Abstract

Current research study is a comprehensive research framework on buying decisions of consumers regarding erotic lingerie. The research study explains the role of social media influencers in pursuing consumers to buy or not to buy a specific lingerie brand. The role of marketing is discussed under specific context of current media applications such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Social media platforms are increasingly motivating consumers to show their preferences about a specific brand. The interest and behavior of consumers towards lingerie is influenced by influencer marketing. Social media is being used to achieve business goals under much more aligned marketing strategies. The objective of the research is to analyze the impact of social media influencers on the buying decision of males and females when buying Erotic Lingerie.

Current research work is qualitative, and involved questionnaires to investigate male and females. Respondents showed their preferences, interests and engagement due to social media applications. Marketers are rapidly engaging people to their brands by promoting products. Female interest and trust on products is also developed through social media. The null hypothesis of study was relationship of social media influencers with the erotic lingerie buying decision of men and women.Findings of study accepted null hypothesis and confirmed that there is a relationship of social media influencerswith the erotic lingerie buying decision of men and women.

Chapter-1

Introduction

Influencer marketing emphasizes brand growth and targeting. Today is the age of ubiquitous internet, where social media is acting as a third-party endorser. The plethora of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram are increasingly used to spread information about products and promote brand image. Social media influencers are in significant involvement with their followers to provide the latest product information. From the marketing perspective, the scope of social media is extensive to achieve business goals. In recent years, social media influencers have become more established in marketing strategies (Lisichkova, N. And Othman, Z. 2017). They are engaged in celebrity endorsement and practical, yet cost-efficient marketing trends. This study will explore key dimensions of social media marketing regarding erotic lingerie brand. To accomplish the study, different theoretical concepts and literature evidences will be included.

Social media influencers are found to showcase a compelling outcome that is related to consumer persuasion. Tents of influencer marketing discuss that social media influencers like followers and bloggers inspire their thousands of followers. With the messaging, these influencers hold a credible position and act reliably to compel consumers. It is found that 82% of followers’ polls are reported that consumers are more likely to follow the recommendations of social media influencers (Osayemi, E. 2019). Comparatively, the celebrity endorsement promotion strategy, is regarded as an authentic, knowledgeable, and trustworthy source. They can build rapport with customers for the younger generation’s interest.

1.2 Background

Marketing is always there, whether it is for consumers or brands. The future outlook to anticipate upcoming market trends allow people to believe in the latest technology of marketing. Most of the customers get influence by advertising and marketing activities due to their credible promotional techniques. A reliable prediction about brand connection and way of innovation is working that will produce results in upcoming years (Delrue, L. and Nadia, M. 2018). Most people have the power to affect decisions of purchase due to perceived/ real authority, positioning, knowledge, or relationship. These individuals are influencers, and they can be journalists, celebrities, bloggers, or any micro-celebrity related to social media. This ordinary person is linked with social media and has many connections to influence people.

In the same sense, an ordinary person can effectively communicate with social circles and friends. The social circle can consist of experts, public figures, or journalists. These people, as influencers, highlight the visibility of products in different walks of life. Social media has provided new opportunities for brands to make useful connections and link people to brands. For example, an endorsed influencer or a celebrity exerts a particular influence as compared to a friend or neighbor promoting the same product (Booth, N. and Matic, J. 2011). The social network information focuses on different market design approaches and strategies to diminish unused resources that can attain big sales. Such a procedure can be used in various points on the internet, where public interaction, share, and general information/stories. Past five years, data has shown the popularity of social media by offering information in a functional form. Consumers feel it easy to ask information about products and services, and blogosphere users receive news about product features & services. It is a process by which bloggers influence users to make decisions about a particular product or brand and illustrate fashion concepts.

Research studies describe the role of fashion blogs and bloggers to provide authentic information to their users regarding sophisticated brands. Body shapers, women attractions, and lingerie brands are much more in action through social media marketing. They tend to gain favors from celebrities and influencers to promote trustworthiness, credibility, and authenticity of their products. The intimate apparel brands are mobilizing resources in this way to redefine the beauty of women. Top women’s brands of lingerie have gained significance due to the use of digital marketing tools. It would be accurate to say that leading lingerie brands are market disruptors (Coley, A. and Burgess, B. 2003). They tend to keep a sexy image real and differentiate them by offering unique products. Most of these brands prefer focusing on women’s needs and desires to target them with ease and get possible results.

Social media influencers impact the buying decisions of customers regarding lingerie brands. They target specifically women because women spend enormous money on their bras and panties, not only that is in fashion but what is more comfortable. The Decision-making power of the consumer is highly related to social media branding. Women ask from other women and their friends about the comfort aspects of lingerie. While making bra decisions, they preferably take recommendations from friends because it resonates the most. French, W., Lepre, J. and Fajardo, J. (2020) explained that multiple brands like Third Love, Savage X Fenty, and Victoria Secret are effortlessly engaged in persuading women to purchase. They inherently focus on social media channels such as Instagram to publish videos and images about products.  Lingerie Haul videos are considered video gold from the social media point of view because they work in collaboration with creators, so guarantee record sales.

Celebrity endorsement is an instrumental factor to increase sales and heighten brand image. Product engagement and brand loyalty are key concepts associated with social media marketing. Lingerie brands consider the dominant aspect of marketing with the use of influencers to spread product information. Mañas-Viniegra, L., Veloso, A. and Cuesta, U. (2019) discussed that most people, especially women, prefer wandering about and gather information about a single product before buying. Social media, in this sense, appeared to be a powerful informational tool to guide consumers for decision making. According to lingerie brands, social media influencers determine what to purchase and where to purchase.

Social media influencers are also working as brand endorsers among newly opened businesses. The marketing reports discussed that 50% of the brand earmarked fund allocation in engaging social media influencers for their brand promotion (Jain, A., Shah, H., Tiwari, I. and Modi, N. 2019). These influencers are perceived as sincere in demonstrating and endorsing a specific product to the relevant consumers. Digital marketing is linked with multiple channels and undertakes advertisement as a core objective. The market is grown complex today, and performance-based marketing has influenced consumers to make decisions, just according to their interests and preferences.  Social media turns out to be a powerful tool that facilitates people in making decisions for which brands it is necessary to go. The digital world allows consumers to connect in a better way, so people take an interest in the buying process. The people also get influence from international fashion brands. The availability of fashion trends allows people to get involved in a wide range of products. The fashion industry, therefore, hires social media channels to use the power of influencers (Keel, A. and Nataraajan, R. 2012). Brand loyalty, engagement, and purchase intent are vital determinants that make people buy more. Buying decision intensity is related to the digital world. Information related to promoting goods, describe features and glamor, particularly for lingerie brands, helps consumers buy more and gain relevant information.

1.3 Research objectives

The main objective of the research is to analyze the impact of social media influencers on the buying decision of males and females when buying Erotic Lingerie

Sub-objective of this study are:

• To examine social media influencers’ approach
• To evaluate the role of social media influencers to find the intent of purchase
• To illustrate the methodology of fashion brands to promote their products on social media

1.4 The rationale of the study

At the international level, research is limited to discuss the impact of social media influencers on consumer buying decisions regarding erotic lingerie. The problem of explaining consumer buying behavior and patterns related to social media influencers is taken in this study. The rationale of the study is to identify the influence of social media influencers and marketing to analyze the scope of consumer understanding. There is a lack of research in this field, social media influence is generally investigated in many studies, but current research pays attention to explore the impact of social media regarding erotic lingerie.

1.5 Research question

What is the impact of social media influencers on the buying decision of males and females when buying Erotic Lingerie?

1.6 Organization of study

The organization of the study is as follows: the first chapter is an introduction that details the background, research problem, rationale, and objective of the research. The second chapter will be a literature review that elaborate critical research understanding and evaluation of particular theories about social media. The third chapter will be the methodology of research on how data collection will occur, what methods will be used, and what will be sample size. The fourth chapter will discuss the findings and results. The fifth chapter will shed light on the effects and make discussions about sound concepts evaluated after research. The last section will be the conclusion that will focus on some robust findings of the study and place some recommendations.
Chapter-2

Literature Review

Buying decisions of the audience centrally get influence from social media and marketing by companies. Analyzing the impact of social media influencer on buying decisions regarding erotic lingerie needs critical analysis of prior literary studies. This section will discuss social media influencers and critically analyze the buying decisions of females regarding the purchase of erotic lingerie.

Baker (2018) worked on a study to find out the impact of social media influencer as a source of advertising in the beauty industry. The author analyzes the female Millennials’ perspective with the context of the beauty industry in Ireland. Female millennial consumers put an emphasis on their prosperity to buy potential products that are significantly impacted by social media influencers. This qualitative study has used the inductive approach to reflect female’s views about consuming beauty products. Females attract beauty products but dislike photoshopped images, which are developed in the current age. The study found out that Millennials acknowledge recognition of the digital age as the scope of advertising is improving today, thereby grasping the audience to be loyal. The functions of advertising and promoting products are directly linked to the females’ involvement in feminine products. Research findings suggested that the life of a social media influencer is similar to millennial consumers.

