The Impact of Social Media Influencers characteristics on Customers’ purchase Intension in the Egyptian Market

Abstract

Purpose – This study focuses on social media influencers ’ characteristics to assess their impact on customer s’ purchase intention. Thus, it aimed to investigate the impact of social media influencers’ Physical appearance (Attractiveness), Trustworthiness (honesty), and Expertise on consumers’ purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach – The questionnaire was created and shared online via Google Forms to the consumers in Egypt. The online survey covered the four social media platforms; YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A quota sampling technique was used in the study to obtain responses, as only those respondents who were active users of social media were included in the study. 130 responses were obtained, of which 125 respondents followed a social media influencer, so only 5 were excluded. Findings – The findings revealed that the personal characteristics of social media influencers affect consumers’ purchase intention ; Attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise had significant direct effects on consumers' purchase intention. Besides, the results revealed that the most important factor influencing customer purchase intention is the attractiveness of the influencer, while the lowest impact was for expertise of the influencers. Originality/value – Although there are many previous studies done in other countries regarding the impact of Social Media Influencers on Customers’ Buying Intension , there are very few similar studies in Egypt and most of these studies were testing the impact of the influencers’ message content not the characteristics of the influencer and a study of (Fayez, Labib, & Abo El-Naga, 2022) included the influencer characteristics but without testing and recommended further testing in Egypt. So, the findings of this study add to the current literature by filling this gap and explaining the role of the influencer’s characteristics in affecting the purchase intention of consumers in the Egyptian market.