DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/jbs.33.2.124-132

A Comparatives Study of How Social Media Influences The Buying Motivation of Gen Y and Gen Z

*Dian Novita orcid  -  Doctor of Management Science, Universitas Airlangga | Management Department, Faculty, Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia, Indonesia
Lia Febria Lina  -  Doctor of Management Science, Universitas Airlangga | Management Department, Faculty, Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia, Indonesia
Open Access Copyright 2025 JURNAL BISNIS STRATEGI

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Citation Format:
Abstract
This study primarily conducted an in-depth investigation to obtain information about factors that make the young generation purchase smartphones influenced by social media. The analysis focused on the millennial or the 'Me' generation (Gen Y) and the 'True' generation (Gen Z). These two generations represent the present-day dominant youth cohort. This qualitative study utilized the technique of conducting semi-structured interviews for data collection. No differences were found in Gen Z's and Y's smartphone purchasing motivations. The buying decisions of both generations were equally and materially influenced by genuine reviews on social media, especially content in the form of social media live streams such as YouTube and TikTok videos, especially when well-known influencers conveyed pertinent information. The interviews revealed the distinctive features of the two generations studied: they are rational in making purchase decisions and consider both quality and price. Unlike Gen Y, Gen Z   does not like to compare new products against other or previous products because it takes advantage of its proximity to the manufacturing company to obtain adequate information about a product. Practically, it can be a reference for smartphone retailers to better understand youth purchase behavior.
Fulltext View|Download
Keywords: consumer behavior, semi-structured interview, social media, smartphone, young consumer

Article Metrics:

