Impacts of Social Media on Customer Behaviour for UK Florists

Impacts of social media on customer behaviour for small business with flowers in the UK

Abstract-

The research aims to measure social media's impacts on customer behaviour and to identify the strategies that are effective for the small flowers business in the UK for attracting customers through social media. The research is conducted to develop the social media strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers. The objective of the research was to identify the advantages of using social media for business. The research also focuses on identifying the factors that motivate people to buy products from businesses through social media. Through the research, the impact of using social media on the performance and sales, and profitability of the business has also been identified.

Through the literature review, the existing data related to the research topic has been collected and it has been further tested in the context of the small flowers business in the UK. There was no prior data available on the strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers and for collecting data directly from the customers the researcher has used the primary research method. It has helped in collecting relevant data and it helped in fulfilling the research gap. The researcher has used a questionnaire for collecting data from the customers.

The data collected through primary research is presented in a tabular and graphical form that promoted a better understanding of the research results and helped in achieving the research results. The recommendations are provided to the small flowers business in the UK for improving its social media strategies for attracting customers. The strategies identified through the research will help in enhancing the sales and profitability of the business and will promote business growth.

Chapter one: Introduction

1.1 Background of the research

The research aims to analyse the impact of social media on consumer behaviour. The use of social media is increasing by the businesses for promotional activities and for interacting with the customers and it is influencing the buying behaviours of the customers. The research aims to identify the strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers through social media. Through the research, the social media impact on the buying behaviour of the customers will be identified and it will help in identifying the influence of social media on the performance of the business. The research will focus on testing the existing literature and knowledge on the small flowers business in the UK. There is no prior research conducted on the social media strategies that can be used for small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers and the research will help in fulfilling the research gap. The research will help to analyse the different factors on social media that influence the consumer behaviour and it will help in developing effective strategies for attracting customers through social media. Effective social media strategies will support the business in better targeting customers and will support enhancing the business performance. The literature review will help in collecting the existing research data, knowledge, and theories for the research topic and it will be tested in the florist business context.

1.2 overview of florist industry UK-

The florist industry of the UK is large and there are various large and small businesses operating in the industry. The market size of the florist industry of the UK according to the data for the year 2021 is £403 million and more than 12,000 businesses are operating in the industry (IBIS World, 2021). The industry employs a large number of people. The competition in the industry is high because there is no barrier to entry and exit and various businesses are operating in the industry (IBIS World, 2021).

Figure 1- Expenditure on the flowers, garden and plants in the UK

Source- (Statista, 2021)

Due to the pandemic, there were various restrictions led by the government and it highly impacted the businesses in the florist industry. The above statistics show the growth in the demand for plants and flowers in the UK for years and through the data, it can be identified that the demand for the products was reduced in 2020 due to pandemic. The florist businesses in the UK have different customised products according to the needs of the customers (Statista, 2021).

1.3 Significance of the problem-

Social media is being used by businesses for promotional activities and connecting with customers. The use of social media is increasing by the customers for searching for the products and services and collecting information regarding the product. The increasing social media use makes it is essential to understand the factors influencing the buying behaviour of the customer’s social media (Unni, 2020). It is also important to identify the factors that influence the consumer purchasing decisions on social media for improving the strategies and developing strategies for increasing customer engagement. Through the research, the impact of using social media on the performance of the business will be identified (Unni, 2020). The research also focuses on identifying the advantages of using social media for small flowers businesses in the UK. The literature review in research will help in analyzing the existing theories and knowledge regarding social media's influence on consumer behaviour and it will help in developing knowledge regarding the research topic. There is no existing research on the strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers and for collecting the data primary method will be used. The primary research will help in fulfilling the research gap and will support in achieving the research objectives.

1.4 statement of purpose-

The purpose of conducting the research is to identify the factors on social media that influence consumer behaviour. The research aims to identify the social media strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers. The research is conducted for identifying the impact of using social media on business. The research will identify the factors that motivate the customers to buy flowers from florists through social media. Through the research, the strategies will be identified that will support small flowers businesses in enhancing the business sales and profitability. The research will help in developing effective strategies that will support small flowers businesses in the UK in attracting customers and will promote business growth. The research will help in improving the social media strategies of small flowers businesses in the UK and will provide a competitive advantage to the businesses.

