The Effect of Electronic Social Platforms on Pre Purchase Decision of Saudi Buyers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The study aimed to determine the effect of using electronic social platforms on the pre-purchase decision of Saudi buyers during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to identify the statistical differences in the dependent and independent variables according to the personal characteristics of buyers. Using the social platforms consists of three sub-factors: marketing benefits, content consistency, and normative beliefs. The pre-purchase decision consists of three sub-stages, namely, need recognition, search information, and evaluation alternatives. The study population is all users of online social platforms, the data indicates that there are 25 million Saudis in 2020. The snowball sample method was used to collect data, and the sample size was 500 Saudi users. The questionnaire is considered to be the study tool. The study showed that there was a statistical impact of using social platforms on the pre-purchase decision via the Internet. The results showed that there were statistical differences ten to the Saudi buyers less than high school. Finally, the study recommended the need to merge the social platforms into marketing communication strategies, develop a corporate e-communication strategy and allocate sufficient financial budgets for such strategy.