Empirical Study of Social Media Marketing's Impact on Brand Image and Loyalty in Retail, Muscat

Mohd  Irfan Rais

doi:10.32870/myn.vi54.7770

Authors

Mohd Irfan Rais Oman College of Management and Technology https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8546-2340

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32870/myn.vi54.7770

Keywords:

Social Media Marketing, Digital Marketing, Online Marketing, Brand loyalty, Brand Image, Retail industry and Muscat.

Abstract

This study aims to explore SMM's influence on brand image and loyalty in the retail industry of Muscat. The study employs the quantitative method as it ensures valid and reliable results. The data for the analysis were collected from 150 employees in the retail sector through structured survey questionnaires. The data is analyzed using the SPSS tool through statistical approaches such as ANOVA, Correlation, and Regression. The findings of this research will illuminate the significance of SMM and identify factors that encourage SMM in the retail sector. The outcomes provide valuable insights into SMM initiatives that aid in increasing Muscat's brand reputation and image in the retail industry. This study's implications will benefit retail organizations in attaining a competitive advantage in the market.

References

Abdulraheem, M., & Imouokhome, E. (2021). The influence of social media sites on consumer buying behavior in Shoprite Nigeria Limited. Binus Business Review, 12(2), 113-120. https://doi.org/10.21512/bbr.v12i2.6513

Al-Haraizah, A., Mubarak, A., & Alshidi, A. (2020). The role of e-marketing tools in constructing online consumer behavior of Omani youth in Muscat City. Journal of Critical Reviews, 7(13), 1270-1280. https://doi.org/10.31838/jcr.07.13.02

Al Ramadhani, S., Al Badri, B., & Rais, M. I. Impact of Social Media Channels on Creating Consumer Purchase Intentions in Oman. International Research Journal of Economics and Management Studies IRJEMS, 3(5). https://doi.org/10.56472/25835238/IRJEMS-V3I5P119

Alita, D., Putra, A., & Darwis, D. (2021). Analysis of classic assumption test and multiple linear regression coefficient test for employee structural office recommendation. IJCCS (Indonesian Journal of Computing and Cybernetics Systems), 15(3), 295-306. https://doi.org/10.22146/ijccs.65586

Arango-Botero, D., Valencia-Arias, A., Bermúdez-Hernández, J., & Duque-Cano, L. (2021). Factors that promote social media marketing in retail companies. Contaduría y administración, 66(1). https://doi.org/10.22201/fca.24488410e.2021.2475

Behera, R., Bala, P., Rana, N., Algharabat, R., & Kumar, K. (2024). Transforming customer engagement with artificial intelligence E-marketing: an E-retailer perspective in the era of retail 4.0. Marketing Intelligence & Planning. https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-04-2023-0145

Bernarto, I., Berlianto, M., Meilani, Y., Masman, R., & Suryawan, I. (2020). The influence of brand awareness, brand image, and brand trust on brand loyalty. Jurnal Manajemen, 24(3), 412-426. https://doi.org/10.24912/jm.v24i3.676

Ceyhan Günay, A. (2019). The Impact of Perception Related Social Media Marketing Applications on Consumers’ Brand Loyalty and Purchase Intention. EMAJ: Emerging Markets Journal (9), 88-100. https://doi.org/10.5195/emaj.2019.173

Cheung, M., Pires, G., & Rosenberger III, P. (2019). Developing a conceptual model for examining social media marketing effects on brand awareness and brand image. International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 17(3), 243-261. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEBR.2019.098874

Dastane, D. (2020). Impact of digital marketing on online purchase intention: Mediation effect of customer relationship management. Journal of Asian Business Strategy, 10, 142-158. https://doi.org/10.18488/journal.1006.2020.101.142.158

Dolega, L., Rowe, F., & Branagan, E. (2021). Going digital? The impact of social media marketing on retail website traffic, orders and sales. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 60, 102501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102501

Ebrahim, R. (2020). The role of trust in understanding the impact of social media marketing on brand equity and brand loyalty. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 19(4), 287-308. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332667.2019.1705742

Fuchs, M., López, T., Wiedemann, C., Riedler, T., & Dannenberg, P. (2024). Digital Work and the Struggle for Labour Representation: The Food and Grocery Online Retail Sector in Berlin (Germany). In Geographies of the Platform Economy: Critical Perspectives (pp. 105-120): Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53594-9_8

Getaruelas, R., & Gnanakumar, M. (2023). Digital Marketing on Customer Purchasing Decision of Branded Clothing: A Case Study in Oman. China Petroleum Processing and Petrochemical Technology, 23 (2), 58-72.