1.5 statement of the problem-

The increasing use of social media is creating the necessity for businesses to have an online presence. Businesses need to have effective social media strategies for attracting customers and increasing customer engagement. It is important for businesses to identify the factors that influence the consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions of the customers (Carlson et al., 2018). Identifying the factors helps in developing effective strategies for motivating the customers to buy the products. With the increasing competition in the market developing effective marketing strategies is important for the businesses and the research will help in identifying the most effective strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers (Carlson et al., 2018). The research will be conducted through a primary research method that will help in collecting data directly from the customers and will help in getting relevant information. The literature review will help in collecting information from the existing literature regarding the research topic. There is no research conducted on the strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers and due to that, the data will be collected directly from the customers through the questionnaire. The research will help in fulfilling the research gap.

1.6 Research aims and objectives-

Aims

The research aims to measure social media's impact on customer behaviour and address various strategies that are effective for the small flowers business from the florist industry of the UK to attract customers through social media.

Objectives-

• To analyse the impact of social media on the purchasing decisions of the customers

• To identify the social media strategies that can be used for attracting the customers

• To identify the factors that motivate the customers to buy flowers from florists through social media

• To identify the impact of using social media on the performance of small flowers businesses in the UK. s

1.7 Research questions-

• How does social media impacts customer behaviour?

• What are the advantages of using social media for small flowers businesses in the UK?

• How social media can help small flowers businesses in the UK in increasing sales and profitability?

• What are the most effective social media strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers?

1.8 Dissertation structure-

The research is divided into five different chapters that include an introduction of the research, literature review, research methodology, findings and analysis and conclusions, and recommendations chapter. The first chapter of the research is the introduction chapter that focuses on the background of the research, purpose of conducting the research, problem statement, and aims and objectives. The introduction chapter also provides an overview of the industry in which the research is conducted. The second chapter of the research is a literature review that helps in collecting the existing data related to the research topic. The literature review includes the views of different authors and the information from the existing research related to the research topic. The third chapter is a research methodology that provides the details of the techniques used by the researcher for conducting the research. It provides the details of the data collection and analysis methods used in the research. The chapter also includes the details of ethical considerations of the research and research limitations. The fourth chapter of the research is findings and analysis that includes the details of the data collected from the primary research. Further, the chapter includes a discussion that includes the analysis of the data collected for getting the research results and achieving the research objectives. The fifth chapter in the last chapter of research includes the conclusion of the research and recommendations for small flowers business in the UK

Chapter two: Literature review-

2.1 Introduction

The literature review aims to analyse the influence of social media on consumer behaviour. The literature review includes the strategies that can be used by businesses for attracting customers. The literature review will be based on the general information related to the research topic. The data collected through literature review will be tested in relevance to the small flowers business in the UK through primary research.

2.2 Consumer purchasing decision-making process-

Figure 2: The consumer decision-making process

Source: (Spotler, 2022)

According to Riyadi and Rangkuti 2016, the consumer decisions making process helps in identifying the stages that the customers go through before making a purchase decision. The process includes five stages that are-

Need recognition- first, the customer identifies the needs for a product. At the first step, the customers become aware of their needs or identify the problem.

Searching for information- after identifying the problem or identifying the need for a product or service the customers start searching for information on different platforms. The customers find out options and focus on gathering detailed information regarding the product. The customers search for the information online on social media, search engines, etc.

Evaluating alternatives- after searching information the customers evaluate the alternatives and compare the options for identifying the best alternative. The customers compare the products based on different factors like quality, price, value, etc. for making the best choice.

Purchasing decision- the customer focuses on identifying the best alternative from all the options available and purchases the product. The customer takes the final decision for purchasing the product.

Post-purchase evaluation- after the final purchase of the product the customers conduct post-purchase evaluation, in this the customer identifies whether the purchase was worthy or not. If the customers are satisfied with the product they recommend it to others and provide positive feedback that helps in improving brand image and develops trust among the customers. The satisfied customers also repurchase the product. If the customers are not satisfied with the purchase they provide negative feedback and it impacts the brand image of the company.

