The role of customer brand engagement in the use of Instagram as a “shop window” for fashion-industry social commerce

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze how fashion consumers behave when they make purchases using social media platforms—specifically, Instagram. In particular, the work examines the role played by consumer–brand involvement and self–brand connection as predictors of customer brand engagement (CBE). Design/methodology/approach: Social commerce-adoption is modeled, using three variables: customer engagement, self–brand connection, and fashion-consumer brand-involvement. Using a personal online survey, data on social media users classified as Millennials and Generation Z were collected. The model is analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings: Consumer involvement in fashion has a positive effect on cognitive processing and activation, but not on affection. Self–brand connection has a positive effect on all three dimensions analyzed. Finally, gender is found to exert a moderating effect on the relationship between the ‘CBE activation’ dimension and brand loyalty. Originality: The present study contributes to addressing the scarcity of studies dealing with CBE and social commerce in the fashion sector and, in particular, fashion-consumer behavior on social media (specifically, Instagram). Research limitations/implications The research was conducted during the lockdown imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have influenced the responses. Other limitations and potential lines of research for the future are presented at the end of the paper. Practical implications Some of the results of this study can directly inform the social media strategies of fashion companies that use Instagram as a channel of communication with their customers. They can also contribute to incentivizing co-created content and increasing consumption among both men and women.