MILLENNIALS' INTENTION TO BUY FASHION PRODUCTS AT SHOPEE DURING THE PANDEMIC OF COVID-19

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the influence of celebrity endorsers and eWOM on consumer purchase intentions, with the brand image as a mediating variable. The research population consisted of millennial consumers in Pontianak who had never bought fashion products at Shopee during the pandemic of COVID-19. Two hundred respondents were selected based on the judgment sampling method. Questionnaires were distributed via Google Forms, then analyzed using SEM-PLS. The results showed that celebrity endorsers and eWOM positively affected the brand image of fashion products at Shopee during the pandemic. Whereas celebrity endorsers and eWOM have proven to have no direct effect on purchase intention. It happened because respondents did not only rely on content uploaded by celebrities and reviews to determine their consumption. Consumers tend to be more selective in choosing products during the pandemic. Even though there is much information circulating about these products, they still consider brand image when deciding to buy or consume them.JEL : M31. ABSTRAKPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh selebriti endorser dan eWOM pada niat beli konsumen, dengan citra merek sebagai variabel mediasi. Penelitian ini dirancang untuk menjelaskan hubungan sebab akibat antar variabel. Populasi penelitian terdiri dari konsumen milenial di Kota Pontianak yang belum pernah membeli produk fashion di Shopee selama masa pandemi Covid-19. Terdapat 200 responden yang dipilih berdasarkan metode judgment sampling. Penyebaran kuesioner dilakukan melalui Google Form, kemudian dianalisis dengan SEM-PLS. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa selebriti endorser dan eWOM berpengaruh positif terhadap citra merek produk fashion di Shopee pada masa pandemi Covid-19. Sementara itu, selebriti endorser dan eWOM terbukti tidak berpengaruh langsung terhadap minat beli konsumen. Hal itu terjadi karena responden tidak hanya mengandalkan konten yang diunggah selebritis dan review untuk menentukan konsumsinya. Konsumen cenderung lebih selektif dalam memilih produk selama masa pandemi. Walaupun banyak informasi yang beredar mengenai produk tersebut, namun mereka tetap mempertimbangkan citra merek ketika memutuskan untuk membeli atau mengkonsumsinya.Kata Kunci : selebriti endorser, e-WOM, citra merek, minat beli, fashion.