L?z?roiu et al 2020, in their study, mentioned that it is important for businesses to help the customers to identify the needs for a product or service. According to the reasoned action theory the customers buy a product when there is a need or an expected result. Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory also suggests that the customers buy a product when there is a specific need. The businesses should focus on making the customer realise the need for the product for motivating them to purchase. The businesses can focus on highlighting the value or benefits of purchasing the product for attracting customers.

By identifying the customer decision-making process the businesses can develop strategies for reaching the target customers. It provides the opportunity for the businesses to identify the customer’s needs and improves the sales process. Identifying the consumer decisions making process will support the businesses in successfully marketing the products and services and it will promote a better understanding of the customers.

2.3 Social media impact on consumer behaviour-

Based on the analysis of Szmigin and Piacentini 2018, social media highly influences consumer behaviours and influences the choices and preferences of customers. Social media helps in increasing brand awareness and helps in making the customers aware of the different services and products provided by the business. It is important for businesses to have an online presence for interacting with customers. The comments and reviews of the products and services on social media influence the purchasing decisions of the customers. The customer searches for the products and services on social media and the customers often get influenced by the products or customers' reviews and purchases the product.

Kapoor et al 2018 in their study mentioned that social media helps in communicating with the customers and supports in solving the queries and issues of the customers. Social media helps in informing the customers regarding the new offerings of the company and helps in rapidly increasing customer awareness. Providing offers, discounts and other deals to the customers on products also encourages the customers to buy the product and supports in enhancing the sales and profitability of the business. Alves et al 2016, identified in their research that influencer marketing on social media is an effective tool for influencing the customers to buy the product. Customers are more likely to purchase a product if they get recommendations from the person they trust. The influencers inspire the customers and influence the buying behaviour of customers. Influencer marketing helps in attracting more customers and it supports increasing the customer base. It develops trust among the customers and improves brand image.

According to the report of Appel et al 2020, it has been identified that the customers influenced through social media are likely to spend more on purchases. Now customers buy the products directly through social media, social media use is increasing by the customers and now the customers also use social media for getting information regarding the product or service and purchasing the product. According to Keegan and Rowley 2017, purchasing products through social media is easy and convenient and it helps in getting the reviews and feedback of the other customers. The reviews help the customers to make relevant decisions regarding the product purchase. Social media helps in improving customer service and it improves customer satisfaction. Social media promotes two-way communications and helps in solving the queries of customers rapidly helps in enhancing customer satisfaction and enhances brand loyalty.

According to the above analysis social media highly influences consumer behaviour and it also influences the purchasing decisions of the customers. It is important for businesses to have an online presence and it is essential for the businesses to develop effective strategies for improving customer engagement. Social media helps in communicating with customers. The reviews and comments of customers on social media influence the purchasing decisions of the customers. Effective customer service supports enhancing customer satisfaction and improves brand image.

2.4 Social media strategies that help in attracting customers-

Based on the analysis of Ioanid et al 2015, it is identified that different social media strategies help in attracting customers and supports businesses in increasing product sales. Businesses can focus on sharing informative and educational content; it helps in sharing knowledge with the customers and increases customer engagement. It is an effective way for connecting with customers and it helps in attracting the customers to visit the website of the company. It helps in adding value to the brand and it supports in gaining the trust of the customers.

According to Broekemier et al 2015, the offers and discounts provided by the businesses provide an advantage to the business in attracting customers. The strategy supports businesses in attracting new customers and is effective for retaining the existing customers. It helps in rapidly increasing the sales and profitability of the business. Businesses should focus on monitoring the activities of customers on social media. Ramzan and Syed 2018, suggest that the managers should identify the social media platforms mostly used by the customers and the keywords relevant to the businesses searched by the customers. Monitoring the activities of the customers helps in developing the strategies for using the tools that help in reaching a large number of customers. Actively monitoring the activities of the customers helps in improving the marketing activities and helps in attracting the customers to visit the business website.

Karimi and Naghibi 2015, in their report, mentioned that increasing the visibility on social media increases the chances for the customers to visit the website of the company. Improving online visibility helps the customers to find the brand easily and it helps in increasing brand awareness. Increasing the visibility of the website helps in attracting customers and helps the customers to know more about the business offerings. The recommendations and reviews of the customers on the business offerings also help in attracting the customers. The business should focus on providing high-quality products and services according to the customers’ needs and should encourage the customers to share their experiences. The recommendations and reviews develop trust among the customers and encourage them to buy the product or service.

