Millennials are the largest living generation, a group of consumers with high purchasing power and a really close relationship with digital technologies. The internet widespread and the creation of Web 2.0 have changed the way these customers engage with brands, leading to a variation of their consumer behaviour. Millennials do indeed benefit from a situation of information overabundance, in which they can search for data about every type of product they are interested in purchasing. Much of this information is often gathered through social networks, i.e. digital platforms where users communicate with their acquaintances, follow influential and famous personalities, and engage with brands. This master thesis investigates the influence that social media can have on the Millennial consumer behaviour, focusing on the aspect of perception and on the purchase decision process. Consumption is indeed driven by many personal, commercial and socio-cultural factors, and the latter are especially important nowadays due to the virtual proximity of web users. The empirical research was based on the analysis of a quantitative survey strategy and following face-to-face interviews with Millennials. Results highlighted the influence that social media can have on consumers, especially through the usage of influencer marketing. Most Millennials seem to like these personalities and trust their opinion more than commercials which use celebrity endorsement. But a minority of Millennials is strongly against influencers and reacts to their advertisements in the complete opposite way. Therefore, companies need first and foremost to directly communicate with consumers and build a positive brand image. They should subsequentially analyse their targets and use data mining technologies to personalise and customise advertisements in order to reach consumers’ attention through an effective social media strategy.
I Millennial rappresentano la più grande generazione vivente, un gruppo di consumatori con alto potere d'acquisto e un rapporto molto stretto con il mondo delle tecnologie digitali. La diffusione di Internet e la creazione del Web 2.0 hanno cambiato il modo in cui questi acquirenti interagiscono con le aziende, portando ad una variazione del loro comportamento di consumatori. I Millennial, infatti, traggono beneficio da una situazione di sovrabbondanza di informazioni, in cui essi hanno la possibilità di cercare dati relativi ad ogni tipo di prodotto che sono interessati ad acquistare. Gran parte di queste informazioni è spesso raccolta attraverso social networks, cioè piattaforme digitali dove gli utenti comunicano con conoscenti, seguono personalità influenti e famose, ed entrano in contatto con aziende. Questa tesi studia l'influenza che i social media possono avere sul comportamento dei consumatori Millennial, concentrandosi sull'aspetto della percezione e sul processo di decisione d’acquisto. Il consumismo è infatti guidato da molti fattori personali, commerciali e socio-culturali, e questi ultimi sono particolarmente importanti al giorno d'oggi a causa della vicinanza virtuale degli utenti del web. La ricerca empirica è stata basata sull'analisi di una strategia di indagine quantitativa e su seguenti interviste faccia a faccia con i Millennial. I risultati hanno evidenziato l'influenza che i social media possono avere sui consumatori, soprattutto attraverso l'utilizzo di influencer marketing. La maggior parte dei Millennial sembra apprezzare e dare più fiducia a queste personalità rispetto agli spot pubblicitari che utilizzano testimonial. Ma una minoranza dei Millennial è fortemente contro gli influencer e reagisce alla loro pubblicità in senso completamente opposto. Di conseguenza, le aziende devono comunicare direttamente con i loro consumatori e costruire un'immagine positiva del proprio marchio. Esse devono poi analizzare i loro obiettivi e utilizzare tecnologie di data mining per personalizzare gli annunci pubblicitari, al fine di raggiungere l'attenzione dei consumatori attraverso una efficace strategia di social media marketing.
THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN INFLUENCING MILLENNIALS’ CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR: A study on consumers’ perception and the purchase decision process
TORSELLO, MELANIE
2017/2018
Abstract
Millennials are the largest living generation, a group of consumers with high purchasing power and a really close relationship with digital technologies. The internet widespread and the creation of Web 2.0 have changed the way these customers engage with brands, leading to a variation of their consumer behaviour. Millennials do indeed benefit from a situation of information overabundance, in which they can search for data about every type of product they are interested in purchasing. Much of this information is often gathered through social networks, i.e. digital platforms where users communicate with their acquaintances, follow influential and famous personalities, and engage with brands. This master thesis investigates the influence that social media can have on the Millennial consumer behaviour, focusing on the aspect of perception and on the purchase decision process. Consumption is indeed driven by many personal, commercial and socio-cultural factors, and the latter are especially important nowadays due to the virtual proximity of web users. The empirical research was based on the analysis of a quantitative survey strategy and following face-to-face interviews with Millennials. Results highlighted the influence that social media can have on consumers, especially through the usage of influencer marketing. Most Millennials seem to like these personalities and trust their opinion more than commercials which use celebrity endorsement. But a minority of Millennials is strongly against influencers and reacts to their advertisements in the complete opposite way. Therefore, companies need first and foremost to directly communicate with consumers and build a positive brand image. They should subsequentially analyse their targets and use data mining technologies to personalise and customise advertisements in order to reach consumers’ attention through an effective social media strategy.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
Per maggiori informazioni e per verifiche sull'eventuale disponibilità del file scrivere a: unitesi@unipv.it.
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/6757