The Effect of Digital Marketing on Purchasing Decisions: A Case Study in Jordan

Abstract

The main objective of this research was to analyze the influence of digital marketing on purchasing decisions. The research was guided by specific aims; to evaluate numerous digital marketing platforms in Jordan that can affect the purchasing decisions and identify product categories purchased by customers on digital media platforms. Furthermore, questionnaires were given based on a simple sampling technique and acquired in the Jordanian market. 300 questionnaires were distributed, and 220 available samples were gathered, except for incomplete questionnaires, resulting in a 73% response rate to all those who selected to participate. Descriptive analysis, reliability test, correlation test, and multiple regressions were used in this research. Moreover, this study's results demonstrated that digital marketing, such as social media marketing and mobile marketing, has a profound impact on consumer purchasing decisions. However, hypothesis testing demonstrated that there are many patronized digital media platforms in Jordan that affect student behavior. Jordanian students buy various product categories on digital media platforms, and digital marketing affects student decision-making. Finally, the results of this study suggest that firms should adopt strategies to leverage the digital world and technology, increase brand awareness through digital platforms to continue competing in today's commercial environment.

1. Introduction

Nowadays, the Internet has opened the doors for firms to exploit incredible digital marketing chances. By using a variety of digital marketing channels, businesses cannot just share their products and services online; they can also increase the number of their customers, attract them and be able to increase their Return on Investment (ROI). Also, in the advancement of markets and technologies that are highly competitive with the use of the internet, digital marketing strategies have replaced the traditional marketing ones (Alnsour, 2018). Furthermore, digital marketing covers a vast area in the global market and includes business models that use digital technologies that reduce costs and grow businesses worldwide (Rafiq & Malik, 2018). At present, digital marketing has a more extensive scope to grow their business in the future because customers are much more satisfied with doing online shopping and find digital marketing much safer than traditional marketing (Alzyoud, 2018).

Additionally, Jordan is a place where every year, new digital marketing customers enter this section which is a very bright chance for marketers to market their products through digital marketing as consumers bring their mobile phones everywhere to access anything anytime. Furthermore, digital marketing has been considered a new marketing method and offers new chances for firms to do business. More specifically, Jordan’s mobile market is one of the wildest rising markets due to the growing number of middle-income users. It is expected to reach millions of users in the coming decades. Therefore, research on digital channel advertising will significantly influence the way business is conducted. Consequently, digital marketing is seen as a technology evolution form of marketing that offers new ideas to businesses to try. Also, Marketing activities conducted through digital channels allow marketers to connect directly with potential customers regardless of their geographical location. Furthermore, digital marketing uses channels to reach the preferred target market through several channels, including social media, websites, multimedia ads, online advertising, E-marketing, communicating marketing such as opinion polls, game augmentation, mobile marketing (Garg et al., 2021). However, marketers can conduct online surveys to obtain the information they need from customers and analyze responses and take appropriate action based on customer responses to meet their needs. Finally, this study evaluated digital marketing channels such as (E-mail Marketing, online advertising, social media marketing, and Mobile Marketing) for marketers. It analyzes the impact of these channels on purchase decisions among the students of Jordanian universities.

Jordanians are becoming more comfortable with online, living more in the digital world, so businesses need to wake up for the future of digital marketing. Furthermore, changing consumer behavior requires organizations to restructure their marketing activities in the digital space. However, that digital and social media marketing influences consumer purchasing decision processes. Additionally, the consumer makes a purchase decision every day, and several factors influence the decision made by the buyer. Numerous internet applications, social media, mobile phone applications, and other digital communication channels have become part of the daily lives of various users in Jordan. Moreover, consumers have become more involved in the development of the products and services they purchase, and that has shifted control from producer to consumer. Generally, most researches have been conducted on digital marketing and consumer behavior in Europe and the USA. However, within Jordan, few pieces of research have been carried out to analyze the effect of Digital marketing on the consumer purchasing decision. Finally, this research describes the value of choosing digital marketing platforms (Email Marketing, online advertising, social media marketing, and Mobile Marketing) for marketers and analyzes the influence of these channels on consumer purchasing decision processes in the Jordanian market.

