See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/341670094

Impact of Digital Marketing on Purchase Intention

Article · April 2020

CITATIONS READS

27 31,618

2 authors:

Sabraz Nawaz Samsudeen Mubarak Kaldeen

South Eastern University of Sri Lanka South Eastern University of Sri Lanka
47 PUBLICATIONS 319 CITATIONS 71 PUBLICATIONS 221 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Sabraz Nawaz Samsudeen on 27 May 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol. 29, No. 4, (2020), pp. 1113-1120

Impact of Digital Marketing on Purchase Intention

Samsudeen Sabraz Nawaz1 and Mubarak Kaldeen2
1
Department of Management and Information Technology
South Eastern University of Sri Lanka
2
Department of Marketing Management
South Eastern University of Sri Lanka

Abstract
Digital marketing is one of the most popular marketing approaches used by companies specifically
through social media and email marketing. On top of their ease of use and robustness, social media
and email marketing have been found to be highly effective in building customer engagement, an
element that determines the prevalence of customers’ purchase intention. Generally, digital marketing
tools enable companies to promote their products with ease as well as build customer relationships at
lower costs, leading to increased sales volume. This study aims to determine the relationship between
social media, email marketing, customer engagement and purchase intention in ICT company named
CoderFirst Sri Lanka. It intends to attain a theoretical confirmation about the relationship between the
variables and determine the suitable implications to maximize the research findings for long-term use.
This study used an online questionnaire as the research instrument that was responded completely by
363 participants made up of the potential customers of CoderFirst. The PLS- SEM method was used to
determine the effect and correlation of each variable, calculated using SmartPLS software. This
research primarily aims to determine the impact of digital marketing specifically social media and
email marketing on customer engagement and purchase intention.
Keywords: Digital Marketing, Social Media, Email Marketing, Customer Engagement, Purchase
Intention

1. Introduction
The advent of the Internet has made online information search easier and provides community
development support worldwide including in Sri Lanka. Based on Internet World Stats in December
2018, there were more than seven million people in Sri Lankan have access to the Internet (World
Internet Stats, 2019) indicating the significant technological development in the country.
In the context of Sri Lanka, IT developments influence the community’s behavior in terms of their
acceptance of new products as they are highly reliant on technology as a source of information and for
communicating with others. Due to this, many companies became aware of the need to improve their
marketing approach to widen their customer reach and one way of doing so is by utilizing information
technology specifically digital marketing. Online consumers that are unreachable via traditional
marketing can be reached directly via digital marketing hence explaining the upward trend of companies
switching from traditional marketing to digital marketing.
The most popular digital marketing tools worldwide are social media and email marketing. The study
by Get Response indicated email marketing as the most top rated digital marketing tool. Email
marketing targets customers who find promotional offers appealing. Consumers who give consent to
receiving email marketing are more likely to have higher purchase intention. Social media also
influences customer engagement (Pütter, 2017) which is an important element for enhancing the
likelihood of purchase intention (Bismo & Putra, 2019). Additionally, email marketing has been proven

1113
ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST
Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC
 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol. 29, No. 4, (2020), pp. 1113-1120

to have a significant effect on purchase intention in the case of B2C and B2B companies (Sekaringtias
& Kusumawati, 2017).
Business to Business (B2B) companies in Sri Lanka need to compete with each other to ensure their
survivability in the market. This research hence studies this phenomenon by focusing on a B2B
company, CoderFirst i.e. an ICT company that provides services to improve the digital marketing of
other companies. The issue with CoderFirst is related to the effectiveness and efficiency of its digital
marketing in improving customer engagement and purchase intention. Hence, this study intends to
determine the effect of Digital Marketing (Social Media and Email Marketing) on Customer
Engagement and Purchase Intention at CoderFirst which represents a B2B company.

2. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework

2.1 Social Media Marketing

Social media is defined as the online communication and interaction between people in certain media
platforms (Strauss & Frost, 2012). The social media marketing variables in this study are described
using several indicators prescribed by Putri (2017). They are Relationship: The formation of a
relationship with customers via existing media. Communication: The interaction between sellers and
consumers/buyers. Post-Purchase Interactions: Communication between the seller and the buyer
following a completed sales transaction and Information format: The delivery of comprehensive and
clear information to gain the attention of consumers.

2.2 Email Marketing

Email marketing is a communication tool entailing the use of electronic mail to deliver messages to
people or groups (GhavamiLahiji, 2016). Email marketing entails the communication of
advertisements, company requests or donations, and other messages to build trust, loyalty and brand
awareness. Email marketing is a highly responsive tool for carrying out promotions and building
customer interactions at a low cost (Ali, Ejaz, Aleem, Saeed, Tahir, & Kashif, 2015). It is the most
useful form of e-marketing (electronic marketing). Email marketing can be measured using three
dimensions (GhavamiLahiji, 2016) as: Offer: A company form to determine consumer response.
Example: Whether a product/service offered has been rendered; whether the price offered is apt with
the product/service received, Website: Whether the site is attractive, presents proper and complete
information, and easy to navigate and Communication Time/Sequence: The matching order of time with
what is being advertised. Example: Matching content with the campaign period; repetition of the
promotion.

2.3 Customer Engagement

It has been suggested that customer engagement is an extension of relationship marketing which
emphasizes more on the consumer-service provider exchange whilst customer engagement emphasizes
more on the customer’s experience than emotional connection (Riorini & Widayati, 2015). Customer
engagement is a psychological process that builds customer loyalty to the brand, and a mechanism for
retaining customers (Muchardie, Yudiana & Gunawan, 2016). Customer engagement can be determined
using several indicators as: Richness: Clarity of information for explaining the offered goods and
services. Clear multimedia content that is highly likely to attract consumers’ interest, Interactivity: High
interactivity level can result in greater online participation, Product description: Proper description of
the product/service being offered will drive customers’ interest, Entertainment: Information presented

1114
ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST
Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC
 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol. 29, No. 4, (2020), pp. 1113-1120

in an entertaining way will capture more positive attention and Content novelty: New and unique
information will stimulate more customer interest.

2.4 Purchase Intention

Purchase intention is somewhat similar to decision making (Mirabi, Akbariyeh & Tahmasebifard, 2015)
whereby consumers demonstrate their likelihood, willingness or plan to purchase certain brands.
Purchase intention is explained as a component of consumer behaviour i.e. the attitude towards certain
products or services (Soebagyo, 2014). It can be identified by several indicators (Putri,2017) as:
Transactional: Someone's tendency to purchase the offered item or service, Refractive: A person's
tendency to refer products or services with others, Preferential: An interest that defines someone who
has a main preference between another product or service's conduct. This preference can only be
substituted if something occurs with the product or service, and Explorative: An interest that defines
the conduct of someone interested in seeking product or service information that they are interested in.

2.5 Social Media and Customer Engagement

The increased mass utilization of social media drives the perception that social media is a critical tool
in supporting customer engagement (Pütter, 2017). Social media is often used as a platform to build up
brand promotions. In marketing, customer engagement not only entails buyer-vendor interaction, but
also relationships with prospective and existing clients.
Social media has been indicated to have a significant effect on customer engagement. Based on all the
discussions above, social media can be concluded to have a significant and positive correlation with
customer engagement. Hence, the hypothesis below is proposed for this study:
H1: Social Media has a significant impact on Customer Engagement.

2.6 Social Media and Purchase Intention

Social media has also been indicated to have a significant influence over the intention of customers to
purchase a product or service (Akhtar, Tahir, & Asghar, 2016). This is supported by the findings in
(Husnain & Toor, 2017) which also indicated the positive effect of social media on purchase intention.
Social media marketing has been proven to influence purchase intention specifically via online
communication or word of mouth (Rudyanto, 2018). Consumers gain interactive advice via social media
from both familiar and unfamiliar parties. The discussions above lead to the conclusion that social media
has a significant influence over purchase intention. Hence, the hypothesis below is proposed for this
study:
H2: Social media has a significant impact on purchase intention.