The different strategies can be used by businesses for attracting customers. Through the analysis different strategies are identified that can be used for attracting customers. Social media provides a great opportunity for businesses for attracting customers and increase sales. It supports business growth and helps in increasing brand awareness.

2.5 Factors motivating customers to buy products through social media-

Based on the study of Alalwan 2018, it has been identified that the factors that motivate the customers for purchasing the products through social media are the reviews and feedback of the customers on the products or service. Customer reviews help the individuals in knowing about the products and it helps in increasing customer trust. The reviews also support the customers in comparing with the other products and improve the decisions of the customers. According to Ismail 2017, purchasing products through social media saves the time of people and it also motivates people to buy products through social media. Searching the products on social media is easy and it helps the customers to collect information regarding the products effectively. The customers can buy the products through social media at any time and according to their convenience that helps in attracting the customers.

According to the report of Barger et al 2016, on social media customers often find products at low prices and it helps in attracting customers. The low cost of products on social media and other offers and discounts offered by the businesses helps in attracting customers to buy the products through social media. Social media helps in solving the customer’s queries and it helps in offering the solution for the customer’s issues rapidly. Social media promotes two-way communications and it makes it easy for the customers to ask questions regarding the product or services. It helps the customers to know more about the product and motivates customers to buy the product.

According to Zolkepli and Kamarulzaman 2015, the recommendations provided by friends and family to the customers encourage the customers to buy the products. Satisfied customers share their experiences with others and it helps in motivating other customers to buy the products through social media. It supports in developing the trust of customers and increases business sales.

Through the views of different authors, the different factors that encourage the customers to buy the products through social media are identified. Identifying the factors helps businesses to improve their strategies for attracting customers. The business should focus on improving customer service and should rapidly solve customer queries for improving customer service and increasing customer satisfaction.

2.6 Advantages of using social media-

According to the study of Gaál et al 2015, social media is an effective tool that can be used by businesses for connecting with the customers, increasing brand awareness, increasing market reach, etc. it provides various opportunities to the businesses and with the increasing use of social media by the customers it is becoming important for the businesses to improve their online presence. Charoensukmongkol and Sasatanun 2017, in their study, identified that social media highly contributes to increasing brand awareness and provides the opportunity for the business to connect with customers globally. It helps in targeting potential customers and helps in connecting with new customers. It helps in directly interacting with the customers and supports in identifying the needs of the customers. According to Alhaddad 2015, through social media businesses can identify the changes in the needs of the customers and market trends. The use of social media helps in showcasing the products and services in an effective manner that helps in attracting customers. It helps in developing trust among the employees and support in improving the brand value and image.

Based on the analysis of Salo 2017, it is identified that social media supports increasing website traffic and is used for increasing the visibility of the website. It supports lead generation and helps in enhancing the profitability and sales of the business. Through the past research, it has been identified that social media highly contributes to increasing the sales and profitability of the businesses and provides growth opportunities to the business. Duane and O’Reilly 2017, in their study, mentioned that social media helps in promoting two-way communications among the customers and the business. It helps in rapidly solving the customer’s issues and increases customer engagement. The two-way communication helps in solving the customer’s queries and improves customer services that support in increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. It helps in learning about the customers and supports the businesses to offer the products and services according to the preferences of customers. Social media is a cost-effective tool for marketing and it helps in targeting a specific target audience. The analytics helps in analysing the performance of the marketing activities and it helps in analysing the return on investment.

Overall there are various advantages of using social media for businesses and it is essential for the business to have an online presence. The use of social media helps in increasing brand awareness and supports enhancing the sales and profitability of the business. It helps in increasing website traffic and provides opportunities for business growth.

2.7 Impact of using social media on business performance-

According to the analysis of Wang and Kim 2017, the use of social media provides various opportunities to businesses and influences business performance. Social media helps in improving customer services and it contributes to enhancing the business performance. It helps in improving customer engagement and helps in enhancing business performance. Social media helps in connecting with a large number of customers and it increases the market reach. According to Siddiqui and Singh 2016, social media helps in improving the marketing activities and supports better targeting of the customers. It helps in measuring the marketing results and helps in identifying the areas of improvement for improving the marketing results. By using unique strategies the business can develop a unique image in the minds of customers and it helps in enhancing the brand image.

