Course Code: MKTG7503
Topic: Research on the Impact of Internet Celebrity Marketing in the Beauty Industry on Consumers’ Buying Behavior in China
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市场营销代写 However, for the sake of self-spiritual satisfaction, the audiences are more prone to irrational consumption behavior.
Executive summary 市场营销代写
The phenomenon is the increasing interest and development of the internet celebrity sales in China. More Chinese people come to see the live broadcast for cosmetics. The research purpose is to look at why an increasing number of Chinese people are interested in purchasing cosmetics via online celebrity sales. This article uses a one-on-one interview method. The total number of interviewees was 7. There are main four findings. Firstly, all of these interviewees have seen the live stream to sell cosmetics.
Secondly, most of the interviewees said they have the positive experiences. Thirdly, the main factors are discounts, the effectiveness of the internet celebrity presentation, personal charisma and the interaction of the purchase. Fourthly, most of the interviewees have had impulsive and irrational consumption. In the end, three recommendations are proposed. First, consumers should enhance their self-control in making the purchase decisions. Secondly, they should exercise the ability of delayed gratification and rational planning of money. Thirdly, the government should introduce relevant policies to regulate the sales behavior of online celebrities, prohibit the dissemination of money-worshiping ideas, and resist the trend of extravagance.
Research Background
1.1The Phenomenon
A Chinese internet celebrity named Li Jaiqi staged an 8-hour live broadcast in 2020 to promote cosmetics and skin care items, and the total number of spectators in the live broadcast room reached 162 million (Tan, 2021). Finally, on that day, his internet sales totaled 3.3 billion dollars (Tan, 2021). As digital technology has progressed, Internet celebrities have become well-known to the general public, and the present age of online culture is shifting (Wu, 2020). In China, internet celebrity marketing has also emerged as a new marketing strategy. 市场营销代写
The rise of the beauty online influencer coincided with the evolution of the internet (Wu, 2020). They offer beauty cosmetics reviews and advice online, establishing themselves as a beauty expert and fashionista, relying on influencers’ abilities and attractiveness (Wu, 2020). It seems that as long as a product is classified as an internet celebrity and supported by an influencer, buyers will be motivated to purchase it. By 2017, sales via the internet channel had reached 83.9 billion yuan, accounting for 23.2 percent of total cosmetics sales, making it China’s second-largest cosmetics sales channel (Daxue Consulting, 2021). As a result, that online fame has a lot of potential to increase sales in China’s cosmetics business. Thus, this essay aims to research how the internet celebrity generates the great impacts to boost the sales in the beauty industry in China based on the interview research method.
1.2Literature Review
The internet celerity influencers can be called as the reference group. They are persons or groups with whom a person compares and seeks advice while shaping their views, attitudes, and behaviors (Hunter and Davidsson, 2007). Reference groups can guide consumers’ purchasing and consumption behavior (Lawson, 2020). The power of conformity may be generated through reference groups, as well as the influence of altering one’s behavior to suit the expectations of a real or imagined group (Fernandes & Panda, 2018). As for the internet celebrity, they can generate the informational conformity which allows the individual consumers to look for guidance when they lack knowledge or are in an ambiguous situation, so the consumers will accept the groups’ view and make the purchase decision (Silver and Austad, 2004). 市场营销代写
To explore consumers’ consumption behavior, involvement also plays one important role. Perceived involvement is a metric that measures how much a celebrity likes, cares about, is committed to, and is enthusiastic about a product (Hunter & Davidsson, 2008). According to studies, being an entrepreneur might boost a celebrity’s perceived participation (Hunter & Davidsson, 2007). Lawson (2020) suggests that when a celebrity’s perceived engagement grows, customers will create a correspondence bias in their favor by seeing the celebrity as an entrepreneur rather than a standard endorsement.
Consumers’ perceptions of whether celebrities enjoy the things they are promoting have been investigated in depth by certain experts (Abidin, 2020; Lawson, 2020; Silvera and Austad, 2004).
It has been shown that a celebrity’s perceived likeability leads to enhanced attitudes toward companies and advertising (Austad & Silvera, 2004). According to Silvera and Austad (2004), consumers assume celebrity endorsers enjoy the things they advocate, and they utilized correspondence bias to test this hypothesis. As a result, consumers love the things the internet celebrities have advocated and these celebrities would have a more favorable opinion about the product (Abidin, 2020).
