Analysis of Factors Increasing Customer Engagement and Brand Trust Toward Purchase Intention

Authors

  •   Welly Surjono Associate Professor (Corresponding Author), Vice Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Universitas Sangga Buana, PHH Mustopa Street, Bandung - 40124 ORCID logo https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1813-4962
  •   Deshinta Arrova Dewi Professor, Center for Data Science and Sustainable Technologies INTI International University Malaysia & International Institute of Management and Business, Minsk, Belarus Persiaran Perdana BBN Putra Nilai, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan Malaysia & vulica Slavinskaha 1/3, Minsk, Belarus - 220086
  •   R. Raja Subramanian Associate Professor, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Virudhunagar Krishnankoil, Srivilliputhur - 626 126, Tamil Nadu ORCID logo https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9065-5056

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2026/v56/i9/175706

Keywords:

short-video content creativity, influencer authenticity, social proof, customer engagement, brand trust, purchase intention, consumer behaviors.
Publishing Chronology: Paper Submission Date : October 25, 2025 ; Paper sent back for Revision : June 5, 2026 ; Paper Acceptance Date : August 10, 2026 ; Paper Published Online : September 15, 2026.

Abstract

Purpose : The study analyzed the impact of short-video content creativity, influencer authenticity, and public word-of-mouth on consumers’ purchase intention in the context of TikTok Commerce. It also considered the role of customer engagement and brand trust as mediating variables.

Design/Methodology/Approach : This study surveyed 240 active TikTok users residing in West Java, Indonesia. All users frequently browse TikTok, are familiar with the platform’s e-commerce functions, and are able to evaluate fashion products in TikTok Commerce. The study adopted partial least squares structural equation modeling for data analysis.

Findings : The results showed that short-video content creativity, influencer authenticity, and public word-of-mouth all had positive and significant impacts on customer engagement and brand trust. Among all, customer engagement had the most significant impact on purchase intention. These results indicated that to enhance consumers’ purchase intention, marketers could enhance their influencer authenticity, develop creative short-video content, and leverage social proof, while also reinforcing customer engagement and brand trust.

Practical Implications : Marketers should prioritize the creation of authentic short-video content, collaborate with related influential creators on the platform, and make good use of social proof mechanisms to strengthen customer engagement, brand trust, and purchase intention within TikTok’s short-video ecosystem.

Originality/Value : The study extended the Stimulus–Organism–Response theory by confirming the mediating roles of customer engagement and brand trust. It also provided a new research perspective for interpreting the psychological mechanisms behind short-video e-commerce consumption behavior.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Published

2026-09-15

How to Cite

Surjono, W., Dewi, D. A., & Subramanian, R. R. (2026). Analysis of Factors Increasing Customer Engagement and Brand Trust Toward Purchase Intention. Indian Journal of Marketing, 56(9), 42–63. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2026/v56/i9/175706

References

1) Aggarwal, P., Chauhan, K., & Chaturvedi, V. (2025). The moderating role of perceived risk in social media marketing's impact on customer engagement, e-WOM, and online repurchase intention in e-commerce: Integrating ELM and SOR models. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 18(3), 8–29. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2025/v18i3/174229

2) Agrawal, C., Duggal, T., Shukla, V., & Dohroo, M. (2023). Analyzing the correlation between social media influencers and customers' intention to buy in the luxury market. Indian Journal of Marketing, 53(9), 28–45. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2023/v53/i9/173140

3) Alcántara-Pilar, J. M., Rodríguez-López, M. E., Kalinić, Z., & Liébana-Cabanillas, F. (2024). From likes to loyalty: Exploring the impact of influencer credibility on purchase intentions in TikTok. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 78, 103709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103709

4) Almahdi, M. H., Alsayed, N., & Alabbas, A. (2022). In influencers we trust? A model of trust transfer in social media influencer marketing. In: Hamdan, A., Harraf, A., Arora, P., Alareeni, B., & Khamis Hamdan, R. (eds) Future of organizations and work after the 4th Industrial Revolution. Studies in Computational Intelligence (Vol. 1037). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99000-8_9

5) Audrezet, A., de Kerviler, G., & Guidry Moulard, J. (2020). Authenticity under threat: When social media influencers need to go beyond self-presentation. Journal of Business Research, 117, 557–569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.07.008

6) Barta, S., Belanche, D., Fernández, A., & Flavián, M. (2023). Influencer marketing on TikTok: The effectiveness of humor and followers' hedonic experience. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 70, 103149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2022.103149