Hafez, M. (2022). Unpacking the influence of social media marketing activities on brand equity in the banking sector in Bangladesh: A moderated mediation analysis of brand experience and perceived uniqueness. International Journal of Information Management Data Insights, 2(2), 100140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jjimei.2022.100140

Haudi, H., Handayani, W., Musnaini, M., Suyoto, Y., Prasetio, T., Pitaloka, E., . . . Cahyon, Y. (2022). The effect of social media marketing on brand trust, brand equity and brand loyalty. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 6(3), 961-972. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.ijdns.2022.1.015

Hwang, S., Lee, M., Park, E., & del Pobil, A. (2021). Determinants of customer brand loyalty in the retail industry: A comparison between national and private brands in South Korea. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 63, 102684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102684

Irshad, M., Ahmad, M., & Malik, O. (2020). Understanding consumers’ trust in social media marketing environment. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 48(11), 1195-1212. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-07-2019-0225

Jamie Carlson, J., Mohammad M. Rahman, Ranjit Voola. (2019). Enhancing brand relationship performance through customer participation and value creation in social media brand communities. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 50, 333-341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.07.008

Jebli, I., Belouadha, F., Kabbaj, M., & Tilioua, A. (2021). Prediction of solar energy guided by pearson correlation using machine learning. Energy, 224, 120109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117943

Johansson, F., & Hiltula, M. (2021). The effect of social media marketing activities on brand image and brand loyalty: A quantitative study within the sportswear industry. Digitala Vetenskapliga Arkivet,

Kaur, K., Mishra, A., & Mallik, V. (2021). Impact of E-marketing on Consumer Purchase Behaviour: An empirical study. IJRAR-International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR), https://ssrn.com/abstract=3787608

Kim, W., Kim, H., & Hwang, J. (2020). Sustainable growth for the self-employed in the retail industry based on customer equity, customer satisfaction, and loyalty. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 53, 101963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.101963

Lai Cheung, M., Pires, G., Rosenberger III, P., Leung, W., & Attia, S. (2024). Exploring the theory of consumer-engagement marketing: antecedents and consequences of consumers’ participative and engagement behaviours. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 32(8), 1444-1459. https://doi.org/10.1080/0965254X.2024.2404841

Lewandowski, D., Sünkler, S., & Yagci, N. (2021). The influence of search engine optimization on Google’s results. https://doi.org/10.1145/3447535.3462479

Moslehpour, M., Ismail, T., Purba, B., & Wong, W. (2021). What makes GO-JEK go in Indonesia? The influences of social media marketing activities on purchase intention. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 17(1), 89-103. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer17010005

Othman, B., Harun, A., De Almeida, N., & Sadq, Z. (2021). The effects on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty by integrating marketing communication and after sale service into the traditional marketing mix model of Umrah travel services in Malaysia. Journal of islamic marketing, 12(2), 363-388. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIMA-09-2019-0198

Pham, H. (2020). Factors determining brand equity for retail stores: A market segmentation approach. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 7(10), 843-854. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2020.vol7.no10.843

Potvin, C. (2020). ANOVA: experiments in controlled environments. In Design and analysis of ecological experiments (pp. 46-68): Chapman and Hall/CRC.

Ram, M., Selvabaskar, S., Guhan, R., & Rajarathi, K. (2023). The effect of digital communication technologies in retail supply chain management: Evidence from Indian small retailers. Journal of Future Sustainability, 3(3), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.jfs.2023.1.002

Razak, S., & Latip, N. (2016). Factors that influence the usage of social media in marketing. Journal of Research in Business and Management, 4(2), 1-7.

Rossato, C., & Castellani, P. (2020). The contribution of digitalisation to business longevity from a competitiveness perspective. The TQM Journal, 32(4), 617-645. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-02-2020-0032

Seo, E., Park, J., & Choi, Y. (2020). The effect of social media usage characteristics on e-WOM, trust, and brand equity: Focusing on users of airline social media. Sustainability, 12(4), 1691. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041691

Suharto, S., Junaedi, I., Muhdar, H., Firmansyah, A., & Sarana, S. (2022). Consumer loyalty of Indonesia e-commerce SMEs: the role of social media marketing and customer satisfaction. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 6(2), 383-390. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.ijdns.2021.12.016

Thakker, P. (2023). Digital Transformation in the Retail Industry: Complete Insight! Retrieved from https://www.sufalamtech.com/blog/digital-transformation-in-retail

Tirawani, S., & Matondang, S. (2024). The Effect of Revisit Intention on Brand Image in the Retail Industry: Brastagi Supermarket. MANAGER: Journal of Management and Administration Science, 2(3), 194-204. https://doi.org/10.58738/manager.v2i3.523

UNNISA, D. K. (2023). A Study on Impact of Digital Marketing in Retail Industry. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT). Retrieved from https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2307514.pdf

Veleva, S., & Tsvetanova, A. (2020). Characteristics of the digital marketing advantages and disadvantages. In The IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering.

Zhu, G., & Gao, X. (2019). The digital sales transformation featured by precise retail marketing strategy. Expert journal of marketing, 7(1), 72-76.

Zollo, L., Filieri, R., Rialti, R., & Yoon, S. (2020). Unpacking the relationship between social media marketing and brand equity: The mediating role of consumers’ benefits and experience. Journal of Business Research, 117, 256-267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.001