2.7 Email Marketing and Customer Engagement

Email marketing entails messages delivering product or service promotions primarily aimed at Internet
users in general. It is basically a marketing technique entailing the use of emails to disseminate
information about certain products or services (Chaffey, 2011). This technique enables a company to
retain its relationship with long-time and existing customers, which subsequently leads to consumer
engagement whereby the existing customers are now socially marketing the company’s products or
services to others. This current study is the first to investigate the effect of email marketing on customer
engagement. Hence, the hypothesis below is proposed for this study:
H3: Email marketing has a significant impact on customer engagement.

1115
ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST
Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC
 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol. 29, No. 4, (2020), pp. 1113-1120

2.8 Email Marketing and Purchase Intention

Email marketing is primarily dependent on the Internet and most of the mechanisms on the Internet
require the use of emails (Reimers, Chao, Gorman & Phau, 2016). User consent to receive email
marketing is an indication of interest of the product or service offered by the companies (Sekaringtias
& Kusumawati, 2017) which in turn could potentially affect purchase intention. This is supported by
the findings in (Sekaringtias & Kusumawati, 2017) which indicated that permission to receive email
marketing has a significant influence over purchase intention. Based on the discussions above, it is
concluded that email marketing poses a significant effect on purchase intention. Hence, the hypothesis
below is proposed for this study:
H4: Email marketing has a significant impact on purchase intention.

2.9 Customer Engagement and Purchase Intention

Online retailers are now paying considerable attention on the aspect of consumer involvement. Highly
engaged customers are indicated to have a high likelihood to influence their relatives to become a
customer as well; an additional 23% in income is generated due to customer engagement (Husnain &
Toor, 2017). On top of that, customer engagement was also found to significantly influence purchase
intention (Husnain & Toor, 2017). This current study therefore aims to examine the relationship
between customer engagement and purchase intention. Hence, the hypothesis below is proposed for this
study:
H5: Customer Engagement has a significant impact on purchase intention.
Based on all the established hypotheses, this study employs the research model shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Proposed Research Model

3. Methodology
This study employs the quantitative approach along with the associative method to address the research
objective. The cross sectional technique was used to determine the time horizon of this research. This
study relied on primary. The primary data was gathered via a survey questionnaire utilizing a seven-
point Likert scale (1 – strongly disagree to 7 – strongly agree) distributed online. The study population
consisted of the existing customers of CoderFirst who have had interactions on the company’s social
media platform. The study population was chosen using the simple random sampling technique; 400
respondents were selected in which each one represents one potential customer of CoderFirst. After

1116
ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST
Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC
 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol. 29, No. 4, (2020), pp. 1113-1120

allowing four months from August 2019 to December 2019, the survey got 381 responses. Responses
were checked for completeness and abnormal answers. Finally, 363 responses were considered to be
valid. The data collected was first tested for validity (AVE) and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha and
composite reliability) and subsequently used for the hypotheses testing to determine the correlation
between the variables. The hypothesis testing was carried out using the PLS-SEM method with
SmartPLS 3.0 as the statistical tool software. The output indicates the results for the R-square and Path
Coefficient (original sample, sample mean, standard deviation, T-statistic and P-value); both data
results were then employed to identify the relationship between the variables. Finally, the results were
discussed and summarized to propose better future managerial implications.

