The role of influencers perceived credibility in purchase intention of fashion industry products on digital platforms

Digitalne platforme mogu se definirati kao online platforme koje nude mogućnost kupnje više različitih maraka iz industrije modnih proizvoda široke potrošnje koji su na taj način su objedinjeni na jednom mjestu. U modnoj industriji dolazi do problema s diferenciranjem zbog prezasićenosti tržišta, te je upravo zbog toga ta industrija odabrana kao kontekst istraživanja. Kako bi doprli do potrošača digitalne platforme često surađuju s utjecajnim osobama koji promoviraju njih te modne proizvode u njihovom asortimanu. Predmet ovog rada je stoga uloga percipiranog kredibiliteta utjecajnih osoba u namjeri kupnje modnih proizvoda na digitalnim platformama. Naime, kredibilitet utjecajnih osoba, poznatih i kao influenseri, igra ključnu ulogu u njihovoj sposobnosti da utječu na svoju ciljanu publiku. Cilj rada je stoga doznati u kojoj mjeri potrošači pridaju značaj određenim obilježjima tj. dimenzijama kredibiliteta koje posjeduju utjecajne osobe. Kako bi se ispunio postavljeni cilj rada, provelo se jednokratno istraživanje putem anketnog upitnika na 102 ispitanika. Poseban naglasak stavljen je na dimenzije kredibiliteta utjecajnih osoba (pouzdanost i stručnost, dopadljivost i privlačnost utjecajne osobe) te su korištene skale iz istraživanja Magano i sur. (2022.). Rezultati provedenog istraživanja pokazali su da su ispitanicima važne sve tri dimenzije kredibiliteta, a najviše pažnje pridaju privlačnosti te zatim i pouzdanosti. Utjecajne osobe postale su ključan faktor u životu nekih od ispitanika, te će shodno tomu 45,6% njih gotovo sigurno kupiti neki modni proizvod prema preporuci utjecajne osobe u narednom periodu od tri mjeseca.Digital platforms can be defined as online platforms that offer the possibility of buying several different brands from the consumer fashion industry that are thus united in one place. In the fashion industry, there is a problem with differentiation due to oversaturation of the market, and this is precisely why this industry was chosen as the research context. In order to reach consumers, digital platforms often cooperate with influential people who promote them and the fashion products in their range. The subject of this paper is therefore the role of the perceived credibility of influential persons in the intention to purchase fashion products on digital platforms. Namely, the credibility of influential people, also known as influencers, plays a key role in their ability to influence their target audience. The aim of the work is therefore to find out to what extent consumers attach importance to certain characteristics, i.e. dimensions of credibility possessed by influential persons. In order to fulfill the set goal of the work, a one-time survey was conducted using a questionnaire on 102 respondents. Special emphasis was placed on the dimensions of the credibility of influential persons (reliability and expertise, likability and attractiveness of the influential person), and the scales from the research of Magano et al. were used. (2022). The results of the conducted research showed that all three dimensions of credibility are important to the respondents, and they pay the most attention to attractiveness and then to reliability. Influential people have become a key factor in the lives of some of the respondents, and accordingly 45.6% of them will almost certainly buy a fashion product recommended by an influential person in the next three months