A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER MARKETING ON FASHION APPAREL PURCHASE INTENTION IN COIMBATORE

Abstract

The rapid growth of social media has transformed traditional marketing practices, leading to the increasing prominence of social media influencer marketing as an effective promotional strategy. In the fashion apparel industry, influencers play a vital role in shaping consumer perceptions, preferences, and purchase intentions through credible and visually appealing content. This study examines the effectiveness of social media influencer marketing on consumers’ purchase intention in the fashion apparel sector, with special reference to Coimbatore. The research adopts a descriptive and analytical design, using primary data collected from 80 respondents through a structured questionnaire. Statistical tools such as percentage analysis, mean and standard deviation, Chi-square test, and one-way ANOVA are employed to analyse the data. The findings reveal that young consumers are highly exposed to influencer-driven fashion content and that factors such as influencer credibility, trust, content quality, and brand–influencer fit significantly influence purchase intention. The Chi-square and ANOVA results confirm a statistically significant relationship between influencer marketing attributes and purchase intention. The study concludes that social media influencer marketing has a positive and meaningful impact on consumers’ purchase intention towards fashion apparel in Coimbatore. The findings offer valuable insights for fashion brands and marketers in designing effective, region-specific influencer marketing strategies and contribute to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence from a regional Indian context.