THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ON YOUTH BUYING BEHAVIOR IN AN EMERGING COUNTRY

The research aims to investigate the impact of social media marketing (SMM) on youth buying behavior in Pakistan. This study is empirically supported by the results of a survey conducted by the authors in ten universities in Lahore city (Pakistan) in March-June 2020 on a sample of 244 students (social media users) aged from 18 to 35. By conceptually dividing social media marketing into SMM advantages and website design & features, the purpose of this study became more specific: (1) to find the relationship between SMM advantages (convenience, timesaving, security of knowledge) and youth buying behavior; (2) to find the relationship between website features & design and youth buying behavior. Results of the analysis of the aggregate influence of SMM advantages on Pakistani youth buying behavior showed that they increase the intention to purchase by 42.9%. At the same time, website design & features used within social media marketing have even more positive effects on youth buying behavior, increasing the intention to purchase by 55.2%. Young buyers in Pakistan prefer attractive and well-designed websites or social media with many unique features for buying products and services. Thus, all research hypotheses are proved based on the survey data: social media marketing raised by unit positively affects Pakistani youth buying behavior by 53.5%, and the rest 46.5% could be conditioned by other non-market external and internal factors. The novelty of this study lies in investigating behavior patterns of the fast-growing segment of consumers of Pakistan, which, are the most active consumers of goods and services and social media users today and in the future.