Booth and Matic (2011) discussed the emerging trends of social media, which is empowering communities. Offering significant power to alter the perceptions is driven by social media channels, thereby giving rise to communicate effectively. The study adopted a customizable approach to finding out new influencers that are creating brand awareness. The prevalence of somebody is different from the traditional audience since it is developed by effective outreach strategies. The data is indexed under social media strategies to get dimensions of buyers when they tend to optimize brand equity. The study offered a coherent approach to identify buyers’ decisions regarding managing perception and determine aspects related to the market. It is concluded that social media technology is significant enough to modify the buyers’ opinions and raise brand awareness. The study is helpful to analyze the essential buyers’ attitude when altered and offer valuable analysis due to social media influencers and advertisement.

Coley and Burgess (2003) worked on the gender differences related to affective and cognitive impulse buying. The authors compared gender differences in cognitive and emotional processes in men and women to focus on critical differences for specific product categories. The study is qualitative in nature and used questionnaires to investigate students. Under variance tests, the male and female analysis provided that the affective process is prevalent in different audiences regarding irresistibility to purchase mood and positive emotions to buy. The study provided that a gender difference exists in male-female behavior of buying under social media motivation, and it relates to the product development category. The particular product categories are related to fashion, and the frequency was found for pants, sweaters, skirts, lingerie, underwear, and other consumable products. This buying behavior was motivated by impulse cognitive response and can be ignited by social media marketing. Companies use advertising and promotional strategies to involve more and more audience and target them according to their preferences.

Delrue and Nadia (2018) proposed that brands and marketers always find some innovative ways to target segments. An evolving form of communication is social media, and combining social media influencers can have a significant impact on marketing. The purpose of this study was to understand the influence of social media through Instagram on different behaviors of purchase lifestyle products in Belgian women. The survey researched on various elements like persuasion attempt, credibility, and attitude. The positive two-phase approach was used as the methodology of the paper. The first phase is a literature review through a qualitative study, and this method described the scope of consumer purchase behavior. The research discussed that social media marketing and influencer is a leading technology in digital media as it is engaging customers from all walks of life. The digital age is provoking young Belgium women, and they are showing it from their purchase decisions and decision-making power.

French, Lepre, and Fajardo (2020) explored the social media perspective in relation to Instagram to ignite the young generation. The research study highlighted the role of social media like Instagram among college students’, particularly females. Instagram is a leading social media influencer that has engaged students in posting pictures and involving friends and families. Another trend of celebrities’ selfies is also discussed in relation to female college students. The study investigated the effect of social media on women’s health and body images. This aspect notably undertook stylized lingerie and its relation to females under social media channels. The gratification theory is explained concerning the effects of social media on individuals, primarily on the young generation. The authors investigated the influence of ‘selfies’ when the female body is concerned; for instance, celebrities show off their body parts and post images of lingerie and bikini that make them popular such as Victoria Secret model pictures.

Jain et al. (2019) discussed that the attitude of individuals is easy to monitor with the help of social media marketing. The impact of influencers under the social media context is examined through the study, and the role of technology is analyzed in shaping the attitude of individuals. The theoretical approach followed by the authors undertook prior literature about consumer buying decision making. Influencer marketing behavior is easy to recognize when traced from a particular viewpoint. The shopping decisions and purchase behavior of individuals are easy to track from Instagram and Facebook. From a marketing perspective, the attitude of the audience is trapped by their interests and monitoring preferences. With the help of the internet and social media, companies develop their product, product designs and bring innovation.  The study explored that social media influencers can show compelling output, such as to persuade the consumer.

Juyal and Singh (2009) identified the role of females in the family buying decision-making process. The study is conducted on the females of Uttrakhand. The main objective of this study was to focus on the effects of orientation of the female role in the family, particularly in decision making. In total, five decisions regarding the purchase were examined. The sample size of the study was 300, and participants were taken from Uttrakhand Dehradun district. Females were interviewed by a structured questionnaire about their role of family orientation regarding decision making. The study found that it is based on the type of family and female role orientation. Both of these aspects differ on the basis of age, income, and education. The consumption and purchase decisions of females are more likely to be oriented on family needs. The role of female orientation in the family is decisive, and it is confirmed from the findings. Moreover, females are likely to purchase durables.

Keel and Nataraajan (2012) extended their research in the area of celebrity endorsement. Research has shown social media influencers play a significant role in making a celebrity famous. The research study focused on three celebrity branding strategies. The purpose of prior literature is explored in this context to find out new areas of branding under the influence of celebrities. The celebrity branding strategies are critical aspects of getting people involved in a particular product by famous companies. The authors suggested there is a scope for future research in a similar area. There is also some need for ethical marketing under social media because many vulnerable customers are affected by celebrity branding. The suggestions are offered about social media marketing and particular theories implementation about branding. Celebrity marketing has gained hype due to social media influencers such as Facebook and Instagram. However, the scope of the study gained significance due to the discussion of the main factors.

LISICHKOVA and OTHMAN (2017) analyzed the role of influencers on online purchase intent. The study has the main objective to find out the main features of influencers that have an impact on online consumers and their purchase intent. This study intended to explore key elements of a media influencer to identify the effects on online purchasing intent. Focus groups were investigated that were comprised of different consumers. The perceived authenticity is used in the study constituting legitimacy, credibility, trustworthiness, and influencers’ expertise to find out the impact on online purchase intent. The study also found out that there are many other factors that affect online purchase intent, such as product need, and price as well as its recommendations. The authors have found out that customers can connect with their peers to identify essential products and their nature, which actually influences their online purchase intent. The scope of the study is vast in terms of brand enthusiasts and the influence of credibility and authenticity.

Matti (2018) illustrated the impact of social media influencers and marketing in today’s context. The study examined the role of marketing when companies use it to promote brands and products. This selection under social media influencer also provides the risk of choice of inappropriate endorser when colossal money is spent on advertising. The study focused on analyzing in-congruencies in relation to brand and effective strategies. Through the effect of source credibility, purchase intention, brand attitude, and advertisement attitude are examined. This study is significant to show the engagement of females in social media marketing, mainly when brand endorser provides no beneficial outcomes. The role of source credibility is essential to see the relationship between influencer and consumer. The research study is also appropriate to give a detailed analysis of influencers, advertisements, and social marketing. The effects of congruencies are discussed with the influence of advertisement that can affect brand consumer, brand endorser, and endorser consumer congruency.

Mañas-Viniegra, Veloso, and Cuesta (2019) discussed the promotion of fashion on Instagram by Curvy girls’ influencers and fashion brands of Portugal and Spain. The study rendered Instagram a useful element to grow social networking because it actively participates in communication channels for fashion brands. Instagram also allows young followers to follow self-esteem and represent their identity. The study focused on determining the attention of fashion promotion in accordance with curvy influencers as fashion brands on Instagram. The study used a mixed approach, qualitative and quantitative under biometric eye-tracking technique that comprised of 120 participants from Portugal and Spain. Urban university students were used to studying with greater fashion interest and presuming self-perception as curvy women. Results provided that fashion trend and awareness are all that matters most for young females when it comes to being aware of the curvy body. The awareness factors are also more likely to play a strong role.

Osayemi (2019) discussed the scope of social media marketing, such as Instagram, Twitter, and SnapChat. The study’s main objective was to identify the key process of engaging individuals in fashion and trendy activities. Moreover, the conversation based advertisement is significant to consider when it comes to social media influencers. The author used pentadic analysis under qualitative content to review and promote the products when there are some subscribers or followers. SMI forums were chosen to find out the impact of advertisements on influencers and viewers as what they consider a credible source for endorsement. The study discussed that due to increased awareness of online media channels, social media influence is increased. Users of social media follow popular accounts to stay in fashion and update content based statuses. Moreover, companies also use SMIs (Social Median Influencers) as a new way to sell the product, recognize the brand, and attract customers. The study discussed different famous channels to support product branding and spread their influence.

Singh (2018) identified the concept of the brand experience by making it measurable from a scale. The brand experience is taken from Schmitt, Brakus, and Zarantonello’s article on how it can be measured and affects loyalty. The author mentioned key factors that can alter experience such as affective, sensory, intellectual, and behavioral aspects that increase customers’ loyalty as well as satisfaction. Prior studies are taking into account to gather evidence for product and branding experience in the context of buyers’ perception. Lingerie, as a key subject to monitor females’ perception, is discussed as it affects their external appearance. This object is related to increase their self-image, sexuality, and confidence. The study identified the ages and occupation-related factors that impact the brand experience of lingerie buying women in India. The qualitative study worked on 109 women to find out positive brand experience for them, and results differed significantly on the basis of occupation and age.

