Abstract

This study contributes to our understanding of purchase behaviour in Pakistani society. This study focuses on whether advertising and word-of-mouth affect people's shopping decisions or whether they don't give it much thought at all. The study explores customer involvement in the fashion clothing industry. For many buyers, fashion clothes are a significant and meaningful item. Customers either want to be devoted and tie themselves to a brand they have used in the past, or they don't want to do that. Results confirm that word-of-mouth and advertising both have a significant impact on customers' purchase behaviour.

Key Words

Purchasing behaviour, Advertising, Word-of-mouth

Introduction

Through newspapers, mass communication's effects are perceived globally., magazines, television, billboards and through social networks. Among all these media advertising is the factor that affects viewers' minds, given that it has a far wider audience (Katke, 2007).

Advertising and Word of mouth both are the primary channel for communication tools in between producers and consumers. One of the four pillars of the marketing mix— Marketing is a part of the campaign mix, which also includes the 

following factors: product, pricing, place, and promotion. A strategy for promotion is advertising. which plays an important function in generating consumer awareness and influencing their decision to buy. Public relations, sales and promotions, and advertising are a few examples of mass communication strategies employed by marketers.

Although television has an impact, mass media advertising and social media have the biggest audience and are the most effective forms of advertising. Advertising has a long-lasting impact 

on people's attitudes, behaviours, and lifestyles, as well as on national culture. (Latif & Abideen, 2011).

Literature Review

Word-of-mouth marketing isn't shill advertising, in which businesses engage actors to have conversations with customers without disclosing to the customers that the conversations are manufactured. Word-of-mouth cannot be compared to fraudulent online advertising, such as spam emails sent to unintended recipients or bogus content posted by businesses on social media or review sites like Amazon. Everyone uses word of mouth to communicate effectively, and it has a significant psychological impact on people. It also serves as a medium for social interaction. Word of mouth is a method of communicating thoughts, opinions, and experiences with others. Always communicate the truth and spread the message. (Balter, 2004).

These days Although women are eager to shop online and are more susceptible to online marketing strategies, men are more likely to make large-ticket purchases online (Lu et al., 2006). As a result, there are numerous internet sales of medical cosmetics in reaction to natural beauty.  Which types of cosmetics are the study's primary concern that is attracted to consumers? Due to the abundance of information available online for cosmetics generally, people search for information related to their skincare items, along with this study is to inspect the online advertising or word-of-mouth customer information about cosmetics that could influence consumers' purchasing decisions.

The bulk of cosmetics are promoted with the idea that by using the products, one can look younger, leaner, prettier, and other improvements to their image as a woman. Although there has been a progress toward gender equality in many areas of society, sexist media images continue to be prevalent, and women's bodies frequently serve as both objects of desire and areas for development. Advertising in the mass media has an impact, but television and social media have the biggest viewers and are the most successful forms of publicity. Advertising has a long-lasting impact on people's as well as the country's traditions, viewpoints, conduct, and way of living are all factors (Latif & Abideen, 2011).

A business can compete in a consumer market where advertising is king by increasing brand recognition of its products through promotional activities. (Hussainy, Riaz, Kazi & Herani, 2008).




Word of Mouth

Shill advertising, in which companies hire actors to speak with clients without disclosing to them that the discussions are staged, is not word-of-mouth marketing.  Word-of-mouth cannot be compared to fraudulent online advertising, such as when people send emails to people who don't want them or when companies post misleading material on social media or review platforms like Amazon. Everyone uses word-of-mouth continually to create potent communication, and it has a significant psychological impact on people. It is also a means of social interaction. A means of sharing ideas, viewpoints, and experiences with others is word of mouth. Spread the word and always tell the truth.




Consumer Buying Behavior

When deciding whether to evaluate, purchase, consume, or order products and services, decision-making and psychological activity are involved. Cutting through advertising "clutter" with the message has never been more crucial, given the growing number of consumers struggling with "confusion by over-choice" and doubting product claims. (Loudon and Della Bitta 1994).




Advertising

 One of the four p's in the marketing mix—the others being product, price, location, and promotion—is place. is the promotion mix, which includes advertising as a subset.   Advertising a product helps people learn about it and decide whether or not to buy it (Latif & Abideen, 2011). Vendors utilize it as a tool for communication, publicity affects people's views, behaviour and lifestyle. It is a crucial channel for communication between the product's creator and the buyer. A corporation must spend money on marketing, especially advertising if it wants its product will achieve fame (Hussainy et al, 2008). According to Latif and Abideen (2011), advertising may have an impact on consumers' brand preferences.

