Social networking sites and fashion E-purchasing process

The Internet and social networking sites have provided many benefits to its users, because of its ability to connect large number of users all over the world; it is used as a marketing tool to promote different goods and services, including fashion. This study aimed to reveal the impact of social networking sites and their applications, e-word of mouth and e-reference groups in particular, on the epurchasing process of fashion products. This process undergoes five consecutive stages (need recognition, information search, alternatives’ evaluation, e-purchasing, post-purchasing evaluation). In order to achieve the objectives of this study, analytical descriptive method was used and quantitative approach utilizing survey strategy was applied to test the three main hypotheses developed based on the literature review. Questionnaire was developed based on the previous studies and electronically distributed to a connivance sample of 601 online fashion buyers who have active Facebook accounts. 427 filtered and screened questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive analyses and regression analyses were performed to describe and test the hypotheses. The study found that the e reference groups have slightly stronger impact on e-purchasing process in the fashion sector compared to e-word of mouth. The study recommended that e-stores should pay attention to consumers' experience to ensure positive feedback on social networking sites, and to the quality of information offered on fashion products. Recommendations for future research are provided. Corresponding author: Ghaith M. Al Abdallah Email addresses for corresponding author: ghaith.abdallah@yahoo.com First submission received: 23rd March 2018 Revised submission received: 26th May 2018 Accepted: 24th July 2018 1.0 Research Background By the end of 2016, the number of Internet users in Jordan exceeded 3.4 million who use different internet-based service technologies (Internetlivestats, 2016). This number form around 45.7% from the total population of the country (Internetlivestats, 2016). The internet advantages in improving marketing process due to its low cost, speed, flexibility and effectiveness in contacting the targeted consumers encouraged the companies to connect their traditional promotional methods with the online ones, creating their own model of e-marketing. However, and despite the remarkable penetration rate of internet in the Arab countries in general and Jordan in particular, the level of internet usage for “e-purchase” in the developed countries is significantly higher than the level found in the Arab countries. For instance, the number of online buyers in Jordan was less than 1.6 million in 2015, not to mention that most purchases were for really small values. The fashion sector is one of the most important and most active sectors for ecommerce worldwide. However, only 352 Thousand of online buyers in Jordan bought fashion products in 2015, forming around 22% of the total number of online buyers in Jordan (Befort, 2015). Such numbers raise serious questions about the reasons behind such discrepancies and what affect the decision-making process and the e-purchasing process. Marketing has always been a social experience; therefore, the social networks help customers to interact with each other, even if they do not know the others in person, creating virtual connections and relationships (Pookulangaran et al., 2011). According to the Arab Social Media Report (2015), users’ perceptions across the Arab world showed that around 44% trust social networking sites, the decision to Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (JBRMR), Vol. 13 Issue 2 December 2018 www.jbrmr.com A Journal of the Academy of Business and Retail Management (ABRM) 37 buy and discuss personal experiences can affect the consumers' purchasing habits. The individual tends to benefit from the experiences of others about a specific product and thus influence their e-purchase decisions. In addition, around 39% of Internet users browse social networking sites to search for published information by other users about the products they are interested in (AIMIA, 2013). Therefore, it became necessary to investigate the scientific impact of social networking sites on consumers e-purchasing decision especially in the fashion sector as social networking sites are consider as the new platform for fashion “moda” and trends, with the emerging of what so called “Fashionistas” attracting different segments of consumers to such pages. 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 The Concept of Social Networking Sites According to Curran et al. (2014) Social networking sites have witnessed significant developments since the 1990s, where internet has become the social communication medium most people used and as part of their daily routine, this contributed to the radical transformations of human lives. Social networking can be interpreted as the available sites on the internet that allow users to communicate, dialogue and exchange ideas through their applications, which range from chat rooms, photo albums, to video share and personal posts. The most prominent examples of the social networking that exist today are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Google plus. They all involve the creation of a set of e-social identities that individuals or even institutions establish to improve personal and professional relationships (Debsi & Tahat, 2013). The number of social networking sites is estimated in millions and increases on daily basis. Facebook (king of social media) is the most popular site internationally and locally among the various social networking sites (ARABSIMS, 2015). At the end of 2015, the recorded statistics indicated that the active Facebook accounts in Jordan estimated at 4,100,000. However, it should be clear that some users have more than one Facebook account, some for personal use and some for business and marketing purposes only. 2.2 Electronic Word of Mouth Sowaydan (2011) defines the word of mouth as positive or negative feedback transferred to another consumer by a consumer as a result of a received product and service. The e-word of mouth has the same features of ads, but its quality is determined by the product information highlighted in the feedback, the way in which it was written and whether it has added useful information or not (Xiaofen & Yiling, 2009). The positive feedback from a comment, likes or sharing is important in reducing ambiguity about the displayed product and the degree of uncertainty that accompanies the purchasing decision (Gremler et al., 2001). The consumers are influenced by negative e-word of mouth more than the positive ones (Shahana & Dawn, 2007). Consumers in general, and in the fashion industry, usually ask others for help and advice on products to buy (Mauri & Minnazi, 2013). The importance of the e-word of mouth is transferred to all purchasing decision stages, according to Cheung and Lee (2012) the explosive growth of the Internet significantly increased the importance of e-word of mouth delivered to a large number of people around the world, which also made it possible for consumers to discuss and exchange opinions and reviews. 2.3 Electronic Reference Groups Reference groups can be defined as group of individuals that affect the personal behavior of people and direct them to certain paths (Obidat, 2004). According to Bakri (2006) reference groups are group of individuals that affect directly and indirectly the consumption attitudes and behaviors of people. Reference groups are what individuals refer to as standards and norms used to evaluate their own behavior, which can be classified into two main categories as follow: 2.3.1 Primary Groups Primary groups can be described as informal relatively small social groups that share intimate, personal, long lasting relationships among its members. Primary groups shared concern for one another as well and affect the attitudes and behaviors of its members. A good example of primary groups is nuclear family and close friends (Andersen et al., 2010; Bakri, 2006). Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (JBRMR), Vol. 13 Issue 2 December 2018 www.jbrmr.com A Journal of the Academy of Business and Retail Management (ABRM) 38 2.3.2 Secondary Groups Secondary groups can be defined as formal (and semi-formal) groups that affect the behavior of people. The members of secondary groups normally interact on a less personal level compared to the primary ones. Another difference between secondary and primary groups is the fact that normally individuals willingly choose to be part of the secondary groups. A good example of secondary groups is friends, neighborhoods, acquaintances, sports teams, professional colleagues, and official communities (Andersen et al., 2010; Bakri, 2006). 2.4 Stages of Consumer Decision Making Process Commonly, there are five stages in the process of purchasing, whether traditional or electronic. The stages can be summarized as follows: Need recognizing is the first stage, where the consumer feels there is a shortage or desire to cover something missing through the action of purchase (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). The second stage is the information search, where the consumer starts up searching for all the information related to the available alternatives that might fulfill his need. The sources of information that the consumer depends on are either internal or external; mostly the family, friends, study and work colleagues in addition to the personal experience. The consumer is often interested in collecting information about the quality of the products, prices and best-selling places, in addition to the available methods of payment. The duration of this stage varies according to the characteristics and personality traits of the consumer (Kotler, 2011). The third stage will be the alternatives evaluation stage, where the consumer starts an assessment of all the available alternativ