Using social media helps in enhancing the business performance and it provides the opportunity for improving the marketing activities. It helps in better targeting the customer. By developing effective social media strategies the business can develop a unique image and it supports enhancing the brand image.

2.8 Social media contribution in increasing sales and profitability-

According to Ha et al 2016, social media marketing requires less cost for promotional activities and it helps in reducing the marketing expenses and enhances profitability. It helps in targeting the marketing activities according to the target customers of the company and helps reduce the waste of efforts. Social media supports in targeting a large number of customers and helps in attracting new customers that increase sales and business profitability. According to the analysis of Cesaroni and Consoli 2015, social media supports targeting the customers globally and it increases the market reach. Increasing market reach supports the business to increase the sales of the product and provides business growth opportunities. Social media helps businesses to connect to customers organically and it helps in reducing marketing expenses and enhancing profitability.

According to Neirotti et al 2016, social media helps in improving customer service and increases customer satisfaction. Increasing customer satisfaction supports enhancing customer loyalty and increases sales. The positive reviews of the customers on social media increase the trust of customers in the brand and it motivates others to purchase the products from the company increase sales. Maecker et al 2016, the study mentioned that purchasing products through social media is easy and convenient and it also encourages people to buy products through social media and increases business sales. The specific targeting of customers supports in reaching the target customers of the business and it increases the conversion rates. Influencer marketing on social media also influences the customers to buy the products and helps in enhancing the sales and profitability of the business.

Through the above analysis, it can be concluded that there are different ways through which social media supports enhancing the profitability and sales of the business. Social media is an effective tool that can be used by businesses for increasing sales and profitability. It supports business growth and supports in identifying the needs of the customers effectively.

2.9 Conclusion-

Through the analysis, it can be concluded that there are different factors through which social media influences consumer behaviour. Social media provides various opportunities to businesses and by developing effective strategies the businesses can improve promotional activities. Through the above analysis, it has also been identified that social media influences business performance and supports enhancing the sales and profitability of the business.

There is no prior research conducted on the strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers and there was no specific data on the industry selected for the research. The literature review is based on the general information related to the research topic. The data collected from the literature review is not sufficient and primary research will be conducted for collecting the data for specific businesses. There is no data available for the specific research topic and for collecting the specific data the researcher will use a questionnaire. The data will be collected from the customers through an online survey. The primary research will help in testing the existing theories and knowledge on small flowers businesses in the UK. Through primary research, the research gap will be fulfilled and the research aims and objectives will be achieved.

Chapter three: Research methodology

Introduction

The chapter provides the details of the techniques used by the researcher for data collection and analysis. The chapter includes the limitations of the research and ethical considerations for the research. It provides the details of the research method and design used in the current research. It helps in identifying the reliability and validity of selecting the research method.

3.1 Research philosophy-

The research philosophy is associated with the belief, knowledge, and assumption of the study. It is the belief for the ways through which the data for the research should be collected, analysed, and used. There are four different philosophies used in the research they are pragmatic, realism, interpretivism, and positivism. The philosophy provides the details of the purpose of conducting the research. The research philosophy used in the current research is pragmatic (Saunders et al., 2015). The philosophy focuses on the real-world situation and helps in understanding the situation effectively. The philosophy helps in understanding the situation and supports in providing the solutions for dealing with the issues.

The philosophy provides freedom of choice to the researcher. The researcher can select the methods, procedures, and techniques according to the needs of the research (Saunders et al., 2015). The research aims to analyse social media's impact on customer behaviour and to identify the different strategies that can be used for attracting customers through social media for the small flowers business in the UK. The pragmatic approach will help in understanding consumer behaviour effectively and will help in identifying the strategies that can be used by the business for attracting customers and improving their current strategies. The pragmatic research philosophy is the most relevant research philosophy for the research and it will help in developing relevant conclusions for the research (Saunders et al., 2015).