Defining advertising as a process involving persuasion, information, and the application of communication, marketing, economics, and social interaction. Dunn and Barban (1987) defined advertising as a sort of impersonal, profit-driven communication utilised by companies, organisations, and individuals who are somehow associated with the message to educate and persuade members of a particular audience. According to Morden (1991), the goal of advertising is to raise consumer awareness of a product or service. Advertising as a promotional strategy is crucial for increasing consumer awareness of a product and influencing their purchasing decisions. (Ayanwale et al, 2005; Adelear, Chang, Lanchndorfer, Lee & Morimoto, 2003) In a non-personal, paid manner, advertising uses specific behaviours to disseminate ideas, concepts, goods or services, and information through media (Ayanwale et al, 2005; Bovee, Thill; Dorel & Wood, 1995). Television advertising is one of the best forms of advertising since it reaches a wide variety of audiences and consumers, especially for organisations, ideas, products, and services.

In the past, word-of-mouth propagation referred to slower, more intimate forms of communication. People can now communicate with one another throughout the world via media like computers and cell phones, which is quicker and more extensive. Popular brands have Many readers and product advertisers draw a lot of attention, and after doing some testing, they ask writers to make promotional ads. Some marketers even actively want connected adverts.  All of these commercial actions are a result of product advertising. Consumers first share their purchase-related experiences before making any purchases (Harrison-Walker, 2001).

Word-of-mouth has a huge impact on the creation of brands, the design of products, and quality assurances (Dellarocas, 2003).

People may react differently, either positively or negatively, which significantly influences the purchasing behaviour of consumers. (Chen, 2010).

Product knowledge can be categorized into two different groups by academic disciplines. The first is objective knowledge or knowledge of a product category stored in a customer's long-term memory. The second is subjective knowledge, or how well-informed consumers believe they are about particular products. According to Lin et al. (2012), product knowledge has a strong beneficial impact on consumers' attitudes toward advertising, brands, and buying intentions. Additionally, diverse product knowledge about various items has a variety of different effects on consumers' purchase intentions. According to Raoand and Monroe (1988), product knowledge would influence customer evaluation of items, product knowledge would influence consumer purchasing decisions, and product knowledge would ultimately influences consumer purchase intention.

 Sales promotion is one of the strategies which encourages consumers to make additional purchases or experiment with the products and services. The consequence of the sales promotions lasts which include sales, the number of materials consumed and luring new clients. For instance, the term "promotional pricing" designates a customer discount offered for a specific period. It is a quality of the vendor or a factor in whether paying cash is practical when purchasing products or services. Previous studies showed that consumers concerned about price rises were influenced by shops' quick sales (Banks and Moorthy, 1999; Kopalle and Mela, 1999, Smith & Gallery, 2000; Jackaria & Gilbert, 2002).




Problem Statement

Consumers are constantly looking for something new and better than what they have previously purchased because everyone is now passionate about following the most recent trends and designs. While some consumers like to follow trends, they constantly look for something better and more affordable. In this situation, advertising and word-of-mouth are what draw customers' attention the most. Through celebrity endorsements, brands attract their customers and generate positive word-of-mouth that captivates consumers.




Research Aim and Objectives

The study's main objective is to comprehend how word-of-mouth recommendations and promotion as moderators affect consumers' purchasing decisions, a study with purchase intention as mediator and sales. We will conduct our research on the influence of advertisement and word of mouth and the influence it has on the purchase behaviour of consumers.

Research Methodology

This research is quantitative in nature. The questionnaire will be designed and filled out by the respondents who are familiar with the brands. The study's goal is to determine how commercials' moderating effects on promotion and word-of-mouth marketing on consumers' purchasing decisions. 




Descriptive Analysis

A questionnaire distributed online to respondents served as the basis for the quantitative analysis. Through Facebook and WhatsApp Groups. There are two main constructs in the research paper Advertising and word of mouth.  To determine if the data is regularly distributed or not, the normality test is conducted first. Given that the data is not normally distributed, factor analysis is then performed before non-parametric testing.