4. Findings and Discussion

The validity results as shown in Table 1 indicate that the AVE value for each construct is more than
0.50 suggesting that all the instrument items are valid. The finalized results as shown below are
exclusive of the non-valid indicators which have already been omitted:
Table 1. Reliability and Validity Test Results

AVE Cronbach's Alpha Rho_A CR

Customer Engagement 0.599 0.778 0.79 0.856

Email Marketing 0.704 0.859 0.866 0.905
Purchase Intention 0.679 0.843 0.843 0.894
Social Media 0.678 0.842 0.845 0.894

The reliability test results also shown in Table 1 indicate that all the variables namely Customer
Engagement, Email Marketing, Purchase Intention and Social Media are reliable as their Cronbach’s
Alpha and Composite Reliability values were all greater than 0.60.
Next, the structural model was tested to determine the R-square values of which results are presented
in Table 2 below:
Table 2. R2 Results

R Square R Square Adjusted

Customer Engagement 0.431 0.428
Purchase Intention 0.487 0.483

The result shows that the R2-Square value is 0.431, indicating that the independent variables (social
media and email marketing) can affect the dependent variable (customer engagement) by as much as
43%. This means that social media and email marketing significantly influence customer engagement.
Meanwhile, the R2 value for social media, email marketing and customer engagement indicates that
these independent variables can affect purchase intention i.e. the dependent variable by 49%. Based on
the derived R2 values, it was found that all the independent variables can explain more than 40% of the
dependent variable.

1117
ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST
Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC
 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol. 29, No. 4, (2020), pp. 1113-1120

Table 3. Path Coefficient

Standard
Path T-
Deviation P-Values
Estimates Statistics
(STDEV)
Customer Engagement -> Purchase Intention 0.263 0.045 5.833 0.000
Email Marketing -> Customer Engagement 0.313 0.057 5.511 0.000
Email Marketing -> Purchase Intention 0.347 0.051 6.786 0.000
Social Media -> Customer Engagement 0.438 0.055 7.998 0.000
Social Media -> Purchase Intention 0.223 0.053 4.181 0.000

The hypotheses testing results are shown on the Table 3 (also graphically shown in Figure 2 and Figure
3). The first hypothesis testing i.e. the effect of social media on customer engagement derived a T-
statistic value of 7.998> 1.96, with a P value of 0.000 i.e. lower than the 5% significance value. Both
values indicate the significant influence between the variables. The coefficient value derived was 0.428
indicating a significantly positive relationship between social media and customer engagement. Hence,
H1 which proposes that Social Media has a direct significant influence on Customer Engagement is
accepted.

Figure 2: Path Coefficients

The second hypothesis testing i.e. the direct effect of social media on purchase intention derived a T-
statistic value of 4.181> 1.96, with a P value of 0.006 i.e. lower than the 5% significance value. Both
values indicate the significant direct effect of social media on purchase intention. The coefficient value
derived was 0.223 indicating a significantly positive relationship between social media and purchase
intention. Hence, H2 which proposes that Social Media has a direct significant influence on Purchase
Intention is also accepted.

1118
ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST
Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC
 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol. 29, No. 4, (2020), pp. 1113-1120

Figure 3: T-Statistics

The third hypothesis testing i.e. the effect of email marketing on customer engagement derived a
coefficient value of 0.313 indicating the significant and positive relationship between both variables.
Hence, H3 which proposes that Email Marketing has a direct significant influence on Customer
Engagement is also accepted.
Similarly, the fourth and fifth hypotheses testing also derived significant and positive values of 0.347
and 0.263 for their path coefficients and 6.786 and 5.833 for their T-values indicating that all the
variables are significantly and positively impacting the dependent variables. Hence, H4 and H5 are also
accepted.

5. Conclusion
The significant role of digital marketing specifically social media and email marketing in improving
customer engagement and purchase intention as described previously has been proven in this study.
Improved customer engagement due to the use of social media and email marketing subsequently
enhances purchase intention among customers.
The effect of each variable’s indicators was also analyzed and it was found that the indicator of “offer”
for email marketing is the most influential on customer engagement. The implication of this result for
companies is that they should provide better offerings when building the contents of their email
marketing such as explicating product values more clearly or increasing customer engagement by
offering better sales promotions. Meanwhile, the indicator of “communication” for social media
revealed that emotional or funny contents can attract more customer engagement.
In conclusion, digital marketing has been proven to have a significant and positive effect on both
customer engagement and purchase intention. Businesses today need to have a high level of adaptability
apart from the ability to create new marketing values so as to ensure their survivability in the market.
The majority of citizens in Indonesia are well-prepared to experience new marketing approaches such
as social media and email marketing which have been proven to be influential in improving customer
engagement and purchase intention.