Digital marketing technology permits customers to continue to simplify firm information (Sivasan, 2017). Lately, numerous customers are utilizing the Internet to update information about their products anytime. However, most customers know how to access one’s firm website, how to evaluate products, and how to purchase online and offer feedback. Although numerous research studies have been performed worldwide to evaluate customer attitudes towards products or services, there is not enough research on students’ attitudes toward digital marketing, especially in Jordan. This research study aims to develop the influence of digital marketing on purchasing decisions. This is significant because the number of similar studies in this field of marketing is inadequate. Finally, the results offer a better vision about how to use digital marketing as one of the influential channels to market their products.

This study aims to evaluate the influence of digital marketing on the process of purchasing decisions of students in the Jordanian market. Furthermore, the research study will focus on four digital marketing channels (Email Marketing, Online Advertising, Social Media Marketing, and Mobile Marketing) and fill the gap of the limited research conducted on the influence of this platform on purchasing decisions in the Jordan market.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Digital Marketing Channels

In the modern era, digital marketing has increased its importance in Jordan. Consequently, to grow sales of products & services, marketers use this new form of marketing strategy. Furthermore, the development of digital marketing has changed the way brands and businesses use digital technologies and channels for marketing activities (Rai, 2018). Therefore, digital marketing campaigns are becoming more predominant and efficient as digital platforms are progressively integrated into marketing plans and daily life, and by the way, people use digital devices instead of going to physical stores (Maha & Ranj, 2016). In addition, Digital marketing is an electronic communication channel used by marketers to support products and services towards the market. Specifically, digital marketing is defined as the sale and purchase of information, products, and services through a computer or internet network (Rao & Ratnamadhuri., 2018). Finally, digital marketing aids marketers to reach their products for users through several channels such as E-Mail Marketing, online advertising, Social Media Marketing, Mobile marketing, etc.

2.2. E-Mail Marketing

E-mail marketing is one of the digital marketing methods used to distribute orders or target letters to the same individuals at a suitable time. With Email, businesses can send emails that meet customers’ needs (Ugonna et al., 2017). Besides, Email marketing is a type of direct marketing that uses email to message or communicate promoting funds to connect audiences (Lodhi, & Shoaib, 2017). In its widest logic, email marketing can be considered for every email sent to potential or existing consumers (Rai, 2018). E-mail is an essential form of communication within marketing tools where businesses can connect brand value suggestions to the preferred target audience. Moreover, consumers also connect their needs upstream to the businesses via E-mail (Reimers et al., 2016). To ensure the impact of email marketing, email letters are personalized to receive positive advertising messages. Nevertheless, understanding the needs, time, and interesting letters based on consumer preferences can help raise a positive attitude towards email ads that remind of challenges to practitioners (Bokde & Seshan, 2019).

2.3. Online Advertising

Online advertising is a form of promotion that convinces customers to make purchasing decisions and provides information to the audience. When the information is offered in a pleasant context, the information is easily accepted (Mishra & Mahalik, 2017). Also, online advertising marketing is a strategy that utilizes the Internet to get website traffic and deliver marketing letters to the right potential consumers (Budiman, 2021). The most significant advantage of online advertising is the promotion of products without geographical borders (Khan & Islam, 2017). Thus, online advertising is a very vital portion of digital marketing. It is similarly called internet advertising, through which firms can distribute letters about products or services. The reason is that online advertising can seizure the chance to reach their users through numerous online platforms, to give awareness of their products, and to increase their sales in the future (Dhore & Godbole, 2019). Moreover, online advertising is supple and makes it easy for firms to update their products, services, and information (Lim et al., 2011; Afzal & Khan, 2015). On the other hand, due to the variety of products and services, growing consumer’s desires and demands, manufacturers need faster and effective ways to achieve customer’s loyalty (Aqsa & Kartini, 2015). Finally, online advertising’s effectiveness in purchasing decisions, including the Jordanian users, is fairly used to online advertising with a positive attitude towards online advertising. In this study, the Internet has developed in acknowledgment as an advertising platform as it enables 24-hour interactivity between advertisers and users.

