The impact of social media marketing and brand awareness on consumer purchase intentions in the branded fashion retail industry of Sri Lanka with a mediating effect on consumer brand engagement

Abstract

This study explores how social media marketing and brand awareness influence consumer purchase intention within Sri Lanka’s branded fashion retail sector, with consumer brand engagement assessed as a mediating variable. Grounded in the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) Model, Chaffey’s RACE Framework, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) Model, and Aaker’s Brand Equity Model, the research builds a robust theoretical framework for understanding digital consumer behaviour. Adopting a positivist, deductive, and quantitative mono-method approach, data were gathered from 404 digitally active consumers through structured questionnaires. Analysis using SPSS Version 30 validated construct reliability and suitability through Cronbach’s Alpha, KMO, and Bartlett’s Test. Correlation and regression analyses indicated significant positive associations between social media marketing, brand awareness, and consumer purchase intention, with social media marketing showing the greater influence. Sobel test results confirmed that consumer brand engagement significantly mediates these relationships (z = 3.71, p = 0.00021; z = 7.22, p < 0.001). The final multiple regression model revealed that social media marketing, brand awareness, and consumer brand engagement together accounted for 59.5% of the variance in consumer purchase intention, with social media marketing emerging as the strongest predictor (β = .498). The findings highlight that emotionally and cognitively engaging consumers through personalized and interactive social media marketing efforts substantially strengthens purchase intentions. This study provides practical guidance for branded fashion retailers seeking to refine their digital marketing strategies and addresses a key gap in Sri Lankan research by presenting a predictive model grounded in established marketing and behavioural theories.