The Influence of Viral Marketing and Celebrity Endorsers on Purchase Decisions for Bittersweet by Najla Products through E-Commerce Platforms

Authors

  • Denona Mumtaza Firyal Maliha Faculty of Business and Economics, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta, 55584, Indonesia
  • Raden Roro Ratna Roostika Faculty of Business and Economics, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta, 55584, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12928/commicast.v7i2.16807

Keywords:

Celebrity endorsement, Expertise, Purchase decision, Trustworthiness, Viral marketing

Abstract

The rapid growth of e-commerce has intensified competition among food and beverage brands, encouraging marketers to combine viral marketing strategies with celebrity endorsements to influence consumer purchasing decisions. However, limited studies have simultaneously examined the relative influence of these two marketing approaches in the context of local F&B brands operating through e-commerce platforms. Therefore, this study investigates the influence of viral marketing and celebrity endorsers on purchase decisions for Bittersweet by Najla products. A quantitative survey was conducted with 479 respondents, and the data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that viral content information, celebrity attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise significantly influence purchase decisions, whereas viral content credibility and usefulness show no significant effects. These findings demonstrate that consumers' purchase decisions are driven more by the persuasive and emotional characteristics of celebrity endorsers than by the perceived credibility or usefulness of viral content. This study contributes to digital marketing communication literature by providing empirical evidence that the effectiveness of integrated marketing strategies in e-commerce depends more on emotional engagement and endorser quality than on informational aspects of viral content, offering practical implications for developing more effective promotional strategies for digital-based local brands.

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Published

2026-09-25

How to Cite

Mumtaza Firyal Maliha, D., & Roro Ratna Roostika, R. (2026). The Influence of Viral Marketing and Celebrity Endorsers on Purchase Decisions for Bittersweet by Najla Products through E-Commerce Platforms. COMMICAST, 7(2), 380–391. https://doi.org/10.12928/commicast.v7i2.16807

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 2 (2026): September

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Copyright (c) 2026 Denona Mumtaza Firyal Maliha, Raden Roro Ratna Roostika

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