Taniguchi and Thompson (2015) measured the effect of social competence in terms of family communication and dissatisfaction about a body in females. The concept primarily links to the family of origin environment because family factors play an active role in influencing the body image of daughters. This gap is addressed by the authors by examining parental communication and dissatisfaction of young females about the body under social competences. Three hundred seventy-five young females participated in the study through an online survey when they were asked to assess what are their fathers’ and mothers’ communication patterns and perceptions. A hypothesized model was adopted to analyze the results. It is found out that mothers’ orientation of conversation was positively linked with females and negatively related to their dissatisfaction with bodies.  This provided an interaction effect in conformity and communication of mothers. The fathers’ orientation of conversation was also negatively associated with the resentment of the female body.

Tsarenko and Lo (2017) explored the dynamic consumer-product relationship. The context of the article is albeit sensitive intimate wear. Authors have drawn the involvement theory with service attributes and specific product quality. The study undertook the consumption of bra and gathered profile segments of 221 Australian females. The shopping behavior of females was discussed by revealing their consumption patterns and shopping experience. The three distinct parts of female shoppers of the bra are enthusiasts, dilettantes, and pragmatists. The enthusiasts show hedonic value in bra purchase. Pragmatists acquire low scores under hedonic value and presume them as competent shoppers for the bra. The dilettantes reflect the high interest in lingerie but have low competency levels in shopping bra. The demographic profiling of candidates has shown differences in factors including age, the significance of brand, and service scope ambiance of lingerie and fitting advice. The study offered a thoughtful discussion about lingerie retailers. The study also proposed that hedonic pleasure declines with age.

Armstrong et al. (2015) discussed the impact of social media influencers in the fashion industry. The scope of the study is vast discussing social media engagement theory and marketing. The objective of the study is to focus on the motivations and involvements brought about by social media across different consumption patterns. The authors measured this engagement in the form of cognitive and mental absorption. The involvement also offers a distinction between passive and dynamic elements. The involvement in consuming and buying patterns suggests a motivational framework for individual values and highlights self-concept. Different theoretical framework undertakes literary aspects of complex technology, which is identified through three main points, cognitive, affective, and behavioral. The study adopted a qualitative approach by surveying discussion groups taken from the fashion industry. Findings suggested that a transformational movement in consumer shift has occurred due to social media that has engaged consumers. Social media also provides unique opportunities in consumption, selection and buying through online platforms, and that social sophistication can be used where it makes sense.

Breves et al. (2019) analyzed that how brand influencer persuades effectiveness and credibility. The research focused on online studies to see the impact of fit between endorsement brand and Instagram followers. The experimental design is used by the author to find out internal validity. The second stage of the study focused on external validity. Both the phases provided that influencer consequences on expertise and trustworthiness. The impact of brand value on consumer behavior is significant and can be identified by analyzing consumption attitude. Today, WeChat, Facebook, and Instagram are social trending platforms that have increased the number of users in the fashion industry. In addition, brand effectiveness is seen under credibility that persuades customers to buy more and spend according to fashion trends. The advertising specialists cautiously look over opportunities created by brands and online channels. Influencer marketing is a kind of native advertising that continuously engages customers through online credibility.

Chae (2017) evaluated female envy towards special media influencers. The objective of the study was to analyze social media trends and their influence on personal lives. The media studies have been showing the influence of social media trends and advertising of luxurious life on females. The quantitative method is used to find out the psychological and personality traits of females who show envy towards these influencers. The study undertook variables like social media, personality traits, and self-esteem and their relationship with social media influencers. A two-wave online survey was conducted with different sample sizes in South Korea among females who use a smartphone. Females age 20-39 were used. Through a path analysis, four independent variables were analyzed. Findings discussed that social comparison theory has a significant scope to provide the feminist perspective about influencer and their self-representation. Through the analysis, the impact of social media on females is clearly found out that alters their mode of interaction and attitude regarding buying.

Goanta and Ranchordas (2019) discussed social media influencers in the current age. The influencers are celebrities on social media with huge followers that provide information and advertise different products. The objective of the study was to conduct an exploratory analysis of the social media influencers that bring regulatory challenges. Past literature is analyzed to gather evidence under societal relevance. Authors discussed that influencers are effective in creating online engagement for different companies, and they cater to transactional opinion. The advertising regulations with endorsements on Instagram and YouTube disregard regulatory limits. The study discussed that an average user of social media is at risk of falling prey to commercial companies for their inconspicuous interests. The paper has provided an interdisciplinary discussion about law, media, and communication and legal studies when it comes to deal daily life influencers in marketing and consumer protection that are prevalent on social media themes and governance platforms.

Hurley (2019) analyzed imagined affordances of Instagram among females that exist in Gulf Arab countries due to social media influencers. The study has explored the image sharing site, which is Instagram, to focus on the use of social media, its affordances, and the interaction of technological architecture. The study highlighted global commercial practices and the sociocultural context. The role of social actors in presenting the materialistic concept of Instagram revolves around its affordance and conceptual imagery. The study presented a decent approach to understanding the fantastic authenticity of social media influencers in the Gulf Arab region. The typologies of social media and ontologism are related to operating within the interplay of affordance of social media. Female involvement in Gulf Arab social media influencers reflects a current conception of authenticity. The theoretical aspects of the study suggest that triadic affordances of social media such as Instagram are occurring at an imaginary and conceptual level, and it is affecting followers with fantasy.

Lokithasan et al. (2019) worked on the male and female media influencers’ impact on gender in an emerging situation. The study proposed that social media influencers are a key marketing tool for companies because they are using the power to capture female buying patterns. The scope of the study is vast in terms of analyzing emerging adults’ decisions by focusing on male and female influencers’ style of promotion. The celebrity endorsement regarding small-medium enterprises is described in the study under qualitative method.Through content analysis and focus groups, the impact of social media influencers on males and females is analyzed. The findings of the study suggested that female respondents are more influenced and inclined to social media influencers because of beauty, personal care, and other related products; however, male respondents reflect a focus on gaming and technology products. The impact of social media is strongly related to the buying decisions of male and female.

Nelson and Deborah (2017) proposed a study to highlight the impact of celebrity endorsement. The brands are promoted in the market space due to advertising through many social media channels. The study engaged Asia and the African market by focusing on the dramatic role of celebrity endorsement on products. They develop an authentic approach to capture the attention of users by influencing their perception of products. It is a common way to build recognition of products and branding. Authors presented that previous studies have discussed different aspects of brand credibility and celebrity endorsement, and it is clear to say that celebrity endorsement is the most effective way companies use to attract buyers. The findings of the paper suggest that celebrity use in promotion, advertisement, and product branding is a key tactic by marketers since it presents a fantastic image of the product in customers’ minds, therefore they get attracted as compared to non-celebrity featured advertising.

Pereira and Salgueiro (2019) worked on the advertising aspect, modeling, and use of social media channels to advertise products. The study worked on the objective of analyzing fashion and beauty models and the purchase intentions of female consumers in the age of 50. The common fear in females is getting flawed skin, gaining weight, and related expression. The study addressed the issue in relation to social media influence under an effective communication strategy. The study conducted qualitative analysis through a questionnaire to gather substantial knowledge of 259 people. Deep concerns about aging and getting obese in females are authentically targeted by marketing different brands. This social phenomenon is commonly discussed in commercial and marketing aspects. Mostly advertisement about fashion and beauty target females to get their views and involves them in-market products. The study found out that targeting females according to their fears is quite helpful to market products and increase buying of products.

Pounders (2018) illustrated the fashion concepts with respect to the female perception that thin is ideal. The consumer response to imaginary weight and body perspective is significant when targeted rationally. The study undertook advertisement aspects and social media influence that help individuals raise their concerns about body weight. The concept of advertiser about capturing the common concept of slim is related to help women about different weight loss products. The advertising agencies are promoting brands just according to the need of women who follow social trends. The study addressed this issue theoretically and examined how the consumer responds to a thin ideal weight. The concept of advertising and promoting products through social media is gaining huge importance because it is about social trending, revealing celebrity’s life, and providing them dimensions to focus on new horizons, solutions to their problems, and compare themselves with better bodies in media.

Pütter (2017) examined the impact of social media on transforming the intentions of buyers about consuming a particular product. The study is qualitative and explored previous research studies to get evidence. The increased focus of social media has shaped the society and advertising world by giving rise to individual voice about social trends. The effective use of media is incredibly providing a competitive advantage about creativity, but companies are working to shape consumer perception regarding branding and marketing.  This research study highlighted the impact of social media use and the perception of the brand. Social media management is an improved aspect of functioning underuse of technology to modify the promotion and to shift the focus of consumers.

