RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

TYPE OF RESEARCH DESIGN

This study will adopt descriptive research design and will reveal the impact of social media on
consumer behavior and their decision making process. This research will be quantitative in
nature.

SAMPLE SIZE –

Data has been collected from 112 respondents.

TOOL OF DATA COLLECTION

The tool for primary collection data is self-administered questionnaire.

SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION

PRIMARY DATA -Primary data are those collected specifically by or for the data users by
Questionnaire Method.

SECONDARY DATA- Secondary data are those that have been collected by other
organizations, such as government agencies, newspapers and magazines etc.

The data has beem collected from PRIMARY SOURCE

AREA OF THE STUDY

The study is conducted in areas of Delhi and NCR.

UNIVERSE- Universe means the total population available for the study. In this project
universe constitutes of all Indians,who have online presences.

DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

We have collected the data by using the tool of questionnaire and the data will be coded ,
tabulated, analyzed and interpreted using appropriate statistical techniques.
FINDINGS , CONCLUSION AND LIMITATIONS

FINDINGS
Finally the core objective of the entire research was to find out the changes that social media has
brought to consumers in each stage of their decision making process. According to the findings,
social media still cannot be considered as a powerful tool to trigger a purchase in India, whereas
individuals have reflected that mass media still remains a certain influence in gaining awareness,
for instance discounts available in stores, or a good deal. Social media has considered as a
powerful tool in getting relevant information, while mass media creates awareness of certain
discounts or promotions. In theory, information exposure through mass media is considered as a
passive process as individuals are exposed and receiving information unconsciously. However,
when consumers seek out information initiatively, it is perceived as an active process. In the
research findings, consumers play an active role in the course of information acquisition because
of the accessibility and availability of information on social media platforms. The accessibility
and transparency of information that social media has offered to consumers have been indicated
throughout the entire research. Consumers are able to access to relevant information not only in a
great range but also in a faster speed, which mass media consumes more time in searching
information. In contrary, contents are not in control and monitored, thus the chance of getting
false and nonfactual information which the consumers have shown concern of. In terms of a
business context, marketers have to be aware of the bad mouth on social media, because it can be
spread virally and led to a damage to brand’s reputation. The research finding has revealed the
current situation concerning consumers’ post purchase behaviour in this area. Many individuals
have noticed and agreed that with social media, they are able to voice out their opinions and to
communicate with other consumers and with the company more effectively. However, again,
many of them have felt not encouraged to voice out their feedbacks and to pass along their
comments to peers, friends, or family members via social media. In responding to the purchase
validation tool the reason why social media has added value to today’s marketing is by bridging
up the post-purchase word of mouth with the consideration stage of the consumer decision
process, which has extended purchase funnel. Specifically, due to the word of mouth and user-
generated contents on social media, the ”talks” are able to generate an experiential data for
prospects; however, the findings have shown that the word of mouth would be insufficient for
the influence because of unwillingness to share the information via social media. In the
perspective of marketers, this pitfall may serve as a bottleneck in association with marketing via
social media; thus, marketers should identify the reason of this particular negative feelings
among consumers and initiate consumers to participate in the conversations. Social media has
altered the communication model which it uesd to be in mass media instead of having companies
deliver messages to the public all times, social media has fostered a web communication between
customers and opinion leaders in which spins around the brand; consequently, this particular new
communication flow has built interactivity and communities among all users, which the effects
of it has penetrated in every stage of the decision making process. This influence has been
reflected from the collected opinions .To conclude, from the findings of this research, it can be
observed that consumers in this area are actively utlilizing social media platforms as a tool in
validating of the purchase decisions; however, consumers are deemed to be inactive in sharing
their word of mouth to others with the available social media platforms. The consistency in the
gathered data and time-hornoured theories relating to consumer behavior and contemporary
frameworks regarding social media marketing, it has suggested that the essence of consumer
behavior still remains the same even after the advent of social media, in which individuals have
to go through the all the stages before a purchase, instead of straight to the purchase decision
once a thought of purchase being triggered. Limitation Despite the fact that theories were
approved by findings from survey and the research is able to provide a certain degree of new
insights in relating to the current situation, limitations may still exist.

CONCLUSION

The objective of the research was to to explain why, when, and how social media has impacted
on consumer decision making process. Research questions were designed to narrow down the
subject and to help the researcher to identify the explanations of the issue the five-stage decision
making model has provided a systematic approach in outlining the general stages that consumers
engage in all purchase, while the information process theory addresses an in-depth perspective of
how information is in used of throughout the course of decision making. The aforementioned
theories and the data analysis of the research have both proven that, no matter it is in association
with social media or mass media, consumers are highly selective in attending, process, and
selecting the information before a purchase takes place. Information exposure is highly selective
in the initial stage of information, because consumers have the selections of information source,
in which determinates the type of information that consumer will be exposed to. To be noted,
personal attitude is a crucial factor which underlines during the course of information acquisition
and evaluation. As a result, not ony judgments regarding products or services are presumably
based, but also it is an vital determinant of the information consumers will seek out, in which it
eventually affects the extent of the information reception. At the essence, all platforms available
on social media have offered a two-way communication flow, which is highlighted theoretically
and practically. Consequesntly, this principle feature of social media has created a new landscape
in supporting the socialization of information, and has forced marketers to give up what they old
mindset in dealing with mass media marketing. As the collected feedbacks from the individuals,
it has emphasized that, in particular with social media, consumers are able to access to customer
experiences and word of mouth, in which the marketing and advertising mumbo-jumbo or
polished slogans. In other words, marketing via social media is more about creating high-quality
contents that are consumer relevant, instead of being a brash product placement. Moreover,
marketing through social media focuses on building relationships between consumers and
companies. The research findings have shown that the position of the consumer in the new
marketing approach is the centralized gravity, because consumers are empowered. As many
respondents have reflected that social media has provided a more effective platforms to
communicate with one another and with the company.

LIMITATIONS

Busy respondents: The most significant limitation has been the individuals involved in this
study were very busy and did not spare much time in discussion.

Availability of time : This was one of the biggest limitations faced during this [Link] to
shortage of time we had to limit the work in present form only.

Lack of interest : Some of the people were not interested in filling the questionnaire