Consumer Reviews on Online Purchase Intention of Beauty Care Products: An Investigation Among Millennials in Southern Province, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The internet and the application of Web 2.0 have an enormous impact on the electronic word of mouth (eWOM) communication between consumers. Online consumer reviews as a type of eWOM are valuable information sources for consumers in the virtual platform. The pace at which the beauty care industry is changing has been brisk and shows no signs of shopping. In the age of e commerce, every industry is involved with online sales, and the beauty care industry is no exception. However, perceived risk has forever been an area of concern among online customers. In this context, online consumer reviews can be used as a mechanism for gaining consumer trust Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of consumer reviews on online purchase intention towards beauty care products concerning millennials in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. A quantitative, survey research design was used in this study. 341 effective responses were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from people aged between 26 and 41 and residents in Southern Province who are using any beauty care product by deploying a purposive sampling technique. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Findings emphasized that review volume, review relevance, review accuracy, and review comprehensiveness have significant positive impacts on online purchase intention while review accuracy is the most influential review element. Whereas, review timeliness and review valence have no substantial impact on online purchase intention. The research findings will benefit the companies by providing the business communities with a better grasp of how users and online consumer reviews influence others' decision-making and provide new perspectives to online market owners of beauty care on managing and handling online consumer reviews on their web pages. Thus, the study provides marketers with more clarity into the area of online purchase intention for beauty care products, which is a volatile and dynamic area with continuous uncertainty.