Tran and Belul (2017) explored the young women’s perception of the consumption of lingerie and bikinis.  The study focused on the concept of ideal body shape, which is spread due to the influence of social media. Victoria Secret, Triangl, and Hunkemoller are the main companies selling swimwear and lingerie and using the concept of the thin ideal body to target Z generation. The study is significant for this research because it opted qualitative strategy to investigate three focus groups. Interviews of 15 young females showed the attraction to these companies through Instagram accounts. The findings of studies showed that marketing is influencing young females to get the thin ideal body, just like the models of these companies, and consumers certainly get influenced by social media.

Chapter-3

Methodology

This chapter will discuss methodology, research action plan and process of data collection. The purpose of the study is to establish the impact of social media influencers on the erotic lingerie buying decision of men and women. The research methodology is qualitative that will use questionnaires and interviews.

3.1 Research Approach

To accomplish the purpose of this research, deductive approach is used. The deductive approach is concerned with the hypothesis development, on the basis of existing information, for instance, social media influencers and buying behavior of consumers. This research approach is used to test the developed hypothesis, so deductive reasoning will move from a particular point to general (Quansah, 2017). The observations found out from this study will provide a logic because it is started from a theory to formulate the hypothesis. The deductive approach in this way will use the consumer behavioral patterns to build a relationship useful for this research. In addition, this research approach will be significant to clear the relationship and impact of social media influencers on the erotic lingerie buying decision of men and women.

3.2 Hypothesis

The hypothesis developed for this study will investigate the relationship of social media influencers with the erotic lingerie buying decision of men and women.

H0= There is a relationship of social media influencers with the erotic lingerie buying decision of men and women

H1= There is no relationship of social media influencers with the erotic lingerie buying decision of men and women

3.3 Research strategy

After identifying that social media influencers can trigger the consumer behavior regarding specific lingerie brands, the research strategy will use qualitative approach. The analysis will be done after interviewing random people, who will show their preferences, on the basis of type and nature of brand. The collected data will show real life evidences and this will be significant to relate it with consumer theories. The research will offer coherent findings about social media influencers and brand loyalty. With the information gathered from respondents, the interests, preferences and social media influence will be analyzed that will be helpful to formulate opinion. Selection of this investigative method is useful to make it clear that social media has high influence on people.

3.4 Choice of research

The interpretive philosophy under this research study explains the role of qualitative analysis. The use of interviews is capable to provide firsthand information, since most of the respondents are females. The qualitative method choice is also helpful for this study, in terms of evaluating respondent’s response and in-depth views. The qualitative approach is worthy to get involved in the observatory discussion. Due to this research observation, real world focus towards social media and its influence will be acquired. Focusing on the global concepts is integral to formulate opinion and draw evidence based inferences (McCrae &Purssell, 2018).

With the help of qualitative method, information from respondents can be validated by past research studies, research papers, peer reviewed articles and academic papers. The involvement of people in social media marketing and influencing methods is related to advertisement and decides buying behavior of consumers.

3.5 Advantage and disadvantages of chosen method

The current research study is using qualitative analysis, i.e. use of questions and interviews to examine the behavior of consumers regarding lingerie products. The process of research will provide estimated findings and probable evidences. Investigating respondents in this process will help getting firsthand information, so possibility of any bias will omit. Qualitative research is advantageous to include interview question, as a typical structured form to meet objectives of research. The qualitative research is significant to capture the changed behavior and attitude of respondents or a particular target group. It is a flexible approach by offering ability to researcher adapt questions or improve response rate by changing variable (Malina, Nørreklit&Selto, 2011).

The qualitative research is beneficial in term of targeting more respondents to increase the productivity. In addition, sampling specific people or targeting some people is cost saving process. The disadvantages of qualitative research are sample size, sample bias, self-selection bias in form of volunteering, artificial capture of data and less maintained focus on the area of research. Despite of all these disadvantages, data can be collected efficiently, i.e. reducing bias and possible error. Using a research method efficiently means to use a smart approach (Robinson, 2013).

3.6 Research Instrument

In the qualitative research, different methods are used, such as interviews, observations, group discussions and questionnaires. These data generation processes are qualitative in nature because they enhance the credibility of study (Malina, M., Nørreklit, H., &Selto, F. 2011). In this research study, to examine the buying behavior of consumers, questionnaires and interviews are used. The lingerie brand Temptations Avenue is selected for the study. To capture the accurate picture, customers, newsletter subscribers and social media followers of the lingerie brand Temptations Avenue are contacted to participate in the study.  This process has helped record real response from consumers and details will help validate the study with the theory (Tuckett, 2004).

3.7 Questionnaire

To accomplish the research objective of this study, to establish the impact of social media influencers on the erotic lingerie buying decision of men and women, a set of questions is designed. The questions are designed in an interview form method with preplanned questions that follow the interview, and also a space for unscripted questions is used. The next phase of the questions are aimed to understand how the respondent follow, why, and how much influence these Social Influencers had on the respondents. The last phase of the interview is targeted at what triggered the respondents to buy, follow or subscribe to Temptations Avenue.

3.8 Sampling method

Usually, in qualitative research, different kinds of sampling methods are used, such as purposive sampling, random sampling and quota sampling (Quansah, 2017). In present research random sampling is used and people, who show interest in buying lingerie products and social media influencers are investigated. In total, 10 respondents are interviewed, of which 2 are male and 8 are females. An important criteria was to find out what causes people to buy from a specific brand. This was essential to be able to assess the impact of social media influencers’ activities for Temptations Avenue, it was also important that a base line is established by figuring out what triggered the purchase of any kind of intimate wear by the respondents from other brands in the past, of which a particular focus is females.

3.9 Data collection

The data collected from respondents by interviews. In, total 10 respondents were interviewed, of which 2 were male and 8 were females.

The tables below present male and female responses about their awareness of social media influences, brands and lifestyle sense. The data collected in interview form is presented in the table format.

Male responses

Questions about Temptations Avenue brand

General questions about brands

Female response

Female responses who buy from Temptations Avenue

3.10 Reliability and validity of research

The validity and reliability are two key terms used interchangeably to examine the accuracy of any research work. The variables, collected data and hypothesis are tested to know, if there is accuracy. Any form of bias, false data or misinterpreted variables lead to less reliability of results. Reliability explains about consistency of research work. These terms of research define about the score of conducting study. This provides that validity and reliability in research test will provide the value of research that can be accurate and authentic (Robinson, 2013). In this study, the hypothesis designed will be tested against alternative, no relationship between social media influencers with the erotic lingerie buying decision of men and women.

The value based analysis of questionnaires and interview answers will be tested to check their validity and reliability. A crucial measure that will explain about this measure is known as Cronbach alpha. It was first developed by Lee Cronbach in 1951. This measure will provide significant evidence to check the internal consistency of variables (Quansah, 2017). The key variables for this study are social media influencers, and buying decisions of consumers. The study will check internal consistency of variables by using Cronbach’s alpha.

3.11 Limitations of study

To accomplish a research study, it is important to discuss key variables and research scope. On this basis, the limitations of study can be decided. Current research study is limited in its scope because sample size is very small. Analyzing consumer buying decision is a broad category but in this research, it is only analyzed by lingerie products. Third limitation is analyzing impact of lingerie with a specific brand, i.e. Temptations Avenue. There could be a broader picture of same scenario, if more brands are incorporated. The fourth limitation is the use of qualitative approach. Due to this approach, research results becomes limited and chances of bias increases.

Chapter-4

Results and Discussions

The qualitative research used interview methods to investigate participants. This research study analyzed the buying behavior of consumers for lingerie brand Temptations Avenue. The research objective of the study was to establish the impact of social media influencers on the erotic lingerie buying decision of men and women. In total, 10 respondents were interviewed, of which 2 were male, and 8 were females. The research triggered the purchase of any kind of intimate wear by the respondents from other brands in the past, of which a particular focus is females. The variables of this study are brand trust, social media influencers, and brand awareness.

4.1 Results of Study

Male and female responses to buying decisions were different. The male behavior of buying and interacting with lingerie brands is different. Though the sample size was small for this research, male intentions to buy lingerie or related products appeared from their responses. Male and female respondents were asked about two categories of purchase. The first category was buying from Temptations Avenue brand, and second category was asking general questions about the brand.

Under the general questions category for brans, they responded that they follow many Instagram models for sexy images, but they are not influenced by IG models to buy erotic apparel. The male behavior was indifferent as they do not spend time reading captions of the images about brand name or else, so in case if IG model was not promoting anything, they will not know the idea of branding. Male behavior towards the lingerie brand was only related to IG models. However, the response included a focus on cannabis and gym-related products such as protein bars and shakes.

Most of the responses of male showed no interest in fashionistas. However, they knew about La Senza and Victoria Secrets. The response of males towards buying from brands or buying decisions was weak. For instance, a respondent showed no interest in buying from brands as it was risky for him, and there could be some fitting issues in bras. In some responses, male buying decisions were not strong towards brands as they feel it uncomfortable if their partners disliked the design, etc. the designs of intimate apparel differ from one brand to another. According to the male respondents, non-branded content can be less influential because they do not contact or follow up to ask about the buying decisions of customers. Their responses worked for social media influence as influencers mostly help people make good decisions to buy erotic lingerie products.

