Online Advertising Platforms and Consumer Buying Behaviour towards Consumer Goods in Aba, Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined online advertising platforms and consumer buying behaviour towards consumer goods in Aba, Abia State. The study specifically examined how social media advertising, e-mail advertising, and social networks advertising affect consumer buying behaviour. The study adopted a survey research design and a simple sampling technique. A population of 339,076 customers between 15 – 84 years of age was used for the study. Taro Yamane formula were used to determine a sample of 400 from the population. However, 366 questionnaires were returned from the respondents, forming the study's sample size. Primary data was sourced from the administration of questionnaires to customers in Aba North and Aba South, Abia State. A test-re-test and Cronbach Alpha test were conducted to ensure validity and reliability of the data. The data were presented using simple percentages and frequencies. The hypotheses were tested using simple and multiple regression models (SPSS).

The descriptive result shows that 62.3% of the respondents strongly agree that advertising through Facebook pages ignites customers' desire to purchase a product. The majority of the respondents (63.1%) strongly agree that advertisements done on yahoo mail platforms with catchy slogans or phrases appealed to customers' interest and emotions. Most of the respondents (60.7%) strongly agree that Advertisement on Google Play and Google search engine increases customer demand for products. The empirical result revealed that Facebook advertising and WhatsApp advertising positively and significantly affect consumers' desire for a product in Aba, Abia State. Instagram advertising does not significantly affect consumers' desire for a product in Aba, Abia State. E-mail advertising significantly affects consumers' trial purchase of a product in Aba, Abia State. More so, Search engine advertising and Blog advertising positively and significantly affect consumers' decision to adopt a product. Junk message advertising does not significantly affect consumers' decision to adopt a product, Aba, Abia State.

In conclusion, social media advertising significantly affects consumer buying behaviour. This is because, Social media often become the second or even first place that customers will look when wanting to learn more about a brand, so it is important that all information and the brand's voice match up across the website and social media channels. It was recommended that businesses should fully embrace social media advertising as social media has come to stay, and advertising via the media is becoming a "global best practice". They will not only reap the benefits of advertising via social media but also be at par with their counterparts in Diaspora.