7) Bash, M., Bandyopadhyay, A., Pahari, M. P., & Pahari, S. (2024). The effect of social media influencers on visit intention in the restaurant industry. Indian Journal of Marketing, 54(5), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2024/v54/i5/173829

8) Belanche, D., Casaló, L. V., Flavián, M., & Ibáñez-Sánchez, S. (2021). Building influencers' credibility on Instagram: Effects on followers' attitudes and behavioral responses toward the influencer. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 61, 102585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102585

9) Bulsara, H. P., & Vaghela, P. S. (2022). Millennials' online purchase intention towards consumer electronics: Empirical evidence from India. Indian Journal of Marketing, 52(2), 53–70. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2022/v52/i2/168154

10) Busalim, A., Hollebeek, L. D., & Lynn, T. (2024). The effect of social commerce attributes on customer engagement: An empirical investigation. Internet Research, 34(7), 187–214. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-03-2022-0165

11) Butcher, L., & Sung, B. (2024). User experiences with 360 brand videos: Device experiences, presence, and creativity driving brand engagement. Journal of Brand Management, 31(4), 401–414. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-023-00348-3

12) Chen, X., Wang, Y., Lyu, X., & Zhang, J. (2022). The impact of hotel customer engagement and service evaluation on customer behavior intention: The mediating effect of brand trust. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 852336. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.852336

13) Cialdini, R. B. (2021). Influence, new and expanded: The psychology of persuasion. Harper Business.

14) Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312

15) Guo, J., & Li, L. (2022). Exploring the relationship between social commerce features and consumers' repurchase intentions: The mediating role of perceived value. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 775056. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.775056

16) Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate data analysis (8th ed.). Cengage Learning EMEA.

17) Han, J., & Balabanis, G. (2024). Meta-analysis of social media influencer impact: Key antecedents and theoretical foundations. Psychology & Marketing, 41(2), 394–426. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21927

18) Hasanein, A. M., & Montaser, N. M. (2025). Visual bites and social proof: The mediating role of credibility between foodstagramming and visit intention to Saudi casual dining restaurants. Tourism and Hospitality, 6(2), 102. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp6020102

19) Hazarika, U. S., Khandai, S., & Kohli, H. S. (2025). Green marketing dynamics: Analyzing greenwashing, brand trust, and consumer purchase intentions. Indian Journal of Marketing, 55(12), 9–25. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2025/v55/i12/175865

20) He, C., & Yang, J. (2023). The influence of mobile short video content marketing on consumers' purchase intention: A test of two-mediation model. Academic Journal of Business & Management, 5(19), 107–115. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJBM.2023.051916

21) Huang, Z., & Benyoucef, M. (2023). An empirical study of mobile application usability: A unified hierarchical approach. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 39(13), 2624–2643. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2022.2082021

22) Jin, S. V., Ryu, E., & Muqaddam, A. (2021). I trust what she's #endorsing on Instagram: Moderating effects of parasocial interaction and social presence in fashion influencer marketing. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 25(4), 665–681. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-04-2020-0059

23) Kapoor, M., & Joshi, R. M. (2024). Impact of trade show marketing activities on customer engagement: A B2B perspective. Indian Journal of Marketing, 54(8), 8–29. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2024/v54/i8/174184

24) Kumar, P., & Usman, M. U. (2024). Analyzing the application of UTAUT2 model in predicting the adoption of electronic shopping in Nigeria. Indian Journal of Marketing, 54(3), 61–81. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2024/v54/i3/170942

25) Kumar, N., & Singh, V. (2022). Shopping with voice assistant: Understanding consumer intention and the mediating role of trust. Indian Journal of Marketing, 52(8), 51–65. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2022/v52/i8/171224

26) Liao, J., & Chen, J. (2024). The authenticity advantage: How influencer authenticity management strategies shape digital engagement with sponsored videos. Journal of Business Research, 185, 114937. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114937

27) Lim, W. M., & Rasul, T. (2022). Customer engagement in social media: Revisiting the construct, drivers, and measurement. Journal of Business Research, 148, 325–342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.04.068

28) Liu, X., & Zheng, X. (2024). The persuasive power of social media influencers in brand credibility and purchase intention. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11, 15. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02512-1

29) Luo, C., Hasan, N. A. M., Zamri bin Ahmad, A. M., & Lei, G. (2025). Influence of short video content on consumers' purchase intentions on social media platforms, with trust as a mediator. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 16605. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-94994-z

30) Mehrabian, A., & Russell, J. A. (1974). An approach to environmental psychology. MIT Press.