The responses of males towards the Temptations Avenue brand were specific. The main reason behind this answer was the design of this brand, according to respondents, the designs of products are bold and attractive, so they feel good. The purchase intentions of people are different from buying from a particular brand for instance; it is not very likely that everyone purchases from a brand more often, but on some occasion, they like to purchase, such as anniversary or birthdays. Male responded about the brand awareness that it is compulsory for a famous brand to be on top search results and at famous shopping malls. Further, online and offline presence also matters. Both male respondents indicated that their trust in influencers is based on how often the influencers share useful information without monetary expectations and how long have these influencers been doing it. This means brands have to pay extra care when identifying and to collaborate with influencers and build a medium to long term working relationship with these influencers.

The female responses were much detailed and analytical about the product. Among eight females, seven purchased from Temptations Avenue brand and other brands while one bought from other brands. The response rate has shown that idea about the brand name. It is important for customers to know brand names in order to promote the product. Most of the female respondents purchased from local adult stores and Amazon. All the females reported that famous products among them were lingerie and loungewear. There are some main attributes of a brand that women follow most while purchasing any product from a brand. For example, women preferred brands, who offer better sizes, quality, and deals/promotions.

Many lingerie brands are convenient and specialize in multiple feminine products (Abidin, 2016). The social media presence also matters a lot for females, and the main fashion brands such as La Senza, La Vie En Rose, and Victoria’s Secrets are quality brands. Most of the women reported that they follow specific figures of fashion mentioned under brands, such as Angel Girls, VS girls, and lingerie blogs.

Females’ responses to the Temptations Avenue brand were interesting. For example, all women follow the social media presence of this brand. Most of them liked the lifestyle, trend, and fashion aesthetics used by the brand in its products. Social media influence plays a major role in endorsing buyers about new products(Chae, 2017). Most women choose a product when they are inspired by lifestyle, attractive and bold designs, and eye-catching images. Among eight women, two frequently buy from the Temptations Avenue brand. However, three women follow the social media influencers of Temptations Avenue brand. The rest of the women showed no interest.

Women interaction on social media to follow brands and fashion figures is significant, and they responded that most of the time, influencers moved them to buy a specific product. Most of the women follow these brands and social media influencers due to fashion taste and get lifestyle updates. Women’s interest in Erotic Lingerie brand was aroused by Facebook advertisements mostly. Female’s sense of fashion is different from male, so they are more attracted to lingerie products and brands to impress males(Dahlén&Rosengren, 2005). Most of the respondents showed their interest in Nude color bras, comfortable bras, bras for a dress, push up bras, and sexy dress. They also liked loungewear items such as Pijamas, cute shorts, bathrobes, cute and not too revealing sleep gown. Erotic lingerie seems to trigger more slowdown in decision making due to the bold style and waiting for any occasion.

4.2 Male vs. Female Respondents

Male recorded responses about lingerie products were different from females. For example, according to the male point of view, it is odd to see an advertisement about lingerie products on Facebook. Male subscribe email and newsletter of these brands but are less committed to purchase any products. Furthermore, the male is more interested in cannabis products and products related to their interest, those related to the gym like protein bars, etc. They are also less likely to get influenced by social media influencers and Instagram. However, they know about the difference between non-branded and branded content and how it benefits people’s buying decisions.

Male intentions and responses are different from females like the perception of social media. Social Media influencers can be very passive brand awareness agents for males who may be somewhat unaware of the impact of SI on them. Also, it appears to be the case that males assess the trustworthiness of an influencer by the non-monetized benefits that said influencers create and pass to their followers. It can be argued that males don’t feel comfortable buying things like Bras for their significant other but are more comfortable in buying erotic lingerie as it seems Erotic Lingerie is viewed as a “once in a while wear” and so, no major influence from the wife/partner is required. Males look for non-digital as well as digital markers to cultivate trust with a brand. Unlike normal lingerie for which husbands/boyfriends tend to align the purchase with their partners, the nature of erotic lingerie gives the Male partner some leeway with making a purchase decision alone. This is because the female partner is going to wear erotic lingerie once in a while or for an occasion, so making comfort a less priority element.

Female respondents proved to be more aware and get easily influenced by social media and Facebook. The challenge with erotic products, whether it is erotic lingerie or sex toys, is the fact communication on social media platforms is complicated. Ads that are deemed sexual will be blocked from being displayed, and therefore focus on scaling communication through alternative means becomes necessary. This is where Social Media Influencers. In normal circumstances, Social media influencers are becoming a foundational aspect of any brand communication. This becomes even more so when you have the limitations mentioned above when dealing with erotic lingerie. This is leading many Lingerie brands, especially the smaller ones, to work more with Social Media Influencers. But the question is, how effective is it to work with social media influencers when you are an erotic lingerie brand? Do the influencers have real influence over the buying decision of males and females?

4.3 Cronbach’s alpha

Three variables of study brand trust, social media influencers, and brand awareness are quantified from the questionnaires to calculate the value of Cronbach’s alpha. For the small sample test, the value of Cronbach’s alpha is 0.7, which shows internal consistency.

4.4 Discussion

The buying decisions of consumers mainly depend on the outside world and related variables. Potential themes evaluated from this research are:

• Social media influencers
• Brand Awareness
• Product awareness
• Brand Trust

The analysis of results establishes that null hypothesis for this study is accepted. It was “there is a relationship of social media influencers with the erotic lingerie buying decision of men and women.” The interview practice has highlighted the role of the key themes identified in this research, which are discussed in detail.

4.5 Themes of Research

4.5.1 Social Media Influencers:

Social media is a significant source for the advertisement of any product. Erotic lingerie’s undergarments give an attractive look to the body, and social media promote such factors that are related to sex and female sex objects(Goanta&Ranchordas, 2019). Western media highly contributed to prevailing sexualization. 46% of female or young adults are showing themselves on social media only in the U.S. Along with this, social media is extremely popular in young people and their best-loved context is sexualization.

Erotic lingerie’s product is helpful in sexual activities; its stretchable fabric gives proper shape to the body and assists in presenting its parts properly. Lingerie getting familiar because of enhancing the body features into young women on social media. Adults (ages 8-18) mostly spend their time (7 to 10 hr) on social media. Face book is also the most used factor in sexualization. One hundred and seventeen college men like sexual profile photos of young female adults. After that, this process goes further toward dating and other relationships. Often females are earning money by presenting their sexual particles on social media. To perform sexual activities and in the act of sexualization, erotic lingerie is a tremendous factor to promote a female on social media with a sexy look.

However, it seems very unlikely that a Social Media Influencer will have a direct impact on the buying decision. In other words, brands should not expect immediate sales to take place after running a social media influencer’s campaign. The respondents follow fashionistas and lifestyle trends. People follow these accounts to get fashion ideas & inspirations and lifestyle aspirations. People like styles and colors of products by lingerie brands. It is also possible that social media influencers only work while scrolling own the feed, and when people go out for shopping, they prioritize their budget and preferences.

Social Media influencers have a very passive and indirect impact on the respondents. It is unknown if the respondent is genuinely oblivious, or they are denying being influenced. It is, however clear that the respondents consume the shared content with some level of thoughtful presence. For brands, this means that Social Media influencers should be used at all times. However, it should not be expected that a sale will be generated directly from any particular influencer.

4.5.2 Brand Awareness

Erotic lingerie gives a sense of confidence, style, cozy and sexy look to its wearer. Different brands of this product deal with customers in different ways.Victoria secret is most familiar, and the exemplary brand of lingerie. It mostly produced or manufactured undergarments for the supermodels. This brand has established the largest retailer industry around the world(Haryani Hatta &Rachbini, 2018).

Zivam is the largest online undergarment brand of lingerie in India. Its popularity shows its difference to other brands, because of its attractive crafting, and availability in different sizes. Pink usually reflects feminine. The purpose behind introducing this brand to satisfied, passionate, and fashion alert audiences. It is a sub-brand of Victoria secret. 15_22 year’s customers are its focusing priority. Gapbody is an original company of lingerie lines. It delivers its products around the world. Recently this brand introduced a capsule collection of undergarments named ‘Love by Gap Body’. Amante is a top leading brand around in Asian countries; it fascinates its followers because of its elegant designs.Bare Necessities maintain their level among other lingerie brands in short intervals. It is available at affordable prices and has introduced different plus sizes of female undergarments. Calvin Klein is a well-known brand around the world because of its consumer’s demand. It provides a stylish, inviting, and tempting look to its customers at a reasonable price(Hurley, 2019).