Consumer motivation may lead to certain behaviors (Poldma, 2016). According to Maslow’s theory, people will be motivated by different needs. Certain degrees of motivations are defined by a hierarchy of physical and psychogenic demands (Poldma, 2016). When seeking information from the internet celebrity, there are some specific needs to be fulfilled. For those consumers watching the internet celebrity, they have a special information need (Poldma, 2016). In persuasion, this requirement is very crucial. When customers are in need of knowledge, they are more likely to pay attention to advertisements than when they are not (Thomson et al, 2005). Thus, they will be motivated to make purchase.
1.3The Purpose 市场营销代写
Because there is a lack of a deeper understanding of why individuals are inspired to buy cosmetics by Internet celebrities from the buyer’s viewpoint, this research will look at why an increasing number of Chinese people are interested in purchasing cosmetics via internet celebrity sales.
1.4 Research question
Question one: Why do consumers choose cosmetics recommended by an online celebrity?
Questions two: What factors would motivate people to choose cosmetic recommend by internet celebrity? 市场营销代写
Question three: From the involvement, can consumers always get the right information to meet their specific needs from internet celebrities?
Question four: To what extent are consumers lured to have the impulsive consumption and purchase the things they do not need?
2.Study and results 市场营销代写
2.1 General information on the interviewees
To better understand how internet celebrities influence the marketing of cosmetics in China, this article uses a one-on-one interview method to understand how consumers are influenced to make an impulsive choice to buy cosmetics. The interviewer chose the interviewees from five of her best friends, her mother and her sister-in-law. The total number of interviewees was 7. The interviewer sought the consent of all the interviewees before the interview. They all volunteered to participate in the one-on-one interview.
| Interviewee | Age | Relationship | Location | Interview time |
| Person A | 21 | My best friend | China | 8 minutes |
| Person B | 22 | My friend | China | 9 minutes |
| Person C | 46 | My mother | China | 8 minutes |
| Person D | 22 | My cousin sister | China | 9 minutes |
| Person E | 24 | My friend | China | 10 minutes |
| Person F | 26 | My cousin sister | China | 10 minutes |
| Person G | 37 | My aunt | China | 8 minutes |
2.2 key interview questions
- What are the frequency for you to watchinternet celebrity webcasts and when do you choose to watch them?
- What kind of psychological experience do you have when watching a live broadcast? Or what behaviors of these celebrity anchors stimulate you to consume cosmetics?
- What factors would motivate you to buy the cosmetics when watching the endorsement or shopping broadcasts of internet celebrity?
- When watching, do you have impulse consumption? What kind of psychological experience do these impulse purchases bring?
2.3Findings 市场营销代写
Firstly, as for the frequency to watch the advertisement and live broadcasts of the internet celebrities, all of these 7 interviewees have seen the live stream to sell cosmetics, especially the live broadcasts of Jiaqi Li and Weiya. But their viewing frequency will vary. Five of them watch at least 3 times a week. Sometimes, they do not have such a need, but when they watch one beautiful lipstick recommended by Li Jiaqi, most of them would be stimulated to buy it. As interviewee A and B said they have too many lipsticks which have not been used yet. But the respondents’ mothers and aunt have watched 2 times so far because they are older and they have relatively less need for cosmetics.
Secondly, as for the psychological experiences, most of the interviewees said they have the positive experiences when watching the internet celebrity live broadcast. As interviewee A said “when watching many other celebrities’ live broadcast, it will feel very pompous with a sense of false marketing. But I prefer Li Jiaqi’s live broadcast, it would feel like he is sincere about introducing the characteristics of the merchandise and then bringing the biggest deals to everyone”.
Some other interviewees said that when watching the live broadcast, they can understand the products more specifically, intuitively and imaginatively, and judge more accurately whether the sold goods are suitable for them.
Interviewee G said “I can see the products themselves, and hear the professional explanation of the anchor, and also see the real use effect, which is a 3D-style shopping experience”. But the internet celebrity’s superb ability to bring goods can prompt consumers to generate impulse consumption. The more they buy, they will get the more discounts. Thus, the blind consumption is also formed. 市场营销代写
Thirdly, the main factors that influenced their cosmetic purchases were discounts, the effectiveness of the internet celebrity presentation, personal charisma and the overall comfort and interaction of the purchase. Respondents B, D, and E all said they enjoy watching Weiya’s cosmetics live streams, as she is passionate about promoting her goods, whether in a love stream or a Vlog. Interviewee B said “she would use the cosmetics to show the effects on her face in the live broadcast and she has many discounts to attract me to buy those cosmetics. Those discounts lure me very much.” Interviewee A, C, F and G express that they like Li Jiaqi.
