EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISEMENT ON YOUNG CONSUMERS’ BUYING BEHAVIOUR IN NIGERIA

Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Mehmed Ali Gemuhluoğlu; Nafiu Ibrahim Wambai; Auwal Usman Nadada

doi:10.5281/zenodo.23740244

Abstract

This study examined how advertising on social media influences the buying behaviour of young consumers in
Nigeria. Four objectives guided the work: to determine the level at which young consumers use social media
platforms, their level of awareness of social media advertisements, the sources from which they obtain information
about advertised products, and their level of acceptance of social media advertisements and shopping. A
quantitative descriptive survey was conducted with 120 young consumers selected through simple random
sampling. Data were collected in person with a structured five-point Likert questionnaire (pilot Cronbach’s α =
.93) and analysed with frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. All respondents held at least one
active social media account, and 76% spent six or more hours on the platforms each day. Awareness of
advertisements placed by Nigerian vendors was high (82% reported noticing them to a great or very great extent).
Willingness to buy (M = 3.68) and the factors supporting online shopping (M = 4.01) were high, whereas
information sources were only moderately used (M = 3.38), with comparison and peer recommendation scoring
lowest. The findings indicate that social media advertisement is strongly associated with young consumers’ buying
behaviour, although its role as a decision-support tool is still limited. Implications for marketers and policy makers
are discussed.

Keywords

social media advertisement, consumer behaviour, young consumers, online shopping, Nigeria

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