Research approach-

The research approaches in the research are deductive and inductive. The research approach used for current research is deductive. The deductive approach focuses on developing the research questions and then collecting data for getting the research results. The deductive approach helps in understanding the topic in detail and it will help in analysing the different factors that influence consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions on social media. The researcher will select the ways of collecting and analysing the data based on the research needs (Pandey, 2019).

3.2 Research design-

It is the framework of techniques and methods used by the researcher for conducting market research. It helps in selecting the method that is suitable for the research and helps in successfully conducting the research. The research design can be qualitative, quantitative, or mixed. The research design for the current research is quantitative (Ahmad et al., 2019). The data for the research will be collected through an online survey method. The data will be collected from 50 participants and the participants will be selected through a random sampling method.

3.3 Data collection and analysis methods-

There are two different methods mainly used for collecting the data that is primary and secondary. The secondary data is collected from the existing information and research. Collecting secondary data is easy and cost-effective. The primary data is collected directly from first-hand sources and it helps in collecting relevant data (Kyprianou et al., 2016).

The researcher will use both methods in the research for data collection that is primary and secondary methods. The primary data for the research will be collected through the questionnaire method and it will help in collecting relevant data for the research. The primary data will be collected directly from the customers and there will be 50 participants involved in the research (Jameel and Majid, 2018). There is no prior research conducted for the strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers and for collecting the data specific for the business the researcher will use the primary research method. The secondary data will be collected through the existing research, books, journals, and other information available online. The secondary data will be based on the general information related to the research topic. The researcher will use a quantitative method for data collection and analysis. The data will be collected through a questionnaire and will be analysed through statistical methods (Jameel and Majid, 2018).

3.4 instruments used for data collection

The data collection instruments include the tools used by the researcher for collecting the data for the research. There are various tools that can be used for data collection for the research. It is essential to effectively select the instruments for research for getting relevant information and achieving the research objectives (Rahi, 2017).

The research instrument used in the research is a questionnaire. The questionnaire is used for collecting the data from the customers. The questionnaire includes nine close-ended questions. There are different options in the questions from which the participants can select an option for answering the question. The participants selected for the research are customers and a total of 50 participants were selected to participate in the research. The participants are selected through a random sampling method (Rahi, 2017).

3.5 Sampling-

Sampling is the method of selecting the population that will be involved in the research for data collection. The sample helps in providing actionable insights for the entire population. The sample size for the current research is 50. The researcher will select 50 respondents through a random sampling method. The respondents will be from the age group of 20 to 50+ years. The participants will be customers and they will help to get actionable insights for the entire population (Etikan and Bala, 2017).

3.6 Reliability and validity-

The reliability and validity of the research is the extent to which the concept of the research is measured accurately. The research aims to analyse social media's impact on customer behaviour. The data for the research will be collected through the online survey and there will be 50 participants involved in the research. The data for the research is collected through different secondary sources that helped in collecting theoretical information related to the research topic. The primary data collection helped in collecting specific and relevant information for the research (Sürücü and MASLAKÇI, 2020). The data collection tools selected for the research are reliable and valid and will help in collecting accurate data for achieving the research objectives. The data for the research will be collected through the online survey and it will be collected directly from the customers. It will help in collecting the data from direct respondents and will provide valid data for the research (Sürücü and MASLAKÇI, 2020).

3.7 Ethics-

The research is conducted ethically and the researcher has ensured to follow all the regulations. The personal information of the participants involved in the research is not disclosed and it can only be assessed by the researcher. The purpose and objective of conducting the research are shared with the respondents (Braun et al., 2020). The consent is taken from the respondents before collecting the primary data. Before sending the questionnaire to the respondents the researcher has taken consent from the respondents. The respondents were allowed to skip the questions in the questionnaire. The data collected from the participants can only be assessed by the researcher. The data was stored in the personal laptop of the researcher and it cannot be assessed by anyone else. The data of the research will be destroyed after achieving the research objectives. The data will not be stored for the use of others.

3.8 Limitations of the research-

The participants in the research are less and there are only 50 participants involved in the research. The views of other customers may vary. The views of the other customers can be different based on their experience and use of social media. There was no direct interaction between the researcher and participants and the data was collected through an online survey. No interaction between the participants and researcher is also a research limitation.

