THE IMPACT OF DE INFLUENCING CONTENT ON GENERATION Z CONSUMER SKEPTICISM AND PURCHASE DECISIONS

Abstract

De-influencing content has been becoming a trend in social media which questions the traditional influencer marketing model by urging consumers to reconsider the product recommendation, promotional statements and over-consumption. The effect of de-influencing content on Generation Z consumer skepticism and buying consciousness was the subject of this study. The research design used was a quantitative, cross-sectional research design which was measured using a five point Likert scale and the data gathered were 300 Generation Z consumers. Purposive sampling was conducted for sampling, descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and linear regression were used for data analysis. The results revealed that de-influencing content was positively related to consumer skepticism with a mean of 3.91, SD = 0.71, β = 0.62, R² = 0.384, and p < .001, meaning that the more that consumers are exposed to de-influencing messages, the higher their levels of skepticism about influencer and product claims are. De-influencing content also showed a significant negative association with purchase decisions (β = −0.35, R² = 0.123, p < .001) and consumer skepticism showed a significant negative association with purchase decisions (β = −0.41, R² = 0.168, p < .001). The findings show that de-influencing can increase skepticism and lower purchase-oriented reactivities of Generation Z consumers. The study adds to research into consumer behaviour by placing de-influencing as a reverse persuasion technique which encourages consumers to think critically, to be authentic and to buy reflectively. Some implications for marketers, influencers and platforms to help them understand how consumer response to persuasive content on social media is changing.