Modelling the significance of celebrity endorsement and consumer interest on attitude, purchase intention, and willingness to pay a premium price for green skincare products

Abdullah Al Mamun; Farzana Naznen; Qing Yang; Mohd Helmi Ali; Nik Mohd Hazrul Nik Hashim

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16765

Modelling the significance of celebrity endorsement and consumer interest on attitude, purchase intention, and willingness to pay a premium price for green skincare products

Heliyon. 2023 May 26;9(6):e16765. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16765. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Abdullah Al Mamun¹, Farzana Naznen², Qing Yang¹, Mohd Helmi Ali¹, Nik Mohd Hazrul Nik Hashim¹

Affiliations

¹ UKM - Graduate School of Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
² UCSI Graduate Business School, UCSI University, Cheras, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Abstract

Due to the major shift in online purchasing during the COVID-19 lockdown, celebrity endorsement marketing has gained traction. Concurrently, COVID-19 has also transformed consumers' attitudes toward using eco-friendly products, such as green skincare products, to ensure a healthier lifestyle. This study developed a comprehensive framework based on the stimuli-organism-response theory and the parasocial interaction theory to empirically evaluate the impact of celebrities' credibility attributes and consumers' interests in celebrities on their attitudes towards advertisements for endorsed green skincare products, their intentions to make a purchase, and their willingness to pay a premium price for these products. 778 Malaysian consumers participated in the online survey, and their responses were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results showed the positive effects of credibility traits (trustworthiness - β = 0.100, p-value = 0.026; exquisite personality - β = 0.075, p-value = 0.028; dignified image - β = 0.152, p-value = 0.001; expertise - β = 0.221, p-value <0.001), and customer attention to celebrities (β = 0.184, p-value <0.001) on their attitudes toward endorsed advertisements. Likewise, credibility features (exquisite personality - β = 0.116, p-value = 0.002; dignified image - β = 0.112, p-value = 0.017; expertise - β = 0.207, p-value <0.001) and customers' companionship with celebrities (β = 0.142, p-value = 0.001) also have a significant positive impact on attitudes towards brands. Finally, consumers' purchasing intentions and willingness to pay premium prices for green skincare products were strongly influenced by their attitude toward advertising (β = 0.484, p-value <0.001) and brands (β = 0.326, p-value <0.001). Evidently, the findings of this study may help players in the cosmetics industry enhance their marketing and promotion tactics for eco-friendly beauty and personal care products.

Keywords: Attitude towards advertisement; Attitude towards brands; Celebrity endorsement; Green skincare products; Purchase intention; Willingness to pay premium price.