2.4. Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is a new tendency and a fast-growing method to reach targeted consumers effortlessly and efficiently. Additionally, Social media marketing can be modestly defined as using social media channels to encourage a business and its products (Bansal et al., 2014). This type of marketing can be considered as a subset of online marketing activities that complement traditional Web-based promotional strategies, for example, email newsletters and online advertising campaigns (Omar & Atteya, 2020). Thus, with this new outreach and marketing approach, new channels are being established and enhanced for businesses Social media marketers are now getting better and more impact insights by introducing analytics applications by the official social networking website platform (Nur, 2021). Finally, Social Media indicates to any software channel that allows and encourages engagement in discussions. Thus, general forms of social media comprise Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. At present, social media are a platform for marketers to have conversations with consumers. Furthermore, a brand is now attracting consumers through social media (Budiman, 2021). Finally, Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) find that social media is a group of Internet-based applications constructed on top of ideology and basics of web 2.0 technology and enables creating and exchanging content. Social media also explored websites and applications designed to permit customers to share content rapidly, efficiently, and in real-time.

2.5. Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is considered one of the latest and most important digital marketing channels. Therefore, mobile marketing today is the broadest, fastest, cheapest, and most actual marketing channel where users can earn information and features of attractive goods easily with the possibility of completing the buying & selling process without the need for the buyer to go to the place of goods (Alam et al., 2015). Specifically, Mobile marketing provides access to consumers to know their benefits and needs and influence their purchasing decisions (Tiffany et al., 2018). On the other hand, Mobile Marketing is a group of practices that allow firms to communicate and interact with their audiences interactively and relevantly through any device or mobile network (Mohamed et al., 2016). Finally, Mobile marketing has emerged as one of the exciting interactive communication mode channels between firms and customers. Messages through such media affect their decision to buy.

2.6. Purchasing Decision

After evaluating alternatives, purchasing decisions are the next step in the consumer decision-making process. Currently, consumers gain preference between brands, products/services being considered and intend to purchase the brand of choice (Stefan, 2019). Furthermore, Purchase decisions have been influenced by previous stages of the decision-making process, but marketers still have the opportunity to affect consumers who are already at the purchasing stage (Iblasi et al., 2016). At this level, marketers should provide their consumers with their products and ensure that the purchasing process is easy and convenient for consumers (Bui et al., 2021). By using digital technology, digital marketing channels such as email marketing, social media, online advertising, and mobile services can improve the consumer spending experience at the purchase level by making ordering, purchasing, and payment of products easier so as to save customers’ time and money (Qazzafi, 2019). Finally, note that while buyers may have gone through all the steps carefully, purchasing decisions often depend on the accessibility of store management influences.

2.7. Consumers in Jordan

Currently, about 60% of Jordan’s population has access to the internet, and this figure is predicted to reach above 90% by the end of 2026, thanks to the rapid growth of telecommunications infrastructure (Shamieh & Shehada, 2020). Consumers are individuals who purchase products and services for personal use, whereas the market is a gathering of consumers (Qazzafi, 2019). Consumer purchasing behavior in Jordan is how users choose, purchase, use and discard products based on their tastes and preferences. Also, In Jordan, customers have increased significant attention in marketing practices and will continue to be a key feature of product and service marketing in all sectors (Rose et al., 2016). However, this trend has developed rapidly and affected purchasing decisions through the information offered by firms and consumers available online.

2.8. Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were improved and derived from the following literature reviews and theories:

H1: There is a significant and positive effect of Email marketing on the Purchase Decision among the students of Jordanian universities.

H2: There is a significant and positive effect of Online advertising on the Purchase Decision among the students of Jordanian universities.

H3: There is a significant and positive effect of Social media marketing on the Purchase Decision among the students of Jordanian universities.

H4: There is a significant and positive effect of Mobile marketing on the Purchase Decision among the students of Jordanian universities.

2.9. Research Framework

Hence, based on the above arguments, the conceptual framework below clarifies the influence of the digital marketing channels on purchase decisions among the students of Jordanian universities. The digital marketing channel platforms, namely email marketing, social media, online advertising, and mobile marketing, were the independent variable. In contrast, the consumer purchase decision, which was the dependent variable analyzed on the following constructs: product select and brand select. Finally, Figure 1 represents the conceptual framework.

