MDIM Journal of Management Review and Practice

Impact of Emojis on Customer Purchasing Behaviour in Social Media Marketing of E-commerce Industries with Reference to Flipkart and Amazon

Surjadeep Dutta¹, R. Arivazhagan¹, Rebecca Balasundaram², Shyamaladevi. B¹ and Raj Singh¹

First Published 23 Jan 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/mjmrp.241304553

Article Information

Corresponding Author:

Surjadeep Dutta, Faculty of Management, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu 603203, India.
Email: surjadeepdutta@gmail.com

¹Faculty of Management, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India

²School of Computer Science, York St John University, London Campus, London, UK

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-Commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed.

Abstract

This study examines the impact of emojis on consumer buying behaviour in social media marketing. With the rise of visual digital communication, emojis have become potent instruments for expressing emotions and augmenting interaction. This study investigates the impact of emojis on customer emotions, perceptions, and purchasing decisions in social media commercials, postings, and promotional content. The research seeks to comprehend the impact of emoji-driven marketing campaigns on customer responses across several platforms, specifically on brand communication, customer engagement, and sales performance. The collection of quantitative data involves the analysis of various characteristics, including Brand Communication, Sales Performance, and Customer Engagement. Qualitative data are acquired through interviews with people employed in Social Media marketing businesses such as Flipkart and Amazon. Additionally, questionnaires are administered to candidates who have had experiences with the information system. Total of approximately 200 samples have been gathered for this investigation. Data collection has taken place in Bangalore. The gathered data have been imported into the IBM SPSS database for subsequent analysis, including chi-square analysis and regression analysis. The results indicate that Emojis play a big part in brand communication; thus, e-commerce managers require a systematic approach to social media marketing. The high influence of customer involvement on emoji usage in e-commerce social media marketing offers managers a strategic opportunity to connect with their audience. E-commerce firms can boost client engagement by using emoticons, fostering interactive content, analysing consumer preferences, and being active on social media.

Keywords

Brand communication, customer engagement, emoji, sales performance, social media marketing

References

Andrew, Y., & Soontae, A. (2020). Data-driven social media marketing: Insights from Facebook and Instagram advertising. Journal of Marketing Communications, 26(4), 389–407.

Aral, S. (2021). The hype machine: How social media disrupts our elections, our economy, and our health––and how we must adapt. Harvard Business Review Press.

Aral, S., & Walker, D. (2021). Social influence and the diffusion of products in social networks. Journal of Marketing Research, 58(3), 537–550.

Das, G., Jain, S. P., & Gohil, M. (2021). Visual marketing: The role of emojis in enhancing consumer engagement and sales. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 31(4), 689–704.

Das, G., Pandey, N., & Kumar, R. (2019). The role of visual and verbal metaphors in enhancing the emotional appeal of advertising: Evidence from emojis. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 36(3), 399–410.

Diefenbach, S., & Christoforakos, L. (2020). The psychology of emojis: A critical review of research. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1071.

Jaeger, S. R., & Ares, G. (2020). Emotional responses to emojis in text-based marketing communication. Food Quality and Preference, 81, 103848.

Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59–68.

Kumar, A., Bezawada, R., & Subramanian, K. (2021). Emotional engagement and consumer behavior in social media marketing. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 31(3), 483–496.

Li, Y., & Xie, T. (2022). Emoji usage in social media marketing and its impact on customer engagement: A case study of brand communications. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 58, 75–88.

Pfitzner, C., & Herring, S. C. (2021). The persuasive power of emojis: How emojis impact consumer attitudes and behavior in marketing communication. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 26(2), 75–91.

Wang, Z., & Yu, X. (2020). Social media engagement and consumer behavior: The role of trust and perceived brand value. Journal of Business Research, 120, 475–486.