4.5.3 Product Awareness

Erotic lingerie provides push up bras according to different sizes, and bestow pleasing feel to women with different decorating styles, that may be used under the dress or unless the dress in both cases lingerie products equally emphasize the customers. It also fascinates its audience with lace line bodysuits towards such followers who want to present in a smart and sexy look. Lingerie makes research on female desire around the undergarments and focuses on its manufacturing departments and crafts it according to the consumers’ intent. That is why lingerie enjoys a leading role around the world with its different brands and distinctive products(Molinillo, Japutra, Nguyen & Chen, 2017). Lingerie’s main popularity is to minimize the cost of its products and satisfy its consumers by providing them comfortable, affordable, ultra-modern undergarments. Its soft and smooth stuff gives a loveable feel to the body. Its major cause of differentiation is its uncountable range of designs and availability in different sizes and colors. Online purchasing is another beneficial factor. Moreover, quality and style are the first priority which makes the lingerie world’s best undergarments brand.

4.5.4 Brand Trust

Consumer trust is the real asset of lingerie because it gives a sexy look to the feminine body. Moreover, men like to see the female in lingerie undergarments. This thought gives a sense of trust to its customers. Whether a female is wearing it outside. The feeling of confidence maintains the trust of customers on lingerie’s products. It keeps in mind different body structures and body figures and builds bras according to it.

If a woman has a flattering body, she needs to wear some control type panties and bras and with small breast size must use padded bra to enhance the body figure according to the desire and to make an attractive presentation to others. The difference in body appearance and using expert techniques makes the brand more different and reliable to its customers. If a female wearing a lingerie product can easily motivate the partner’s emotions towards, its silky and smooth fabric also feels fabulous to its wearer. Female is practicing and performing duties in different fields; this brand builds trust and confidence to make sure to present the body attractively.

4.5.5Female Trust in Lingerie Brands and Attractive Factor of Purchasing

Every female loves to be charming and attractive, often are beautiful by nature. Sexual particles are additional parts that make a female younger and elegant. In this matter, lingerie is a helpful factor that makes women extra pleasing with its sexy look. Young adults and different age factor females prefer lingerie products because it fulfills the desire of presenting, and its soft and smooth texture rescues the body from any kind of irritation and restlessness. Its special feature is to craft its products for different occasions, like simple and plain undergarments and attractive and stylish look for some events like weddings, Valentine’s Day(Wellman, Stoldt, Tully &Ekdale, 2020).

Lingerie knows its customers belong to all classes. Thus, it provides a variety of selection at a low rate. Its attractive feature of purchasing is that lingerie has trained manufacturing staff, which makes its crafting according to the body figure of a female, and presents the body appearance according to the client’s demand(Yoh, 2013). Supermodels and different actresses prefer lingerie products because of their distinctive styles and color collections and fulfill the desire of body presentation to be popular on social media by creating a hot and sexy profile to get more likes and followers or to earn money.

4.5.6 Important considerations

The advertisement has a specific role in spreading awareness about lingerie brands. Participants became aware of the brand through FB advertisements. Further, males and females have indicated that they don’t know of any of the influencers deployed by Temptations Avenue. Brands can also still work with social media influencers when targeting males but it has to be in a subtle way. Males’ retention is most focused when the content is about a product/brand/industry they are interested in. Therefore erotic lingerie brands should identify the different interests (in this study, we identified Cannabis and health/gym brands and products) and execute a trilateral partnership (Erotic Lingerie Brand – Cannabis/Health brand – Influencer).

One important factor erotic lingerie brands need to take into account is simply the sizing aspect for the male buyer. Erotic lingerie brands should use very creative ways to advertise to males in a way that is approved by the social media platform, and that captures the attention. Using Instagram Models to reach males may be wasteful as the retention of information related to the promoted brand is highest when the male is interested in the product or industry of the brand. Also, the abundance of sexy images of IG models weakens the uniqueness of the lingerie that is being worn, no matter what the brand is.

Brands need to work more in normalizing the concept of erotic wear. A possible solution would be for Erotic Lingerie brands to team up with Influencers who are stylists (this means that the stylist would take the different lingerie designs and find creative ways to incorporate them in everyday wear, or as outerwear. In terms of influence in making a purchase, a social media influencer has a bigger impact on women than men. Some of the respondents followed influencers to keep up to date with the latest fashion style. One respondent did not buy the same brand but followed the style showcased. Erotic lingerie brands may use fashionistas, not to wear their lingerie, but to run a women’s only event where the Erotic Lingerie is the sponsoring brand. Alternatively, collaborating with Influencers who are doing both Fashion and Lingerie. This can prove to be difficult to achieve, as this category of influencers is very hard to find.

Erotic lingerie brands should collaborate with Fashion Influencers who match the personality or the brand. The respondents indicated that they trust the fashion taste of the influencers they follow and therefore finding an influencer that matches the brand personality already gives the lingerie brand a foot into the door (or mind of the female customers). Erotic lingerie brands should also team up with Influencers whose body sizes fit within the size chart of the Erotic Lingerie brand. Encouraging the influencers to share what size they are wearing and showcasing helps to create more trust between potential customers and the erotic lingerie brand.

Like with males, Influencers should not be counted on as a direct conversion channel, meaning that erotic lingerie brands should not invest in Social Media influencers expecting direct and immediate purchases. The conversion time is much faster than that of males, but nevertheless, brands have to be realistic in their expectations. The attention is great, and the retention is high, and therefore brand awareness is achieved. The challenge with this is that high creativity is required to slip the erotic lingerie in without making it a focus.

For women, when it comes to intimate wear/non-erotic lingerie, comfort and functionality are very important. In the case of Erotic Lingerie, uniqueness/boldness of styles and designs is a very important factor; however, it is also a factor that may be intimidating some women. With that being said, it seems like women are willing to go out of their comfort zone and wear something bold or erotic if there is a special occasion to celebrate.

4.6 Recommendations

Content Influencers: models who will wear the lingerie and take a picture (or multiple pictures). These types of Influencers are very low-cost content generators. The images and content can be used by the brand in their different communications. This also creates some brand awareness.

Fashion/lifestyle influencers: The typical fashionista/lifestyle influencer whose personality matches that of the lingerie brand. Can be collaborated to help normalize the Erotic vibe of the brand, and to create awareness

Stylist Influencers: usually fashion styling experts, who are not afraid to wear erotic lingerie and who are not afraid to style it as outerwear. This also helps in normalizing the Erotic vibe that can be perceived by the potential customers of the brand. These influencers are a niche between the content influencers and the fashion/lifestyle influencers.

Chapter 5

Discussion/Analysis

After discussing the results of the questionnaire in the previous chapter, some important factors related to consumer buying behavior will be analyzed in this chapter. The qualitative study provided significant insight into the buying behavior of consumers. The analysis of purchase patterns is also useful to know about the shopping frequency and intentions of consumers (Coley & Burgess, 2003). The results of the study provided information about the general spending habits of men and women. It is found out that male and female buying patterns are different, yet aligned to the need for a product. The fashion sense of different people allows them to move to different brands (Agarwal, 2019). On the basis of results and inferences made, it is logical to describe key theoretical concepts behind the buying behavior of consumers.

Factors of Lingerie shopping

Women are most familiar with Lingerie shopping. They show their interest and preferences through purchasing. Different styles, fashion sense, and aesthetics allow the selection of unique products. The unique experience in lingerie shopping provides a wide range of selection and product choices by different brands (Attreya, 2018). The current research is key evidence to show the interest of women in lingerie shopping and other feminine products. Current marketing literature emphasizes fashion clothing as preferable products when it comes to investigating their tastes. The nature of lingerie, type, and style of products provide pleasurable leisure activity. The self-enhancing benefits allow women to contribute to personal identity and one’s self-image. The literature on consumer behavior has focused on the specific behavior of women when they confront their preferred products. The consumption involvement is an unobservable motivational state that leads to arousal of interest. It is also found out that a particular condition or stimulus, its research, information, and consequences can help consumer’s effective decision making.

The fashion-based consumption of lingerie offers women an opportunity to express social status, personal identity, as well as professional image. This projected identity offers a clear means of communication to interact with the outer world and define particular things that serve greater meaning. Women’s involvement in fashionable products is based on their consumption patterns in relation to intimate apparel (Coley & Burgess, 2003). The lingerie market serves between fashion and functionality. For women, different brands, products, quality, and symbol work, creating a distinctive identity for a specific brand. In the current study, similar is true for the Temptation Avenue Brand. There are different components of brands, i.e., brand elements that help to define interest level as per feelings of products and customer involvement (Mishra & Agrawal, 2017).

The self-enhancing and self-confidence experience provided by lingerie has a significant role for women since it has been investigated by the respondents in this study. The inference highlighted that this woman instrument is specific to appeal to their men and introduce bold concepts. The different form of lingerie, related products, and styles are famous among women because it is presented by lingerie brands in the most desirable format (Attreya, 2018). Mostly, the consumer brands target customer satisfaction elements and provide differentiated products that fulfill the requirements of consumers.