Figure 1: Research Model

3. Methodology

In this part, the researcher will demonstrate the empirical research method needed to analyze purchase decisions among the students of Jordanian universities. In addition to this, to meet the objectives of this research, the correlation between independent and dependent variables will be analyzed using the statistical methods mentioned below. So, this study used quantitative methodology and assessed the impact between the variables and the behavioral gap of the Purchase decision.

3.1. Research Design

This is correlation research. This type of correlation research aims to assess the relationships that exist between two or more concepts, categories, or variables (Hair et al., 2012). Additionally, the Correlation study is a quantitative and multi-subject design in which students have not been randomly allocated to treatment conditions (Sekaran & Bougie, 2009). Another definition, according to Krishna (2018), is that “correlation research observed among scores on the size of two constructs can be influenced by various effects related to variable measurement or individual study design.” In short, this study used a descriptive design. However, this study used an online survey on university students as the main data collection instrument to gather students’ survey responses. The participants of the survey questionnaire consisted of three universities, such as Yarmouk University in the North region, Mutah University in the South region, and the University of Jordan in the Middle region. These students have been chosen to utilize the probability random sampling method due to time constraints.

3.2. Data Collection

Primary and secondary data collection techniques were utilized. Also, primary data were collected using questionnaires given to select university students in Jordan. The questionnaire is divided into distinct sections. The first part includes questions about the background information of the participants. The second part, which is part B, includes questions that will measure the use of Email marketing, online advertising, social media marketing, mobile marketing, and part C, which includes questions about purchasing decisions. Furthermore, the secondary data gathered contains a review of the literature on studies conducted on the same topic.

3.3. Data Analysis

Due to the coronavirus pandemic conditions resulting in closing universities, we could not collect data through distributing questionnaires to students on the university campuses. Thus, Data were only gathered through an online survey. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Firstly, descriptive statistics, such as means, variances, and standard deviations, are utilized to summarize data from demographic factors and digital marketing efforts. Secondly, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted as data reduction techniques for the five factors such as email marketing, social media, online advertising, mobile marketing, and purchasing decision. Thirdly, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for each of the five measures was calculated to evaluate the reliability and examine the validity of construct discrimination. Fourthly the Pearson correlation coefficient is calculated to determine the direction and magnitude of the relationship among the factors. Lastly, the hypothesis relationship proposed in this study was tested through the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

3.4. Target Population

According to Saunders et al. (2016), the population is the complete set of cases from which a sample is acquired. The target population for this study are students from the Jordanian universities. According to the Statistics of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (2021), the number of university students in Jordan in the last of 2020 was 285,486. Based on these statistics, the target population size will be 285,486 students. The targeted respondent will have certain characteristics because the probability of random sampling will be utilized during data collection. These features will comprise students who have access to the internet and have knowledge of digital marketing

3.5. Sampling Technique and Size

There are two types of sampling techniques - probability and non-probability. Probability sampling contains numerous methods for the random selection of students from the entire population. Due to the researcher’s access to the whole population, the possibility of choosing each member of the population is known (Sekaran & Bougie, 2013). In order to achieve the objectives of the study, students will be selected using the probability sampling method; the justification for using random sampling probability is to allow the researcher to choose and focus on certain characteristics of the population interesting and will enable him to answer his research questions. The sample was taken from three universities, such as Yarmouk University in the North region, Mutah University in the South region, and the University of Jordan in the Middle region. Hair et al. (2007) proposed a ratio of 10 cases to one item of a questionnaire for the purpose of variables analysis. The expected sample size is at least 200 or more to meet the recommendation criteria. The sample size of this study was 300, which met the proposal criteria.

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. Response Rate

The target population contained 300 students from three Universities in Jordan. Table 1 shows that the 300 questionnaires administered, 220 answered, giving a 73% response rate. Hair et al. (2010) indicated that the statistically significant response rate for analysis should be at least 50%.

