Investigation of the role of internet marketing, word of mouth communication and brand awareness on purchasing decisions: An empirical study in online stores

This research aims to investigate the role of internet marketing, word-of-mouth and brand awareness on purchasing decisions in online stores. The respondent sampling technique used in this research is a non-probability sampling technique, which uses a purposive sampling technique. The responses to this research were from 468 online store consumers. Measurements of “Internet Marketing”, “Word of Mouth Communication”, “Brand Awareness” and “Purchasing Decisions” were carried out using a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (7). In this research, the data was analyzed using the Partial Least Square (PLS) method with SmartPLS version 3.0 software. The stages of research data analysis are outer model testing, namely unified validity and reliability, inner model testing and hypothesis testing. Based on the results of data analysis, it is concluded that internet marketing, word-of-mouth and brand awareness had positive and significant effects on purchasing decisions. Better internet marketing will improve consumer purchasing decisions, brand awareness plays an important role in consumer purchasing decisions, and consumers will carry out word-of-mouth activities and tell other people about consumer experiences after consuming products, electronic word of mouth can help consumers in making buying decisions. Based on the results of data analysis, the study provides managerial implications as follows: online stores should evaluate the Internet marketing strategy used by the company by looking for information about what is currently trending among the public and forming a special team to carry out Internet marketing strategies to make them more attractive and creative and provide more complete information regarding products are marketed so that they attract consumers to make purchasing decisions.