Key factors that lingerie brand focus are targeting aspects of females. For instance, age is a crucial element to target potential customers. Women above age 40 show less interest in bold lingerie products. In addition, specific attention is paid to identify the preferences of white and colored women. Young customers prefer showy products, and accurate segmentation is carried out to find out the attitude of customers. Among young women, a ratio of buying underwear suits is in increasing trend annually. Known brands such as Victoria secret and Temptation Avenue are more attractive for young customers due to their advertisement campaign and trendy products. Consumers also show faithfulness to know brands since their products appear in feeds of customers on social media (Kai, Xiaofan, Qiuying&Huanhuan, 2013). The current study established that women are influenced from lingerie brands, when they need it for their special occasions, such as anniversary or wedding, etc. literature has supported the evidence of consumer engagement with lingerie brands under the influence of social media, such as Facebook and Instagram.

The underwear and bra products are idealized on the basis of certain factors. For instance, the advertising effect, young women’s preferences, fashion shows, events, and models are some key aspects that arouse the necessity of these products (Attreya, 2018).

Mostly, consumers show scant regard for the fashion products, and consumption demotivation occurs, due to new status symbol products, a saturation of sector, slight interests or economic crisis. The principle strategic factors are related to consumer expectations regarding the product’s attributes. For instance, it is considered that the product should be innovative, beautifully presented, fashionable, bold, and durable regarding fashion sense (Coley & Burgess, 2003). The rich style and enhancing elements also motivate females. The key characteristics are seen in specialized products in case of scale and organization space (Mishra & Agrawal, 2017). Investment is another factor that motivates consumers; for instance, most of the consumers want less spending on highly fashionable products yet spend more for a sober, classic, and durable product.

Current study also investigated that a medium law range of consumers does not go for fancy and expensive lingerie, as interviewed by females (Singh, 2018). They have standardized taste, yet they prefer economic products. Literature supports this argument and emphasizes that products that have a good image, yet economical have more customers. In Japan, Italian fashion products are sold in minimum quantity because of their know-how and value that customer gives. The influential lingerie factors decide how the consumer will respond to fashion products (Che, Peng & Hua, 2016).

5.1 Brand Experience

Brand elements are composed of signage, color, name, symbol, and aim of unique products’ identity. Consumers can easily distinguish into famous lingerie products on the basis of brand names. The different components of a brand make it different from others. Brand elements work on the physical level and psychological levels (Attreya, 2018). The significant impact related to feelings connects customers to specific branded products, so they develop fashion sense. Intimate relationship in consumer and brand is oriented on the basis of brand experience (Kai, Xiaofan, Qiuying&Huanhuan, 2013). In the current research study, the female respondents have shown their interest in lingerie in the case of Temptation Brand Avenue.

Prior literature discussed the concept of brand experience related to lingerie brands as a more functional and created a positive image for products. The buying behavior of the consumer is focused on the functionality of the product that needs significance. The impact of brand experience can be seen through high-quality products and consumer demand. In the current research study, the nature of lingerie, its style, and its quality has influenced male and female buyers. The experience shared by respondents’ highlights that many lingerie brands that offer reasonable sizes, prices, and products are mostly appreciated by the customers. The respondents also mentioned that they are influenced by the presence of brands on social media.

The particular response of respondents for Temptations Avenue Brands was peculiar because it offers trendy stylized products and focuses on real-life events (Mishra & Agrawal, 2017). Many women appreciate the social involvement of brands and cater to fashion aesthetics for women. Social media influence is a specific interest for females because it offers the latest information about lingerie brands, celebrities who use it, and admirable figures (Che, Peng & Hua, 2016). Women love the lifestyle. Fashion and trendy products, so the presence of lingerie brands on social media matters most for the customers. It is also ensured from the evidence that people show their interest through social media, as some respondents mentioned IG models and their likeness of brands that appear in the feed. It is also found out that Instagram uses social media influencers that not only persuade customers to buy the most desirable products but also allow them to make differentiated choices.

Furthermore, brand experience also works for women’s interaction. Social media trends are related to fashion figures and versatile models for specific products. It is common among women to follow famous brands and provide their opinion about products. The taste, aesthetics, and demand for lingerie is a significant aspect of the decision making aspects. The interest of women for the lingerie brand is mostly enhanced by Facebook and Instagram. The role of advertisement is also significant to consider brand elements. There are also some conspicuous elements that decide how consumers consume and use products (Kai, Xiaofan, Qiuying&Huanhuan, 2013). The consumption experience defines its way of orienting the brand performance and help consumers suggest its preferences. Most of the brands decide improvements in their products on the basis of consumer reviews and feedback. Consumer demand also decides the nature and specifications of products. The brand experience is a measurable scale that deals with promotions and discounts that a brand offers on its products. The brand experience related studies discussed consumer perception about the particular brand that evoke certain kind of feelings in a consumer that make him buy more. Lingerie brands for women are oriented on such a notion that influence women, and they understand the significance of the products.

The current research study has proved that lingerie brands have been proven significant for women since they provide desirable products in the most attractive form (Mishra & Agrawal, 2017). For instance, the Temptation Avenue brand is a desirable brand that offers lingerie, underwear, and bras, what women like most, and get influenced by social media. The lingerie market in the world is based on a similar traditional approach that provides not only an overtly sexual aspect but also attractive depiction lingerie (Che, Peng & Hua, 2016). Brands also focus on the advertising of products by the consumers’ perspective and offer an advantage to opt for these products. It is of predominant importance that brands identify key factors that help consumers decide about their preferences and focus on maximum satisfaction out of lingerie brands. Consumer behavior is related to intellectual, affective, sensory, and behavioral aspects that are categorized in the form of a scale of brand experience.

Consumption decision making criteria in the modern day is related to different aspects of life. The scope of society in relation to fashionable female brands is complex. Human values are measured in a different way today, yet it is a complex form that helps determine set targets for brand symbols in society (Kai, Xiaofan, Qiuying&Huanhuan, 2013). Feminism is reflected from the taste of life and status that they hold in society, yet there is a clear connection between brand and background of company because brand sets its parameters on the basis of consumer insights and demand. Consumers adopt a unique approach to purchase a product, which is based on need rather than a choice. Temptation Avenue Brand has oriented its consumers’ demand as per need rather choice because its products’ concept is built in such an interactive form that expands choices (Coley & Burgess, 2003). Consumption making aspects need planning, development, and brand management. Different lingerie brands have developed their management on direct marketing strategies under brand quintessence because brand managers have identified key competitors for their product (Che, Peng & Hua, 2016). The lingerie brands also have increased the pace of globalization by exploring the consumer interest behind the products.

There are many different yet competitive situations in the markets that work for brand superiority. As in the current research study, as a collective of male and female, the buying decisions are effectively made by the help of social media (Kim, Park & Lee, 2016). However, the traditional concept of conservativism exist for most of the customers; for instance, watching lingerie advertisement on social media is odd. The focus of lingerie brands is mainly to involve the customers, either male or females. More specifically, females feel it more attractive to get in touch with lingerie brands, since this concept helps them feel younger and charming (Mishra & Agrawal, 2017). Lingerie products offer a unique understanding of being a charm and getting involved with their partners romantically. Different age factors also help brands to align their products and categorize them under specific tastes and preferences.

Brand engagement also caters for the interaction of young female customers. The most important factors to consider for brands are sizes, shapes, and styles, as some males prefer sexy lingerie. The interest of males in these products is aroused by showing them sexy girls images and IG models. For some specific reasons, it is also found out that consumers prefer lingerie hot and sexy products. The research study has provided important evidence about the use of social media and advertisement that is crucial in erotic lingerie brands. The use of social media platforms is used as an approved tool because it captures an individual’s attention and provides a competing factor for women to purchase what they wished for.

The consumption decision making needs recognition as it is highlighted from the result of the study. The respondents focused that erotic lingerie buying decisions are associated with some other factors. The situational factors are existing innerwear form that persuades consumers to go for functionality aspects (Mishra & Agrawal, 2017). The aesthetic bra’s experience and its appearance, as well as size, are key dimensions that women looked for before making a purchase. It is also clear that in most of the cases, women are more conscious about fashion, so fashion-conscious consumers are more aware of quality, style, trend, and fashion (Coley & Burgess, 2003). This factor is closely linked to social media, where social media influencers give much attention to the latest, new season fashion. The findings of the study present that special occasions persuade a customer to buy more and stay tuned for upcoming products. Customers prompted behavior is also linked to the promotions, and discounts periods, as some respondents focused on appeal to Temptation Avenue when there is a sale.

