Attributes of Celebrity Endorsers and Their Influence on University Students' Intention to Purchase Fashion Products

Abstract

Marketers have been using celebrity endorsement in their efforts to attract consumers towards their products. Benefits of celebrity endorsement include increasing awareness of the advert; capturing attention; and making adverts more memorable to consumers. However, there has been a debate as to what characteristics celebrities should possess for their endorsement to have a positive outcome on consumer purchase intention. This study has analyzed the attributes of celebrity endorsers and their effect on the University students' intention to purchase fashion products in Iringa, Tanzania. The study used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and regression analysis using Structural Equation Modelling. Attractiveness, expertise and congruence were found to make a positive and statistically significant contribution to the prediction of consumer purchase intention (β=0.384, p=0.009), (β= 0.342, p=0.003) and (β=0.373, p=0.006) respectively.