Social Media Marketing and Smartphone Buying Behaviour during Festive E-Commerce Sales: Evidence from College Students in Bengaluru
Abstract: Festive e-commerce sales have become important occasions for smartphone discovery, comparison and purchase. Social media marketing can connect consumers with product information, influencer endorsements, reviews, discounts and time-limited offers, but these cues may not contribute equally to buying decisions. This study examines the relationships between five social-media-related promotional constructs-social media advertising, influencer promotions, reviews and recommendations, discounts and promotional benefits, and urgency cues-and impulse buying behaviour among college students in Bengaluru in the context of Amazon's Great Indian Festival and Flipkart's Big Billion Days. We analysed primary questionnaire data from 153 respondents using descriptive statistics, scale reliability, Pearson correlation, multiple regression, and a reported structural equation model. All seven measured scales showed good-to-excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .885-.933). Each promotional construct was positively correlated with impulse buying, with urgency cues showing the strongest bivariate association (r = .804), followed by influencer promotions (r = .708). The multiple regression model was statistically significant, F(5, 147) = 75.376, p
Keywords: Social Media Marketing; Smartphone Buying Behaviour; Impulse Buying; Influencer Promotions; Urgency Cues; Festive E-Commerce; College Students; Bengaluru
How to Cite?: Shreyans, Dr. Patcha Bhujanga Rao, "Social Media Marketing and Smartphone Buying Behaviour during Festive E-Commerce Sales: Evidence from College Students in Bengaluru", Volume 15 Issue 10, October 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 2092-2097, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR261029235336, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR261029235336