Digital Marketing Factors and Gen Z Purchase Behaviour: The Mediating Role of Brand Trust

Abstract

Digital marketing has become an important mechanism through which brands communicate with Generation Z (Gen Z), a consumer group that is highly engaged with social media, online influencers, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), and digital content. Despite the growing importance of digital communication, concerns remain regarding how these marketing activities build consumer trust and subsequently influence purchase behaviour. This conceptual paper aims to develop an integrated framework examining the relationships between selected digital marketing factors, brand trust, and purchase behaviour. Guided by the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) Theory, influencer credibility, eWOM, social media brand engagement, and perceived usefulness of digital content are conceptualised as stimuli, brand trust as the organism, and purchase behaviour as the response. The framework further proposes brand trust as a mediating mechanism through which digital marketing factors influence Gen Z consumers’ purchase behaviour. A literature-based conceptual approach is employed to synthesise previous studies and establish the proposed relationships among the constructs. For future empirical validation, the framework proposes a quantitative research design using a structured questionnaire and a five-point Likert scale, with data to be collected from Gen Z consumers through online distribution channels. The proposed framework contributes to the literature by integrating multiple digital marketing factors within a single S–O–R-based model and by highlighting the mediating role of brand trust. Practically, the framework provides guidance for marketers seeking to strengthen credible and engaging digital communication that can enhance brand trust and encourage favourable purchase behaviour among Gen Z consumers. Keywords: Brand Trust, Electronic Word-of-Mouth, Generation Z, Influencer Credibility, Purchase Behaviour