The Influence of Social Media on Product Purchase Decisions of Adolescents in Mueang Nakhon Pathom District

Abstract

This research aimed to: 1. examine product purchase decisions of adolescents in Mueang Nakhon Pathom District when classified by personal factors; and 2. investigate the influence of social media on their product purchase decisions. Data were collected from a sample of 400 adolescents in Mueang Nakhon Pathom District using convenience sampling. The research instrument was a self-developed questionnaire, which underwent content validity and reliability assessment. The statistical analyses included mean, percentage, standard deviation, independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple regression analysis. The findings revealed that: 1. product purchase decisions of adolescents in Mueang Nakhon Pathom District significantly differed based on age, education, and status. 2. The findings of this study revealed that several aspects of social media significantly influence adolescents' purchase decision-making. The influential factors included: intention to recommend products through social media (X2) (b = 0.17), trust in others’ opinions on social media (X3) (b = 0.17), perceived credibility of product review content (X8) (b = 0.19), past purchasing experience after viewing advertisements on social media (X11) (b = 0.16), perception of advertisement influence on purchase decisions (X12) (b = 0.19), purchasing behavior resulting from product mentions on social media (X14) (b = 0.18), and perceived influence of online trends on consumer behavior (X15) (b = 0.16). The predictive power of the regression model was 64%, and the model can be expressed as follows:

Y = 0.81+ 0.03X1+0.17X2**+0.17X3**+0.04X4+0.01X5+0.04X6+0.04X7+0. 19X8**+0.03X9+0.06X10+0.16X11** +0. 19X12**+0.02X13+0.18X14**+0.16X15**