Even though he is a man, his recommendations for lipsticks are perfect, and everytime he would wear the lipsticks himself. At the same time, he is very polite and sincere with many interactions to the consumers. As Interviewee F said: “He has a prettier lip than a girl. Every time he recommends lipstick and applies it on his own lips, I can’t help but buy it. Especially when he shouts oh my god every time with great passion, buy it. That’s when I involuntarily place an order”. 市场营销代写
Furthermore, the Interviewee D said she is like to watch the different advices offered by those internet celebrities on the social media.
“Weiya would usually interact with fans frequently and reply to most questions raised by her fans on Weibo. Sometimes I can even get the gifts when interacting her on the Weibo (the Chinese largest social media platform). I can learn many cosmetic tips from her suggestions”. The factors of discount, passion as well as interaction attract the consumers to buy the cosmetics from those internet celebrities. The more passion, like, dedication, and excitement people observed from an online star, the greater their buy intent. Consumers’ perceptions of competence and dependability would be strengthened if an online star was involved.
Fourthly, it can be found through the interview that most of the interviewees said they have had impulsive and irrational consumption. Interviewee G said that “in the process of watching live streaming, it can make up for her social needs and the anchor will give me a sense of companionship. It is this atmosphere that makes me watch live streaming regularly, sometimes overhearing the introduction of an item and then generating consumption behavior”. In many cases, this consumption is irrational. This statement is agreed by Interviewee A, B, E and F. Interviewee A also said: “too many times I have the impulsive purchases, and I do not need these makeups and most of them are left with no usage. However, it seems I can not control the discounts”. Thus, the internet celebrity can lead to the irrational and impulsive consumption which is one negative impact.
3.Integration with theory 市场营销代写
From the findings, it can be seen that those internet celebrities are the reference groups. They are individuals or groups that are used by consumers as a basis for comparison and guidance when forming their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours (Abidin, 2018). From the interviewees’ responses, Li Jiaqi and Weiya are the famous internet celebrities to use the live broadcast to promote the cosmetics. They have huge fans in China. Every time when they conduct the live broadcast at night, there will be millions of fans coming to their live rooms to buy cosmetics and other products. They can generate the great power to shape consumers’ behaviours to meet the expectations of a real or perceived group (Hunter and Davidsson, 2007).
As mentioned in the above, the interviewee F said every time he recommends lipstick and applies it on his own lips, she can’t help but buy it. Even when consumers do not have the purchase intentions, the internet celebrities can change their purchase behaviors. At the same time, the reference groups can also offer the information to the consumers. The internet celebrity can generate the informational conformity which allows the individual consumers to look for guidance when they lack knowledge or are in an ambiguous situation (Lawson, 2020). From the interviewees, it can see they love to see the internet celebrities to show the cosmetics on their face. From this process, they can see the final effects of these cosmetics products and then get the information to make the purchase decisions.
In addition, involvement also plays one important role to change the consumers’ consumption behaviors.
Perceived involvement is a metric that measures how much a celebrity likes, cares about, is committed to, and is enthusiastic about a product (Hunter & Davidsson, 2008). From the interviewees’ feedback, most of them agree that the main factors that influenced their cosmetic purchases were discounts, the effectiveness of the internet celebrity presentation, personal charisma and the overall comfort and interaction of the purchase (Tan, 2021). They are inspired by the internet celebrities’ passion and the whole interactive environment when they watch the live broadcast. Sometimes, the internet celebrity would also interact with the audiences while they see the comments leave by the audiences. 市场营销代写
This is a communication technique used by online influencers and their followers to provide the appearance of closeness (Abidin, 2018). In accordance with Yang (2020), the Chinese online celebrity constructed persona intimacy with their followers, arguing that Singapore fashion blog celebrities use techniques to establish persona intimacy (Yang, 2020). Through online connection, fans feel closer to the internet celebrity’s life and job. Weiya and Li Jiaqi contact with fans often and respond to the majority of product-related queries as well as casual social media remarks. Both Weiya and Li Jiaqi have opened their Weibo (the largest Chinese social media platform) accounts to interact with their fans and give them the advices for cosmetics as well as other tips.
