The Influence of Social Media Influencers on Gen-Z Buying Behavior

In Bangladesh, growing digital penetration and broad adoption of social networking platforms have intensified the influence of social media on young consumers, particularly Generation-Z. Social media influencers have become a crucial factor influencing Gen-Z consumers' purchase intents and consumption patterns as they depend more and more on online personalities for guidance, amusement and product discovery. This context requires empirical research to investigate the extent to which influencer attributes influence the purchasing behaviour of Gen-Z. Therefore the purpose of this study is to examine how three key factors - perceived credibility (PC), content quality (CQ) and parasocial interaction (PSI) affect Gen-Z purchasing behaviour (GZBB) in Bangladesh. Here, the independent variables are PC, CQ and PSI while GZBB is the dependent variable. Following a review of pertinent prior research, a structured questionnaire was created and 350 online survey links were sent via social media platforms utilising a non-probability convenience sample technique. A total of 168 responses were received; 160 genuine cases were retained (n=160) after filtering for completeness. The hypotheses were tested using correlation and regression analyses in SPSS (version 26) at a 5% significance level. The findings show that GenZ purchasing behaviour is significantly and favourably impacted by PC, CQ and PSI. The study concludes by proposing a number of prospective research directions and providing practical implications for digital marketers, brands and influencers.