A Social Media Marketing and Young Consumers' Online Purchase Intention in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study examines how five SMM dimensions, namely, social media content, consumer engagement, brand–consumer interaction, brand awareness and perception, and influencer marketing relate to purchase intentions among young consumers in Addis Ababa. The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) provides the theoretical foundation. A quantitative cross‑sectional design was used, with structured questionnaires administered to 230 respondents aged 18–55 (the working‑age bracket as defined by the United Nations and World Bank), recruited through purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS‑SEM); Confirmatory Tetrad Analysis (CTA‑PLS) confirmed a reflective measurement structure for all constructs. Reliability and validity were satisfactory throughout: Cronbach's α exceeded 0.70, composite reliability (ρc) surpassed 0.70, and average variance extracted (AVE) cleared the 0.50 threshold for every construct. The model explains 48.6% of variance in online purchase intention (R² = 0.486) and shows strong predictive relevance (Q² = 0.455) and acceptable model fit (SRMR = 0.015). With 10,000 bootstrap subsamples, influencer marketing was the only statistically significant predictor of purchase intention (β = 0.688, t = 18.145, p < .001, f² = 0.691), a large positive effect. Social media content, engagement, interaction, and brand awareness each had directionally positive but non‑significant effects. The findings contribute empirical evidence from a sub‑Saharan African context, where such data remain scarce, and point to influencer credibility as the main driver of young Addis Ababa consumers' online purchase decisions.