer marketing have been shown to have a
greater impact on consumer purchase behaviour than email marketing and SEO/SEM. The findings reveal that the interactive and trust-based
channels are more effective in affecting consumer decisions in online scenarios. Regarding IT-management, the research shows that data
analytics, customer relationship management systems, and artificial intelligence tools should be included to enhance the effectiveness of
marketing. The research can contribute to the body of academic literature and the practice of managers by providing empirical data concerning
the performance of the channels, and to support the application of the data in strategic decision-making.