1.Introduction

The research topic is going to analyze the impact of social media (SM) on consumers’ information acquisition towards Adidas shoes. This topic aims to explore how do consumers use SM to search, receive, and evaluate information related to Adidas shoes. Nowadays, SM has become a ubiquitous part of people’s lives, and people always use it to learn about current events, and get connected with friends and families. However, SM can also be used as a powerful tool for brands to expand the base of consumers and promote their products. Adidas, as a famous sports brand, is no exception. Adidas owns its official accounts across various global markets in different SMs. The company uses these platforms to share product information, promote new products, and interact with consumers. In China, the runner of Adidas’s account like to engage in live-streaming sessions on TikTok to sell products, while in Europe and the United States, they primarily focus on announcing new product advertisements on Instagram and Youtube to attract customer attention. Despite the differing strategies applied across countries, the processes of information acquisition function similarly. In this study, this study will explore the impact of SM on consumer behavior of Adidas shoes. The SM also plays a significant role in consumer’s decision-making process, which are made up of information acquisition, brand attitude formation, and purchase intention. By learning the impact of SM on consumers’ information acquisition towards Adidas shoes, it can contribute valuable insights into the strategic use of SM in marketing. This will provide fitting marketing approaches for Adidas and similar brands, empowering them to improve the use of SM to enhance consumer engagement and ultimately drive purchasing behavior.

2.Literature Review

SM has fundamentally changed how consumers acquire information about products. This review is going to focus on how SM platforms influence the way people learn about Adidas shoes. Recent studies have highlighted that SM is considered as an essential source of product information by public. Khatib, F. addressed SM has brought maximized the communication gap between the consumers and marketers using SM for their online decision making for purchasing quality products [1]. Based on his quantity research, he claims that SM can influence how consumers perceive advertising, view brands, and ultimately decide to buy products or services. While there is a growing body of research on the general impact of SM on consumer behavior, there is still a need for more in-depth studies on the specific effects of influencers marketing and social commerce features. Thus, more research is needed to understand how these newer aspects of SM influence consumers’ purchase decisions.

SM do influence customers purchase decisions strongly in some ways. Most of people would share peers about content of educational, informative and entertaining. In this way, feedback of customers to the brand are important. According to INTI International University’s Assoc. Dr. Wong Chee Hoo, they are seen as valuable tools to engage a specific target audience [2].SM influencers are users on SM who have built a large network of followers by carefully curating and publishing textual and visual content, especially narratives about their daily lives. Brands love SM influencers because of their ability to create trends and influence others to buy their product or service. Thus, Dr.Wong Chess Hoo claims that SM influencers have a significant impact on consumer attitudes and ultimately their purchase intention [2].

3.Background

Today’s rapid technological advances have opened up tremendous possibilities for expanding one’s social circle. The rapid development of various types of SM, such as “TIKTOK”, “microblogging”, “small red book”, “Facebook”, and with the different needs of consumers, brands in the implementation of the marketing process has also presented a diversified situation. The authors are willing to choose “The impact of SM on processes of consumers’ decisions” as the research topic. The majority of consumers will browse internet when they shopping. They not only want to pick up the most cost-effective goods but also look up the same category to see feedback from other buyers. Therefore my topic focuses on the impact of various media (Redbook Ali-mall Weibo) on consumers’ moods, so different decisions are made on purchase. From the perspective of enterprise, they want to create positive advertisements as more as possible. However, the undeniable fact is that consumers have a certain sensitivity to information acceptance, if too much advertisements are carried out, they may be counter-productive. From the perspective of consumers, they want to see more comprehensive introductions and comments, but they may also fall into the trap of information cocoon room.

It is important to note that different consumers’ sensitivity to and handling of negative reviews may vary. Some consumers may be more susceptible to negative reviews, while others may analyze and process the information more rationally. Therefore, it is very important for businesses to understand and respond to this psychological reaction of consumers. In general, consumers may be more inclined to trust reviews that seem truthful, objective, and detailed, whether positive or negative. They value the truthfulness and reliability of consumers’ evaluations more than mere emotional tendencies. Therefore, if a negative review provides a specific description of the problem, experience, or solution, consumers may perceive the review as more credible because it provides more comprehensive information.