Following the factor analysis, a summated score was also generated. The item shown in the quantitative study online questionnaire is all attached in the appendix. The items on Each question in the survey were scored on a Likert scale. The survey's questions were developed based on the literature study, the conceptual framework, and the constructions.




Integrated findings

This questionnaire consisted of, and the

quantitative Method 203 respondents were given the questionnaire and it was then analyzed the factors that influence the advertisement, sales promotion, and word of mouth through Purchase intention are not different for different genders. The findings also help us understand that the advancement in globalization and the increase in the demand for sales promotions has increased and it is also increased competition among the sales. This study has helped us to understand how the purchase behaviours of consumers have increased.

Sampling

In this research, adults ranging from the ages of 20-50 and above who are predominant users of advertisements and word of mouth were selected. The respondents were selected to see the impact of advertising and word of mouth on purchase behaviour with purchase intention as the mediator and sales promotion as the moderator. A size of around 203 respondents was used.




Sampling Characteristics

The sampling for the report was done through convenience sampling. The respondents were chosen through what was convenient, after which snowball sampling was done. The figure below shows the division of males and females in the respondents there were around 72.2% females and 27.8% males. Most of the age range of the sample was of 20-35 years.

Results and Discussions

A questionnaire survey has been taken, where the respondents responded back in terms of the influential impact of advertisement on their purchasing behaviour, their responses are given as under:




Product Quality

While conducting the survey to assess product quality, and how advertisement can help to find a better product based on brand, the following responses have been collected from respondents:




Pie Chart: 01

Pie chart no. 01 shows, 26.8% of respondents strongly agreed that advertisement helps to find the best product, 51.2% of them just agreed on this point while 17.6% of them gave a neutral response on the other hand 1% of respondents strongly disagreed and 3% disagreed that advertisement doesn't help to find the best product.

Figure 1: Pie chart 1




Pie Chart: 02

Pie chart no. 02 shows, 34.1% of respondents strongly agreed that the purchase of products is based on a brand name, 43.4% of them just agreed on this point while 17.6% of them gave a neutral response on the other hand 2% of respondents strongly disagreed and 3% disagreed that purchase of products is based on the brand name.

Figure 2: Pie chart 2

Celebrities Influential Impact
An analysis has been taken while considering celebrities as they get an influential impact on the buyer, and the following responses have been collected:


Pie Chart: 03
Pie chart no. 03 shows, 26.8% of respondents strongly agreed that celebrity in advertisement reflects feelings of trustworthiness, 28.3% of them just agreed on this point while 24.4% of them gave a neutral response on the other hand 3% of respondents strongly disagreed and 17.6disagreed that celebrity in advertisement reflects the feelings of trustworthiness.
Figure 3: Pie chart 3

Pie Chart: 04
Pie chart no. 04 shows, 27.8% of respondents strongly agreed that advertisement of products justifies their existence when it is used in the interest of the public, 38% of them just agreed on this point while 25.9% of them gave a neutral response on the other hand 2% of respondents strongly disagreed and 5% disagreed that advertisement of products justifies the existence when it is used in the interest of the public. 




 
Figure 4: Pie chart 4
Figure 4: Pie chart 4

Pie Chart: 05
Pie chart no. 05 shows, 25.9% of respondents strongly agreed that advertisements always influence and dominate them, 23.4% of them just agreed on this point while 33.2% of them gave a neutral response on the other hand 4% of respondents strongly disagreed and 14.1% disagreed that advertisements always influence and dominate them.
Figure 5: Pie chart 5

Sales Promotion Impact
Sales and promotion may also have an impact on the buyer, following responses have been gathered from the respondents:


Pie Chart: 06
Pie chart no. 06 shows, 25.9% of respondents strongly agreed that sales and promotion at the supermarket have influenced their purchase of products, 34.6% of them just agreed on this point while 27.8% of them gave a neutral response on the other hand 2%of respondents strongly disagreed and 9.8% disagreed that sales and promotion at the supermarket have influenced their purchase of products.
Figure 6: Pie chart 6

Pie Chart: 07
Pie chart no. 07 shows, 24.9% of respondents strongly agreed that they want to buy more than usual when there is a sales promotion to win something, 28.8% of them just agreed on this point while 26.8% of them gave a neutral response on the other hand 5%of respondents strongly disagreed and 14.1% disagreed that they want to buy more than usual when there is a sales promotion to win something.