Article Info
Section: Articles
Language : EN
Recent articles
The Influence of Store Atmosphere and Service Quality on Consumer Purchasing Decisions at Allbaik Chicken Sawah Lebar Bengkulu City Investment Decision Quality Improvement Model in the Context of Behavioural Finance A Comparatives Study of How Social Media Influences The Buying Motivation of Gen Y and Gen Z More recent articles
Most cited articles
EFFECT OF ROLE CONFLICT AND ROLE OVERLOAD TO BURNOUT AND ITS IMPACT ON CYBERLOAFING (STUDY ON PT PLN (PERSERO) PUSAT MANAJEMEN KONSTRUKSI) CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: STATE OF THE ART ANALISIS PENGARUH TARIF PENERBANGAN, JUMLAH PENERBANGAN DAN PENDAPATAN PERKAPITA DALAM MENINGKATKAN JUMLAH PENUMPANG EXPORTING PROBLEMS OF MALAYSIAN SMES : A RECENT SURVEY THE INFLUENCE OF DIVIDEND POLICY, DEBT POLICY, INDEPENDENT COMMISSIONER, AND INSTITUTIONAL OWNERSHIP ON THE FIRM VALUE WITH GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES AS MODERATOR VARIABLES (Study on Non-Financial Companies Listed on IDX in the Period of Years of 2012-2015) More cited articles
  1. Apanasevic, T., & Arvidsson, N. (2010). Stakeholders’ expectations of mobile payment in retail: lessons from Sweden. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 34(1), 37–61. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-06-2014-0064
  2. Appel, G., Grewal, L., Hadi, R., & Stephen, A. T. (2020). The future of social media in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(1), 79–95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00695-1
  3. Bahfiarti, T., & Arianto, A. (2022). Uses and gratifications approach: influence of COVID-19 media exposure on millennial generation in Makassar city, Indonesia. Heliyon, 8(6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09704
  4. Barbie, E. (2001). The Practice of Social Research. 9th Edition. In Wadsworth/Thomson Learning
  5. Challagalla, G., Venkatesh, R., & Kohli, A. K. (2009). Proactive postsales service: When and why does it pay off? Journal of Marketing, 73(2), 70–87. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.73.2.70
  6. Chen, Y., Fay, S., & Wang, Q. (2011). The Role of Marketing in Social Media: How Online Consumer Reviews Evolve. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 25(2), 85–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2011.01.003
  7. Databoks.katadata. (2023). Retrieved August,2023. from www.databoks.katadata.co.id. https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2021/05/24/proporsi-populasi-generasi-z-dan-milenial-terbesar-di-indonesia
  8. Dimmock, M. (2019). “Defining generations: where millennials end and generation Z begins. Pew Research Center, 17(1), 1–7
  9. Duffett, R. G. (2017). Influence of social media marketing communications on young consumers’ attitudes. Young Consumers, 18(1), 19–39. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-07-2016-00622
  10. Fontana, A., & Frey, J. H. (2000). The interview: From structured questions to negotiated text. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.),Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 645-672). Sage
  11. Francis, T., & Hoefel, F. (2018). “True Gen”: Generation Z and its implications for companies. McKinsey & Company, 10. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Consumer Packaged Goods/Our Insights/True Gen Generation Z and its implications for companies/Generation-Z-and-its-implication-for-companies.ashx
  12. Ganesh, J., Reynolds, K. E., Luckett, M., & Pomirleanu, N. (2010). Online Shopper Motivations, and e-Store Attributes: An Examination of Online Patronage Behavior and Shopper Typologies. Journal of Retailing, 86(1), 106–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2010.01.003
  13. Guan, J., Lau, Y. yip, Yang, H., & Ren, L. (2022). To buy or not to buy: how young consumers approach new smart products in the social media context. Young Consumers, 23(1), 90–111. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-12-2020-1272
  14. Gurǎu, C. (2012). A life-stage analysis of consumer loyalty profile: Comparing Generation X and Millennial consumers. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 29(2), 103–113. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363761211206357
  15. Hennig-Thurau, T., Wiertz, C., & Feldhaus, F. (2015). Does Twitter matter? The impact of microblogging word of mouth on consumers’ adoption of new movies. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(3), 375–394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0388-3
  16. Hudson, S., Roth, M. S., Madden, T. J., & Hudson, R. (2015). The effects of social media on emotions, brand relationship quality, and word of mouth: An empirical study of music festival attendees. Tourism Management, 47, 68–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.09.001
  17. Leeraphong, A., & Mardjo, A. (2013). Trust and Risk in Purchase Intention through Online Social Network: A Focus Group Study of Facebook in Thailand. Journal of Economics, Business and Management, 314–318. https://doi.org/10.7763/joebm.2013.v1.68
  18. Liu, H., Liu, W., Yoganathan, V., & Osburg, V. S. (2021). COVID-19 information overload and generation Z’s social media discontinuance intention during the pandemic lockdown. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 166(August 2020), 120600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120600
  19. Mason, M. C., Zamparo, G., Marini, A., & Ameen, N. (2022). Glued to your phone? Generation Z’s smartphone addiction and online compulsive buying. Computers in Human Behavior, 136(July), 107404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107404
  20. Ng, S. I., Ho, J. A., Lim, X. J., Chong, K. L., & Latiff, K. (2019). Mirror, mirror on the wall, are we ready for Gen-Z in marketplace? A study of smart retailing technology in Malaysia. Young Consumers, 22(1), 68–89. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-06-2019-1006
  21. Purani, K., Kumar, D. S., & Sahadev, S. (2019). e-Loyalty among millennials: Personal characteristics and social influences. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 48(February), 215–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.02.006
  22. Ramadan, R., & Aita, J. (2018). A model of mobile payment usage among Arab consumers. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 36(7), 1213–1234. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-05-2017-0080
  23. Rehman, F. ur, Bin Md Yusoff, R., Bin Mohamed Zabri, S., & Binti Ismail, F. (2017). Determinants of personal factors in influencing the buying behavior of consumers in sales promotion: a case of fashion industry. Young Consumers, 18(4), 408–424. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-06-2017-00705
  24. Suzianti, A., Amaradhanny, R. D., & Fathia, S. N. (2023). Fashion heritage future: Factors influencing Indonesian millenials and generation Z’s interest in using traditional fabrics. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 9(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joitmc.2023.100141
  25. Wood Stacy. (n.d.). Generation Z as Consumers: Trends and Innovation
  26. Yazdanparast, A., Joseph, M., & Muniz, F. (2016). Consumer based brand equity in the 21st century: an examination of the role of social media marketing. Young Consumers, 17. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/YC-03-2016-00590
  27. Zhang, L., & Su, M. (2011). Effects of new product preannouncement on purchase intention: From consumer perspective. Nankai Business Review International, 2(1), 48–63. https://doi.org/10.1108/20408741111113493
  28. Zhang, W., Zhang, W., & Daim, T. U. (2023). Investigating consumer purchase intention in online social media marketing: A case study of Tiktok. Technology in Society, 74(June), 102289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102289

Last update:

No citation recorded.

Last update:

No citation recorded.