4.Impact of SM

First of all, it can be said that, in the context of the digital era, SM has become a key area of concern for enterprise marketing [3]. At the same time, SM has become an important part of online marketing, Rafi A. Mahammed and Robert J. Fisher and others believe that online marketing (e-Marketing) is a marketing approach through the network to maintain the relationship between the company, the customer, and other subjects in terms of products, services, etc. In recent years, the research of SM marketing on consumers’ purchase intention is quite rich. Chen & Dunbinsky established a model of consumers’ perceived value in the network environment [4]. Chen Xinyue et al. investigated a model of consumers’ purchasing decision based on customer value [5]. Fu Ying, through the way of interviews and the study of related literatures, concluded that the factors affecting the consumers’ purchasing behaviors the visibility of the enterprise itself, the interaction between enterprise’s microblogs and the users, the attractiveness of enterprise microblogging information, the enterprise microblogging triggered the participation of the users, and the entrepreneurial leader’s opinion of the five dimensions, respectively [6]. To explore how Adidas uses SM to influence consumer decision-making, this study will examine four key areas: reputation marketing approach, KOL and celebrity marketing approach, influencer marketing approach, and influencer perceptions of market change.

4.1.Reputation Marketing Approach

Adidas, as a globally recognized sports brand, is also taking very active steps towards SM marketing. Adidas has established a wide range of brand accounts on major SM platforms, such as Weibo, WeChat, Jitterbug, Instagram and Facebook. Through these platforms, Adidas publishes the latest product information, brand news, sports event collaborations and other content to ensure that consumers are kept up-to-date with the brand.

In terms of content creation, Adidas also focuses on innovation and diversity. The brand showcases product design details, functional features and wearing effects by releasing beautiful images, short videos and live broadcasts. These contents often attract consumers’ eyes and inspire their desire to buy.

At the same time, Adidas also pays attention to current events and pop culture, combining the brand with hot topics to create more topical and communicative content. For example, during world-class events, Adidas successfully attracted user attention through innovative marketing channels such as “trending list + trending product special + search Easter egg”. This strategy not only enhanced users’ interest in the brand, but also increased the brand’s visibility and influence. Adidas also noticed the rise of the “new Chinese style” trend and actively explored integrating traditional Chinese cultural elements into product design. For example, the brand launched the “Century Giants Art Giants Co-branded Series” by drawing inspiration from the classic creations of Chinese art masters. This strategy not only showcased Adidas’ respect for Chinese traditional culture, but also attracted more and more young consumers who liked the national trend style. Especially importantly, Adidas is actively involved in charitable and affirmative action campaigns around the world, leaving a good impression of the brand in the minds of consumers. Adidas has launched a SM campaign called “She Breaks Barriers”. The campaign was designed to celebrate the achievements of female athletes and promote gender equality. By inviting female athletes to share their stories and challenges and using specific hashtags, Adidas generated a lot of buzz and attention on SM. This not only enhanced the brand image, but also inspired consumers to respect and support female athletes.

4.2.KOL and Celebrity Marketing Approach

Adidas makes full use of the celebrity and opinion leader effect on SM. The brand has partnered with many famous athletes, celebrities and fashion bloggers, inviting them to act as brand spokespersons or share their daily lives wearing Adidas products on SM. The influence of these celebrities and opinion leaders helps to increase brand awareness and reputation, attracting more consumers’ attention and generating purchase intention. This exposes authors to the impact of Netflix marketing on consumers’ decision-making. The continuous migration of the network marketing model means that supply chain subjects are no longer limited to platforms. Instead, the focus has expanded to all aspects, including consumers, merchants, the addition of MCN (Multi-Channel Network, Netroots Incubation Center), KOL, Netroots, celebrities, officials, industry bigwigs, etc. The future of the main body of Addidas is more diversified, the marketing model is more varied, and the trend of cross-border marketing has become more prominent [7].

Furthermore, influencer marketing can significantly impact customer decisions since influencers wield considerable influence on the internet, and customers often seek information online. In the current digital age, where online preferences are increasingly segmented, influencers have the capability to effectively market products or services to both broad and targeted audiences. This means that individuals with a preference for Adidas, or those seeking athletic apparel and footwear, are more likely to come across these targeted promotional ads from influencers. SM users tend to feel more connected with SM influencers by interacting with them in the virtual world and perceive SM influencers as more authentic in their fields, including fashion, health, or music, than celebrity endorsements in traditional advertisements [8]. Influencers often build their followers by sharing their experience and genuine passion for a specific niche, like fashion or fitness. This allows them to come across as more believable and trustworthy in their endorsements. SM influencers also use voice communication tools for direct interaction and mirroring users’ communication styles in live streams or digital content to foster a perceived language similarity, making users feel as though these influencers are close friends in real life [9]. When a customer perceives an influencer as a friend, they are more likely to trust their recommendations. They might feel the influencer has their best interests at heart and would not promote something they would not use themselves. From a customer’s perspective, when influencers follow and share their experiences or recommendations about products on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, influencers can feel more informed and confident in their choices. Thus, SM influencers, with their niche expertise, perceived authenticity, and ability to connect with audiences on a personal level, have become a powerful force influencing customer decisions.