Table 1: Response Rate

4.2. Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive analysis was utilized to analyze the data by describing or explaining the descriptive evaluation of the participants as a study variable. Furthermore, descriptive analysis of participant’s answers was utilized to determine the participant’s evaluation criteria with the assistance of average value scores. Finally, this study was measured as an interval evaluation by determining the minimum and maximum scores, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Means and Standard Deviations

Based on Table 2 above, 220 valid answers’ mean and standard deviation for each variable were analyzed. The results were derived from the highest mean score of the variable of Purchase decisions based on the participant’s answers. Also, the findings show that Mobile marketing is the most important variable. It seems that there is no low level of mean scores. The high mean scores entail that participants agree that these variables impact Purchase decisions. Finally, these findings indicated that there is a strong relationship to Purchase decisions among the Students University of Jordan.

4.3. Scale Reliabilities

Cronbach’s alpha was utilized to measure and assess the instrument’s internal consistency efficiency and reliability. In addition to this, Cronbach’s alpha methodology was utilized to examine the reliability of the findings, which came from measurements based on correlations between the factors of the study, also referred to as internal consistency. Furthermore, Cronbach’s alpha is frequently utilized to test the average of items that can be evaluated in tests and their relationships. More specifically, SPSS software is applied to analyze the reliability of the data collected. Finally, the consistency of the general scale of the current and selected conditions is confirmed by Cronbach’s alpha, which should exceed the acceptable scale of 0.70 (hair et al., 2006). In this study, Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure item reliability. As shown below, the calculated Cronbach alpha is between 0.750 and 0.840, which is an excellent result (see Table 3).

Table 3: Reliability Analysis

4.4. Correlation Analysis

Correlation analysis refers to the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two factors (Cohen, 2013). The degree of correlation refers to the strength and significance of a relationship between them. To achieve it, a bivariate association was performed, which calculates the Pearson correlation coefficient with the degree of importance. A value of 1 or -1 means that the factors can be accurately determined interchangeably, and a value of 0 indicates no relationship between them. Finally, the results of the analysis are presented in Table 4.

Table 4: Pearson Correlation for Independent Variables and Dependent Variable

The outcome in the table above demonstrates that the relationship between Email marketing and the purchase decision is positive and significant (0.374), the relationship between online advertising and purchase decision is strong, positive, and significant (0.525), the relationship between social media marketing and the purchase decision is positive and significant (0.233), and, the relationship between mobile marketing and purchase decision is positive and significant (0.314). Finally, the results demonstrate that online advertising has a strong relationship with purchase decisions, followed by Email marketing, mobile marketing, social media marketing, and lastly, mobile marketing.

4.5. Multiple Regression

Multiple regression analysis is a statistical method that allows the researcher to evaluate the relationship between one dependent factor and numerous independent factors (Saunders et al., 2012). This offers information about the model as a whole and the relative influence of each of the independent factors that makes up the model. In this research, multiple regression analysis is utilized to evaluate how well the dimensions of digital marketing channels can predict the purchasing decision (see Table 5).

Table 5: Result of Multiple Regressions between Email Marketing, Online Advertising, Social Media Marketing, Mobile Marketing, and Purchase Decisions

5. Conclusion

This study evaluates digital marketing channels (Email Marketing, Online advertising, Social media marketing, and Mobile Marketing) for marketers. This analyzes the effect of this channel on the student purchasing decision in the Jordan market. The researcher performed the study through online questionnaires. Questionnaires were distributed based on random sampling techniques and gathered in the Jordan market. 300 participates were distributed, and 220 usable samples were acquired after excluding incomplete questionnaires, resulting in a response rate of 73 % of those who agreed to participate. In summary, we can confirm four hypotheses in the Jordan market; the results of this study demonstrated that the four independent factors positively affect student purchase decisions. Among the four digital marketing tools representing independent factors in this study, targeting is the most important factor in the student purchasing decision. Moreover, we can see that the strongest impact on student decisions is in the assessment stage, and this can be caused by the resorted channel directed to users who have searched for the product. This user already knows the product and is looking for more information to assess its diverse products and alternatives to complete the purchasing decisions. Moreover, Email marketing as a digital marketing channel is the most negligible influential factor in student purchasing decisions.

The research was restricted to the students at the Jordanian universities. Future research should be done on a large number of young people or other ages for more accurate results. The Jordanian universities can target their youths on all the applications utilized in this research. Doing this research on other samples will enrich researches in the marketing field. Future research may be done, taking into account additional factors in different digital marketing and channels. This may differ from the findings of this analysis study to identify any difference.