31) Meng, L. (Monroe), Kou, S., Duan, S., & Bie, Y. (2024). The impact of content characteristics of short-form video ads on consumer purchase behavior: Evidence from TikTok. Journal of Business Research, 183, 114874. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114874

32) Nandi, S., & Prasad, S. S. (2024). Customer engagement marketing and firms' deliberation on e-word of mouth communication on online platforms: A study on millennials and zoomers. Indian Journal of Marketing, 54(1), 8–28. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2024/v54/i1/173380

33) Ning, H., Lu, Y., Yang, W., & Li, Z. (2024). Impact of computational intelligence short videos on audience psychological behavior. Education and Information Technologies, 29(1), 595–623. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12217-2

34) Omeish, F., Shaheen, A., Alharthi, S., & Alfaiza, S. A. (2025). Between human and AI influencers: Parasocial relationships, credibility, and social capital formation in a collectivist market: A study of TikTok users in the Middle East. Discover Sustainability, 6, 116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-00891-w

35) Pereira, D., Silva, J., & Casais, B. (2024). Consumer brand engagement fostered by cause-related marketing in emotional and functional brands. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 36(5), 685–712. https://doi.org/10.1080/10495142.2024.2329258

36) Rixom, J. M., & Rixom, B. A. (2023). Perceived brand authenticity: Examining the effects of inferred dedication and anticipated quality on consumers' purchase intentions and actual choices. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 22(3), 721–737. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.2156

37) Saribut, S. (2022). Moderating effects of Generation Y's online-to-offline e-commerce (O2O e-commerce) shopping experience. Indian Journal of Marketing, 52(8), 8–25. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2022/v52/i8/171221

38) Senali, M. G., Iranmanesh, M., Ghobakhloo, M., Foroughi, B., Asadi, S., & Rejeb, A. (2024). Determinants of trust and purchase intention in social commerce: Perceived price fairness and trust disposition as moderators. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 64, 101370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2024.101370

39) Sharma, J., Agarwal, B., & Malati, N. (2024). Examining the factors influencing eWOM through social networking sites and the effect of eWOM on consumers' purchase intention. Indian Journal of Marketing, 54(6), 65–82. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2024/v54/i6/173947

40) Shen, X., & Wang, J. (2024). How short video marketing influences purchase intention in social commerce: The role of users' persona perception, shared values, and individual-level factors. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11, 290. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02808-w

41) Singh, B., & Dagur, A. (2022). Understanding influence of social media marketing of masstige fashion brands on Generation Z female Indian consumers. Indian Journal of Marketing, 52(5), 8–24. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2022/v52/i5/169414

42) Tee, P. K., Vashu, D., Wong, L. C., & Ng, C. P. (2023). Customer engagement in Instagram: The mediating role of perceived advertising value. In M. A. Al-Sharafi, M. Al-Emran, M. N. Al-Kabi, & K. Shaalan (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Intelligent Systems (ICETIS 2022). Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems (Vol. 584). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25274-7_25

43) Trabold, L. K., & Karst, A.-L. (2024). Navigating influence: Consumer purchase intentions for luxury goods on TikTok — An experimental research of the influence of social proof metrics and influencer credibility on consumers (Master's thesis). https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-64841

44) Upadhyaya, A. S., & Sijoria, C. (2024). Customers' purchase intention of green cosmetics in India: Empirical validations using an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB). Indian Journal of Marketing, 54(8), 60–77. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2024/v54/i8/174187

45) Uppal, A., Banerjee, S., Agarwal, V., & Chadha, P. (2025). Smart immersion in marketing: A study of technology convergence and purchase intention. Indian Journal of Marketing, 56(4), 10–29. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2026/v56/i4/175975

46) Vijayakumar, G., Rahiman, H. U., Nawaz, N., & Sriranga Prasad, N. V. (2024). Perceived intrusiveness and digital audience: An empirical approach. Indian Journal of Marketing, 54(7), 51–67. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2024/v54/i7/174016

47) Vinerean, S., & Opreana, A. (2021). Measuring customer engagement in social media marketing: A higher-order model. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(7), 2633–2654. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer16070145

48) Xiao, L., Li, X., & Zhang, Y. (2023). Exploring the factors influencing consumer engagement behavior regarding short-form video advertising: A big data perspective. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 70, 103170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2022.103170

49) Zhang, W., Zhang, W., & Daim, T. U. (2023). Investigating consumer purchase intention in online social media marketing: A case study of TikTok. Technology in Society, 74, 102289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102289