Effects of Ephemeral Content Shared through Instagram on Purchase Intention of Fashion Products

Abstract

Creating and sharing ephemeral content, which has an exhibition time of a maximum of 24 hours, has become an emerging trend in social media marketing today. Despite the escalated growth of using ephemeral content in social media marketing, there is a lacuna of academic research on how the ephemeral content shared through social media influences customers' purchase decisions. Drawing on the advertising value theory, this study addresses this void by examining how the true potentiality of the ephemeral content shared on social media stimulates customers’ purchase intention, referring to Instagram and fashion products. Following the positivism research paradigm, explanatory research design, and the purposive sampling technique, data was collected from an online survey of 384 Generation Z Instagram users who follow fashion products. Findings from multiple linear regression analysis revealed that informativeness, entertainment, irritation, and credibility of the ephemeral content shared through Instagram influence customers’ purchase intention towards fashion products. The findings further uncovered that informativeness of the ephemeral content is the most influential factor, whereas irritation of the ephemeral content negatively impacts customer’s purchase intention towards fashion products. The study results are added to the theory by empirically confirming the applicability of the advertising value theory to the social media marketing research domain. Moreover, the findings emphasize the need for marketing practitioners to create and share ephemeral content to stimulate customers' purchase decisions.