Customer Experience as a Mediator: How Instagram Influencer Credibility Drives Consumer Engagement in Beauty Industry in Uva Province, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The role of influencer credibility is increasingly becoming a major determinant of consumer engagement, especially in the cosmetic industry which is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. The present study aims to study, how the source credibility of Instagram influencers, including trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness affects consumer engagement, and how customer experience mediates the relationship between these two constructs in Uva Province, Sri Lankan. Quantitative, cross-sectional study design was used with the self administered questionnaire which was validated with pilot survey. The result of the pilot test confirmed the reliability and normality of data distribution. Data were collected from 384 cosmetic content-driven Instagram users, using convenience sampling method. SPSS 24.0 was used to analyze the data. Correlation, regression and Sobel tests were employed to confirm the hypotheses. The results indicated that trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness substantially influence customer engagement directly. Besides that, the mediation analysis proved that customer experience partially mediates the relationship between customer engagement and influencer credibility. The research is useful to the marketers who need to establish customer engagement with their brands by using Instagram influencers.