From Online Engagement to Purchase Decisions: A Literature Review of Social Media Marketing, Digital Trust, Perceived Value, and Consumer Behavior

Abstract

Purpose: This review examines how social media marketing, online engagement, digital trust and perceived value are represented in research on distinct purchase-related outcomes. Research Method: The Scopus-based systematic review covered English-language articles published during 2021–2025. The recorded screening and retrieval process yielded 107 included studies. Descriptive and thematic synthesis was complemented by VOSviewer keyword mapping. Results and Discussion: The selected literature increasingly addresses social commerce and interactive platforms. Engagement, trust and value recur alongside purchase intentions and other outcomes, but measures, theoretical models and research designs differ. Keyword maps reveal a core around social media and consumer purchasing concepts, with emerging short-video and AI-related topics. Implications: The review used one database and one reviewer; 286 sought reports were not retrieved. Co-occurrence and cross-study associations do not demonstrate a shared causal sequence. Better outcome specification and methodological triangulation are needed. Originality: The synthesis differentiates engagement, trust, perceived value and purchase outcomes while identifying testable contextual and inferential boundaries.