Figure 7: Pie chart 7

Pie Chart: 08
Pie chart no. 08 shows, 32.8% of respondents strongly agreed that they go to the store more often when they know there are promotions in which they are interested, 34.3%% of them just agreed on this point while 20.1% of them gave a neutral response on the other hand 3%of respondents strongly disagreed and 10% disagreed that they go to store more often when they know there are promotions in which they are interested.
Figure 8: Pie chart 8

Impact of Word of Mouth on Purchasing
Common talks among buyers/users may also influence the purchase of a product, following responses collected from respondents:


Pie Chart: 09
Pie chart no. 09 shows, 24.5% of respondents strongly agreed that word of mouth convince them to buy the same product, 35.8% of them just agreed on this point while 30.4% of them gave a neutral response on the other hand 2% of respondents strongly disagreed and 7.8% disagreed that word of mouth convinces them to buy the same product.
Figure 9: Pie chart 9

Pie Chart: 10
Pie chart no. 10 shows, 19.5% of respondents strongly agreed that word of mouth always influences and dominates them, 32.7% of them just agreed on this point while 32.7% of them gave a neutral response on the other hand 2 of respondents strongly disagreed and 13.7% disagreed that word of mouth always influence and dominate them.


Figure 10: Pie chart 10

Pie Chart: 11
Pie chart no. 11 shows, 25.1% of respondents strongly agreed that their participation in purchasing is influenced by friends and family, 46.8% of them just agreed on this point while 19.7% of them gave a neutral response on the other hand 2%of respondents strongly disagreed and 5% disagreed that their participation in purchasing is influenced by friends and family. 
Figure 11: Pie chart 11

Pie Chart: 12
Pie chart no. 12 shows, 31.7% of respondents strongly agreed that they suggest a product that they are satisfied with to their friends, 43.4% of them just agreed on this point while 19.5% of them gave a neutral response on the other hand 1%of respondents strongly disagreed and 5% disagreed that they suggest product that they are satisfied to their friends.
Figure 12: Pie chart 12

Pie Chart: 13
Pie chart no. 13 shows, 29.8% of respondents strongly agreed that word of mouth makes positive product ratings, 39% of them just agreed on this point and 26.8% of them gave a neutral response, on the other hand, 1%of respondents strongly disagreed and 4% disagreed that word of mouth makes positive product ratings.
Figure 13: Pie chart 13

Pie Chart: 14
Pie chart no. 14 shows, 26.8% of respondents strongly agreed that word of mouth is all about sharing successful products, 35.6 of them just agreed on this point and 26.3% of them gave a neutral response on the other hand 9.3%of respondents strongly disagreed and 2% disagreed that that word of mouth is all about sharing successful photos.
Figure 14: Pie chart 14




Limitations of the Research and Direction for Future Research

The Research has some limitations that can be in future research. The research has a time limitation due to which an in-depth could not be done. The research had a smaller sample size for its descriptive parts because of the limited time and budget of the research. The survey respondents were only 203. A more in-depth survey on a much larger scale could be done where more focus groups, one on one interviews and a survey on large scale can be done. This research only takes in quantitative type of research and doesn’t perform qualitative analysis which should also be done to have a more personal touch to it. The research only focuses on the students of one city Karachi. Qualitative research could be done on cognitive and affective attitudinal components across different countries. Furthermore, non-probability sampling was conducted through convenience and snowball sampling. These influence the interpretation of the results of the quantitative analysis. Probability sampling would provide more detailed and better results.

Moreover, the data collected for the study were not normally distributed since they did not prove the normal assumption and so the tests were carried out on a non-parametric basis. There are less significant than the parametric tests as they are less generalized to the whole population.

Conclusion

This study was based on the impact of advertisements and word of mouth on purchase behaviour, a study with purchase intention as a mediator and sales promotion as a moderator. Advertisements and Word of mouth have become a huge part of the consumers' buying behaviour in such a way that is now able to influence their day-to-day decisions while buying the products from sales promotion. Advertisement has become more advanced in learning what consumers prefer and artificial intelligence has made advertisement more efficient. Fast-paced changes in the market make the brand and businesses seek out different ways in which they can differentiate their advertisements different to their customers. This thesis has helped us in understanding how advertisement and word of mouth have changed the market landscape and have become a very important factor which influences consumers' buying behaviour or purchase intention.

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