Track: Undergraduate Student Paper Competition

Abstract

Celebrity endorsement through social media has wide ranging implications on businesses particularly because celebrities have the power to influence consumer behavior. In the fashion industry, celebrity endorsement has had a huge impact on consumer purchase intentions and firms are using this approach to leverage market share. Social media platforms are being increasingly used by celebrities to market fashion brands in Sri Lanka and this has become a new trend. This paper seeks to identify the influence of celebrity endorsement through social media on consumer purchasing intentions in the Sri Lankan fashion industry. Although, there is considerable research on celebrity endorsement through social media, there is limited research of such practices in the fashion industry in Sri Lanka. The research methodology is a deductive, cross sectional study that uses quantitative research methods. The sample size of 300 customers was selected through convenience sampling and the research instrument was developed through prior research instruments by products. The main findings revealed that expertise, trustworthiness, fame, personality, and attractiveness of a celebrity positively influenced perceived consumer purchase intentions. The main limitations of the study are that it does not identify the specific social media platforms which are more influential.