4.3.Influencer Marketing Approach

When an influencing people uses a certain product, it creates a sense of social proof, subtly suggesting that the product is trustworthy and fashionable. This perception can influence customers’ decision-making, making them more inclined to purchase the product, believing it to be a wise choice that aligns with the preferences of those they admire. Brown and Hayes, outline impact because the energy to have an effect on a character, thing, or direction of events. According to the authors, impact affords itself in lots of ways, from direct shopping for recommendation to primary transferring withinside the expertise of the recognition of the seller [10]. Consumers might not remember exactly how they heard of a particular brand, but they see an influencer using it and it feels familiar. This positive association with a trusted influencer can subconsciously influence people to choose that brand over competitors when faced with a buying decision. Another case is that consumers may be interested in a product because of an influencer’s recommendation, but they may not completely like the specific product. Even so, the strong recommendation can inspire the consumer’s purchase journey. They may go to explore similar products in the same category, and this effect, based on the influence’s push, expands the consumer’s purchase possibilities. Therefore, beyond direct promotion, influencers use social proof and subconscious brand association to subtly impact consumer decisions.

4.4.Influencers’ Perception on Change the Market

Based on the influencer marketing, SM plays a more and more important role in the consumers’ buying purchase decision progress. SM makes information more attainable and transparency and Adidas does well in this aspect. Because Adidas achieves a success in follower attraction on Facebook , Tik Tok and Instagram which are 40.95, 38.20 and 28.14 million respectively, Adidas’s digital representative marketing strategy has the following points. First of all, Adidas advocate for sustainability on SM which is for protecting environment and reducing waste. Adidas also started a massive SM campaign marketed called “End Plastic Waste” on the Instagram. So far, the hashtag “End Plastic Waste” is the top 9 most used by Adidas. Second, Adidas cares about social issues and stand for them. According to Elena Cucu, one of the fastest ways to build trust and authority with your audience is through community engagement [11]. Embracing inclusion, diversity, and visibility shows the human side of the brand and helps the followers connect emotionally with you. Nowadays, customers want brands to stand for them instead of be silence in the some social issues related to them. Like Adidas said “it is time to own up to our silence” on the Twitter after the death of George Floyd and often support feminism and other races, ethnic categories, or minorities. Moreover, Adidas has a several of successful cooperation cases with influencers. Werner Geyser state that The influencer marketing industry will grow to approximately$13.8 billion in 2021. It is easily to found that influencer marketing industry has a huge potential for Adidas [12].

Every year, Adidas would organize their NBA spokesperson to go to Asia to set up some business activities, like playing games with Chinese or Japanese fans. It brings high expose for Adidas in the SM and increase their user stickiness. Also, Adidas partners with some famous and young celebrities. For example, Adidas partner with Jeremy Scott, a creative director at Moschino. According to Dr. Wong Chee Hoo, influences are seen as valuable tools to engage a specific target audience [2]. SM influencers are users on SM who have built a large network of followers by carefully curating and publishing textual and visual content, especially narratives about their daily lives. Adidas’ target customers is mainly formed of young people who are into street fashion, which fits perfectly with this artist’s fan base. In other hand, Adidas also curating online content for regional marketing. In Adidas global strategy, it will partner with local celebrities. Like in India , the sports like cricket, boxing, and wrestling are more popular in the public. In this case, Adidas marketing strategy includes roping in Bollywood celebrities such as Ranveer Singh and collaborating with boxers such as Zareen Nikhat and Lovlina Borgohain. Therefore, Adidas’ marketing group can develop different marketing strategies according to different consumer groups, which makes Adidas’ brand reputation and user stickiness better than other sports brands.

5.Conclusion

Based on the above studies and research, this study found that: opinion leaders and netizens on social media can have a significant impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions by sharing their own usage experiences. Word-of-mouth communication from the brand side influences potential consumers’ purchase decisions. Positive word-of-mouth reviews tend to inspire consumers to buy, while negative reviews may cause consumers to have doubts, which may change their purchasing decisions. In addition, the psychology of comparison and the phenomenon of following the trend on social media may also have a certain impact on consumers’ purchase decisions. Under the influence of these psychological factors, consumers may be more likely to make impulsive or follower buying decisions. To sum up, social media has an important impact on consumers’ final decisions through information dissemination, interaction and word-of-mouth communication, and psychological influence. Therefore, enterprises should fully consider the role of social media when formulating marketing strategies, and make full use of the advantages of social media to improve brand awareness and reputation, so as to guide consumers to make purchase decisions in favor of the enterprise.

Authors Contribution

All the authors contributed equally and their names were listed in alphabetical order.