The purchasing criteria for lingerie are divided into aesthetic and functional concerns. Male respondents are of the view to buy only functional elements, but females focus more on fashion, sexy looks, and appealing designs (Kim, Park & Lee, 2016). The focus of the study was to find out how buyers respond to a particular erotic lingerie brand under different circumstances. It is clear to know that female and male respondent is of different opinion when they decide on their purchasing criteria. The functional concern is all about getting fit in the products; it’s quality, and pricing. The findings of this study are matched with past studies’ results. The aesthetic concern allows customers to involve with the latest style and shape, which is trendy. However, non-fashion conscious consumers, when going to purchase innerwear, they settle down for quality and customer service. They also need specialist advice for the correct measurement and good fit. The influence of brand name is another factor extracted from the findings. The study proposed that brand name is key to influence customers to buy more when there are some promotions and discounts offered.

Chapter-6

Conclusion

Today, brand work, brand identity, and advertisement are carried out with the help of influencers. Influencer marketing is a robust social media marketing approach that has grown brand identity concepts. Third part endorsers are enforcing consumers by forming their attitude and behavior to buy specific products.  The persuasive tone of influencer has built a large customer base for multiple brands. For example, Victoria Secret and Temptation Avenue Brand are some trending female brands for lingerie. They are using social media marketing and influencer marketing approaches to enhance their audience reach and targeting a broad segment of society.

If a brand includes influencer marketing in its strategy, relevant technologies are used to identify how the audience is fit for products, and their likes, shares, and followers are used as success symbols. Current technologies are crucial to measuring the response rate of followers under the influence of influencers. The critical values that influencers consider for branding are repute, characteristics, and personality.  Brand perception and brand personality play a crucial role to know about brand loyalty. The brand personality constitutes a set of human attributes that help consumers buy a product. The brand also adds value to perception and make attitudes about a particular product.

The current research study worked on Temptation Avenue Brand for lingerie and investigated the response of male and female participants towards buying. Measuring the buying behavior of consumers regarding lingerie was the primary purpose of the study that was accomplished by including eight participants. Specific literature and theoretical concepts were added to make up a sound base for discussion. The qualitative methodology of this study was based on questionnaires and interviews about buying behavior and patterns of attitude for lingerie. Male and female participants often hold a different opinion, and similar is true for this case. Previous research findings are also used to cross-match the result of the current study with previous findings.

Current research has investigated the main findings about the advertisement. For example, how specific it is to involve people through publicity, social media, and their favorite applications to make their behavior. Findings suggested that social media is crucial in terms of advertisement because it spreads information. Lingerie brands are the most favorite brands for females, who are conscious about their body images or who want to impress their partners about body shapes. This concept also makes a difference for males, particularly, when they are inspired by IG models, advertisements, and lingerie brand magazines.

Inferences drawn from the questionnaire illustrated the fact that social media plays a pivotal role in determining the decisions of customers. The main themes found out after analysis are brand image, brand perception, and trust of females on lingerie brands. The main focus was to find out how a lingerie brand shapes customers’ attitude. For males, the main persuasive force is models and magazines that is an advertisement that determines behavior of males towards lingerie products. Publication about lingerie brands is mainly linked to female and male perception; for instance, sexy looks attract males, so they want products for their female counterparts.

The brand image works differently. In some cases, males identify a brand by seeing a model, so a concept of delicacy and sexiness establish in their mind. Advertisement work primarily to set up the brand image about lingerie. Erotic lingerie brands are in fashion and known as fashion brands that follow the latest style, trends and offer beautiful products. This concept is familiar with female buyers, so mainly it determines their attitude of buying. A sponsoring brand has to work with care because fashion and lingerie products go side by side, and mostly females view them similarly.

The current study provided a broader concept of female trust in brands, which is built by advertisements. Social media advertisement plays a more significant role here since Facebook or Instagram feed often shows a model wearing a sexy night suit or lingerie that catches the attention of females. If two or more than two females satisfy with a lingerie brand, they recommend it to their friends, and the cycle continues. A ‘word of mouth’ matters significantly to determine the decision of females about erotic lingerie. Social media marketing is the primary tool for these brands to showcase products and build an audience through brand perception. If a female likes Victoria Secret, she will spread it in her circle, and brand recognition sets up.

Most of the consumers prefer fashion-based consumption, except one or two in a given sample of study who prefer quality and reliability over fashion. Fashion based use is common with females. The involvement of women in fashion-based products and lingerie is common due to their circle. The lingerie market is all about fashion and functionality due to differences in brand, quality, fashion, style, and status. Temptation Avenue Brand is not followed by all the sample size of this study, yet most women know about it and have trust in it.

On all the discussion elements, it is safe to conclude that social media advertisement and influencer marketing are the core approaches that help women make up their mind and make a decision. The decision making power is much influenced by word of mouth, advertisement, and social media. Lingerie brands follow fashion elements to capture more customers. They introduce the concepts of products that are common in fashion or attractive in the sense of sexy and bold styles. On the contrary, male respondents showed their decision-making power related to social media advertisement and Instagram models, who appeal to men, and they look at their partners similar in lingerie.

This research has defined the way of marketing, the influence of advertisement, and its scope in the fashion industry. Temptation Avenue Brand is a name of fashion products that delves into influencer marketing and using influencers as a ladder to climb lingerie brands. The brand perception, brand recognition and trust of brand is strongly built in this case because it has contributed to broader customer base as well as loyalty of consumers.

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Appendix

Questionnaire

Social Media influencers have a very passive and indirect impact on the respondents. It is unknown if the respondent are genuinely oblivious or they are denying being influenced. It is however clear that the respondents consume the shared content with some level of thoughtful presence. For brands, this means that Social Media influencers should be used at all times however, it should not be expected that a sale will be generated directly from any particular influencer.

• An offer they had
  • Ok, if Victoria Secrets had the same exact offer as La Senza, who would you have purchased from?
    • I’d still think La Senza, I have always felt comfortable wearing their bras.

• I liked the babydoll they had and I wanted to surprise my boyfriend
  • If Victoria Secrets had the same babydoll, would you have considered purchasing it from there?
    • Probably I would have, I like VS so I would have also been as open to buying it from there as well. But at the time I saw it on La Senza IG and I really liked it. I did not want to spend time looking for something similar elsewhere.

• I wanted something in a specific color to wear under my white dress shirt for work and I only found the shade in store and purchased it?
  • Why did you not buy it offline, wouldn’t it have been more convenient?
    • Usually yes, but because I wanted a specific nude shade, I did not want to risk ordering something that is not the shade that I want. I did not want the colors to be different, you know between the image and the real stuff.
  • Why did you not buy it from any other brand?
    • There is only La Vie En Rose and La Senza in my area, and I wanted to be able to see it like I said in person. I did not bother going to la vie en rose because I don’t think they have this. I know that La Senza has them
  • How did you know La Senza had them?
    • I have seen them a while back on social media
  • So you follow la Senza, what about La Vie En Rose?
    • No, I don’t feel like I connect with the brand.. it feels old
  • I saw a pajama set that I liked on IG and purchased it
    • If the same PJ was available from another brand, would you have considered it from that brand as well?
      • Yes, I can be very discount driven, so I could have been easily influenced by a discount.
    • My weight has changed and needed a new pair for bras that fitted me properly so I went in store and got fitted?
      • Would you have gone to a store of a different brand for this?
        • Yes absolutely, however I wanted something close within my area and I don’t have a lot of options. I normally hunt for discounts on La Senza and Victoria’s Secrets, but since I needed fitting, I did not have a choice but to go to La Senzanear by.
      • I wanted to pamper myself after so I got some cute shorts I can wear at home.
        • Would you have gotten the same shorts from a different brand?
          • No one has these shorts, I mean the writing on the butt side is unique to VS so yea
        • Oh I love Victoria’s Secrets stuff, every once in a while I go on shopping spree online. Last time I bought a bath robe, a balcony bra for an outfit I recently purchased, and a black tight dress..it was like a corset but not the ones you see in the old school movies, the ones with wires and metals. It was like a chemise or a tight babydoll with stockings.
          • Would have gotten the same items from a different brand?
            • Every once in a while I like to treat myself from VS, I have always thought they were affordable luxury. I know there are more expensive brands out there but I like to feel like I pampered myself by buying from them. In between these frenzies I am more of La Senza.. they have a lot of offers, almost always, so if I ever need anything, I go through them

• I got me a nice satin sleep gown, it is very cute and I like how it feels on the skin. I got it from La Vie En Rose
  • Would you have purchased the same thing from a different brand?
    • I purchase from other brands too, but I wanted something more relaxing than sexy and in your face.
  • So La Vie En Rose is more of a relaxed lingerie brand and La Senza is more of a sexy in your face brand?
    • Yeah, you can say that. I mean not everything you see in La Vie En Rose is at La Senza and what you have in La Vie En Rose is more feminine than sexy
  • So do you prefer feminine more than sexy?
    • Not really, it depends on the mood. I have really sexy stuff. But when I purchased the sleep gown, I was not in the mood for something sexy. I wanted something for the very relaxed days.

Title: How have Watch Brands been using Influencer Marketing on Instagram to dominate the Watch Market in the past 5 years