A STUDY ON INFLUENCE OF ONLINE FOOD BLOGGERS ON PURCHASE INTENTION OF CONSUMERS

Abstract

Social media exerts tremendous power on customer activity facilitated by rapid growth of technology. It has particularly affected how food consumption occurs. Food bloggers and influencers have emerged on media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, or personal blogs thus influencing different customer views towards food choices. This research is meant to investigate how food bloggers influence consumer purchase intentions consequently exploring this relationship’s dynamics and what it means for businesses in the food industry. Objectives: • To Investigate How Online Food Bloggers Affect Consumer Intention to Buy. • To Examine How Social Media Sites Help Food Bloggers Expand Their Audience. • To Examine the Effects of Engagement, Relatability, and Content Quality on Consumer Purchase Intentions. • To Determine Which Consumer Demographic and Psychographic Features Are Most Influential on Online Food Bloggers. • To Offer Suggestions to Advertisers and Companies on Using Online Food Bloggers' Influence. Methodology Research Design: Non- Experimental Descriptive Research Approach Questionnaire: A structured questionnaire consisting of 15 questions was designed to assess the influence of online food bloggers covering aspects of taste, perception, purchase intention. Results: SPSS version 27 was used for analysis. Among 157 respondents, 56% are males and 44% are females. It is found that there is very strong association between age and influence of online food bloggers. The analysis of the questionnaire responses revealed that 45% respondents occasionally follow online food bloggers. There is no signification association between demographic variables and frequency of following online food bloggers. 5 Recommendation: The major recommendation given is to consumers should see all the aspects of food bloggers life and food in usual and should not blindly follow what they say. Online Food bloggers majorly do sponsored advertising which might affect their judgement on food, and they might say positive things while it’s not.