The Impact of Social Media Influencers’ Attributes on Generation Z’s Online Fast-Fashion Purchase Decisions in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: The Mediating Roles of Brand Awareness and Electronic Word-of-Mouth

บทคัดย่อ

In the era of digital commerce, social media influencers (SMIs) play a pivotal role in shaping consumer behavior, particularly among Generation Z—an audience known for their digital fluency and affinity for fast-fashion consumption. The main objective of this study was to examine the impact of social media influencers’ attributes on Gen Z’s online fast-fashion purchase decisions, with brand awareness and electronic word-of-mouth serving as mediating variables. Although prior research has underscored the direct impact of SMIs on online fast-fashion purchase decisions, there remained a paucity of studies that systematically examined the underlying mechanisms that drove this influence. Specifically, little was known about the mediating roles played by brand awareness (BAW) and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in this relationship. This study adopted a quantitative research approach, collecting primary data from 522 Gen Z consumers residing in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, all of whom had made at least one online fast-fashion purchase within the past three months. The data were collected using an online questionnaire designed on Google Forms. The research framework integrated structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to assess the causal relationships among the key constructs: SMIs' attributes (trustworthiness, expertise, attractiveness), brand awareness, eWOM, and Online Fast-Fashion Purchase Decisions (OPD). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to validate the measurement model, followed by path analysis to test direct and indirect effects. The empirical findings demonstrated that SMIs exert a statistically significant influence on Online Fast-Fashion Purchase Decisions both directly and indirectly. Notably, the total effect of SMIA on OPD (β = 0.762, p < 0.001) was predominantly driven by two indirect paths via brand awareness (SMIA → BAW → OPD: β = 0.204) and electronic word-of-mouth (SMIA → eWOM → OPD: β = 0.278). Among the influencer attributes, trustworthiness and expertise emerged as the most influential dimensions. Furthermore, both BAW and eWOM were validated as significant mediating variables, enhancing the explanatory power of the overall model (R² for OPD = 0.682). This study provided robust evidence that the impact of SMIs on Gen Z's online purchase behavior was multifaceted and significantly mediated by brand-related perceptions and peer-driven digital communication.