1119
ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST
Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC
 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol. 29, No. 4, (2020), pp. 1113-1120

References
1. Akhtar, N., Tahir, M., & Asghar, Z. (2016). Impact of Social Media Marketing on Consumer
Purchase Intention. International Review of Social Sciences, 4, 385-394.
2. Ali, Z., Ejaz, S., Aleem, A., Saeed, M. U., Tahir, F. A., & Kashif, M. (2015). Understanding E-
marketing as a Firm's Promotional tool and Its Impact on Consumer Perception. International
Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 5(3), 365.
3. Bismo, A., & Putra, S. (2019, August). Application of Digital Marketing (social media and
email marketing) and its Impact on Customer Engagement in Purchase Intention: a case study
at PT. Soltius Indonesia. In 2019 International Conference on Information Management and
Technology (ICIMTech) (Vol. 1, pp. 109-114). IEEE.
4. Chaffey, D. (2011). E-Business and E-Commerce Management: Strategy, Implementation, and
Practice. Pearson Education.
5. GhavamiLahiji, S. (2016). The Effect of Email Marketing on Buyers’ Behavior. International
Journal of Innovative and Applied Research, 4(1), 77-80.
6. Husnain, M., & Toor, A. (2017). The impact of social network marketing on consumer purchase
intention in Pakistan: Consumer engagement as a mediator. AJBA, 10(1), 167-199.
7. Mirabi, V., Akbariyeh, H., & Tahmasebifard, H. (2015). A study of factors affecting on
customers purchase intention. Journal of Multidisciplinary Engineering Science and
Technology (JMEST), 2(1).
8. Muchardie, B. G., Yudiana, N. H., & Gunawan, A. (2016). Effect of social media marketing on
customer engagement and its impact on brand loyalty in caring colours cosmetics, Martha
Tilaar. Binus Business Review, 7(1), 83-87.
9. Putri, C. S. (2017). Pengaruh media sosial terhadap keputusan pembelian konsumen cherie
melalui minat beli. PERFORMA, 1(5), 594-603.
10. Pütter, M. (2017). The impact of social media on consumer buying intention. Marketing, 3(1),
7-13.
11. Reimers, V., Chao, C. W., Gorman, S., & Phau, I. (2016). Permission email marketing and its
influence on online shopping. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics.
12. Riorini, S. V., & Widayati, C. C. (2015). Relationship commitment dan customer engagement:
Stimulus serta konsekwensi padakonsumen pengguna transportasi darat. MIX: Jurnal Ilmiah
Manajemen, 5(3), 155789.
13. Rudyanto, R. (2018). Pengaruh Pemasaran Jejaring Media Sosial Dan Keterkaitan Konsumen
Terhadap Niat Beli Konsumen. Jurnal Manajemen dan Pemasaran Jasa, 11(2), 177-200.
14. Sekaringtias, K., & Kusumawati, A. (2017). peran permission email marketing dalam
memediasi pengaruh trust terhadap purchase intention (Studi pada Konsumen Althea Korea Di
Indonesia dan Malaysia). Jurnal Administrasi Bisnis, 50(6), 174-182.
15. Soebagyo, T. (2014). Analisa Pengaruh Store Image Terhadap Purchase Intention di Toserba
“Ramai” Ngawi. Jurnal Strategi Pemasaran, 2(1), 9.
16. Strauss, J., & Frost, R. (2012). E-marketing. Trad. Regina Claudia Loverri.
17. World Internet Stats (2019), Asia Marketing Research, Internet Usage, Population Statistics
and Facebook Subscribers, https://www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm#lk

1120
ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST
Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC

View publication stats