As the interviewee C said Weiya utilizes live streaming to demonstrate her items, and she posts the URL to her live broadcast on social media ahead of time so that her fans can readily watch it.
She also instructs the audiences on how to apply make-up, answers questions from live streams, and discusses non-business matters such as travel, favorite novels, and so on (Wu, 2020). All of these actions give people the impression that the internet celebrity is genuine, unfeigned, and connected to them, leading them to shop at her online store.
Internet superstars like Li Jiaqi may launch or change goods based on common customer comments, recommendations, and feedback in order to suit the needs of the majority of consumers. Li Jiaqi even promotes his own cosmetic brand Huaxizi to meet his fans’ demands (Tan, 2021). In the end, consumer comments will have an influence on the final product (Thomson et al, 2005). Fans and customers are engaged in product production via engagement and involvement, and product intimacy between the consumer and the product may be formed based on the involvement (Thomson et al, 2005).
Finally, motivation is also reflected in the internet celebrity promotion. The mechanisms that motivate individuals to act in a certain manner are referred to as motivation. According to Maslow’s theory, people will be motivated by different needs. Maslow felt that when people’s need for respect is met, they may feel secure in themselves, enthusiastic about society, and realize the worth of their contribution to life (Poldma, 2016). Internal and external respects are the two types of respect. External respect refers to a person’s desire to be respected, trusted, and highly appreciated by others (Jisana, 2014). 市场营销代写
The user interactivity of the live streaming room precisely satisfies the need for external respect of the audiences, and audiences can get more interaction with the internet celebrity by leaving messages and giving feedback to the internet celebrities (Daxue Consulting, 2021).
At the same time, buying cosmetics also allows consumers to improve their appearance and make themselves more beautiful and attractive. This is a kind of esteem need, where consumers want to be respected by more people for their beauty (Tan, 2021).
However, for the sake of self-spiritual satisfaction, the audiences are more prone to irrational consumption behavior. In the process of watching the live broadcast, the internet celebrities and the audiences will interact from different ways, such as leaving the comments in the live room. And internet celebrities will stimulate consumers through various promotions, thus making consumers become more irrational. Some of them would get regret when they buy the unnecessary cosmetics, as the interviewee A said too many times she has the impulsive purchases, and she does not need these makeups and most of them are left with no usage. Thus, it is also essential to consider how to regulate such impulsive purchases motivated by the internet celebrities.
4.Recommendations
First, consumers should correctly understand their autonomy and enhance their self-control in making the purchase decisions. It is a normal consumption behavior to purchase goods by watching the internet celebrity live broadcast of the e-commerce platform, but once the audiences are indulged in it, the stimulation of the internet celebrity live environment will produce a lot of irrational purchasing behavior. Thus, the consumers should develop a habit to remain the rational consumption. The consumers need to know how to control their own material desires, and not let their desires grow unchecked. In addition, consumers should return to reality, and find things that can bring them a sense of accomplishment in real life. They should have self-control when participating in the act of watching live streaming, reduce the impulsive purchase of goods and establish the correct concept of consumption (Daxue Consulting, 2021). 市场营销代写
Secondly, consumers should exercise the ability of delayed gratification and rational planning of money.
If one lacks rational planning for life and money, but just want to satisfy one’s endless material desires, such a person will eventually be consumed by desire and then fall into deeper anxiety and distress. Delayed gratification can be described as a choice to voluntarily give up immediate gratification in a long-term plan for more lasting happiness (Yang, 2020). For the consumers who often produce irrational consumption behavior in the internet celebrity live broadcast, these consumers need to consciously exercise their ability to delayed gratification, to make long-term plans for the future, and slowly become a person who has a plan and knows how to manage money.
Thirdly, for the policy makers, the government should introduce relevant policies to regulate the sales behavior of online celebrities, prohibit the dissemination of money-worshiping ideas, and resist the trend of extravagance. The government needs to stipulate that internet celebrities play the role of a positive communicator in the process of live broadcasting, and help consumers to form a benign consumption behavior. In China, there are some reports that young people take out loans to buy things like luxury goods and cell phones recommended by internet celebrities, thus causing a serious debt crisis (Wu, 2020). Therefore, the government should introduce policies to regulate sales practices so that consumers can properly understand what they really need.
Reference List 市场营销代写
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