Conclusion

The chapter provides the details of the different tools used by the researcher for collecting the data for the research and analysing the research results. The chapter provides the details of the research method and approach used in the research.

Chapter four: Data analysis and findings-

Introduction

The chapter includes the analysis of the data collected through primary research. Through the analysis, the research results from the data collected will be identified and it will help in achieving the research objectives.

4.1 Findings and analysis-

The data is collected through a questionnaire from the participants. The questionnaire includes nine closed-ended questions in which the respondents have different options to choose from to answer the question. There were 50 participants involved in the research and the data was directly collected through the customers. The participants were selected through a random sampling method. The researcher is using statistical methods for analysing results collected through the participants.

Details of the participants

Age of respondents	Frequency
20-30	12
30-40	18
40-50	14
50+	6
Total	50

Table 1: Age of respondents

Source: Author’s work

Figure 3: Age of respondents

Source: Author’s work

Question 1:

Options	Response
A	11
B	18
C	5
D	7
E	9
Total	50

Table 2: response for Social media influences your purchasing decisions

Source: Author’s work

Figure 4: response for Social media influences your purchasing decisions

Source: Author’s work

According to the data collected 22% of customers strongly agree with the fact that social media influences their purchasing decisions, 36% of customers agree with the fact, 10% of respondents are neutral, 14% of customers disagree with the fact that social media influences their purchasing decisions and rest 18% strongly disagree.

Question 2:

Options	Response
A	19
B	12
C	9
D	10
Total	50

Table 3: preferred sources of information for customers purchasing decisions

Source: Author’s work

Figure 5: preferred sources of information for customers purchasing decisions

Source: Author’s work

From the data collected it has been identified that 38% of customers social media for collecting information for purchasing decisions, 24% prefer the Website of the company for information, 18% prefer advertisements, and 20% of individuals prefer friends and relatives for collecting the information.

Question 3:

Options	Response
A	12
B	10
C	19
D	9
Total	50

Table 4: factors that encourage customers to buy products from florists through social media

Source: Author’s work

Figure 6: Factors that encourage customers to buy products from florists through social media

Source: Author’s work

According to the data collected it has been identified that products and services reviews on social media encourage the majority of 38% of customers to purchase the products from florists through social media. Recommendations from relatives and friends encourage 24% of customers, offers and discounts provided by the businesses encourage 20% of customers to buy the product and quality of product influences the rest 18% of customers.

Question 4:

Options	Response
A	13
B	20
C	12
D	5
Total	50

Table 5: social media platform used by customers to find the florist business

Source: Author’s work

Figure 7: social media platform used by customers to find the florist business

Source: Author’s work

According to the data collected 26% of customers use Facebook for finding the florist business, 40% of customers use Instagram, 24% of customers use Twitter and the rest 10% of customers use YouTube for finding the florist business.

Question 5:

Options	Response
A	33
B	17
Total	50

Table 6: customers paying attention to social media advertisements

Source: Author’s work

Figure 8: customers paying attention to social media advertisements

Source: Author’s work

Through the data collected it has been identified that the majority of 66% of customers pay attention to the social media advertisement and the rest 34% of customers do not pay attention to social media advertisements.

Question 6:

Options	Response
A	36
B	14
Total	50

Table 7: response for do you trust social media for purchasing the products

Source: Author’s work

Figure 9: response for do you trust social media for purchasing the products

Source: Author’s work

Based on the data collected it has been identified that 72% of customers trust social media for purchasing the products and 28% of customers do not trust social media for purchasing the product.

Question 7:

Options	Response
A	15
B	18
C	3
D	9
E	5
Total	50

Table 8: Posts, reviews, and comments on social media impact on purchasing decision

Source: Author’s work

Figure 10: Posts, reviews, and comments on social media impact on purchasing decision

Source: Author’s work

From the data collected it has been identified that 30% of participants strongly agree, other 36% participants agree, 6% are neutral, 18% disagree, and 10% participants strongly disagree with the fact that posts, reviews, and comments on social media impact their purchasing decision.

Question 8:

Options	Response
A	13
B	15
C	10
D	12
Total	50

Table 9: social media content that customers find most attractive

Source: Author’s work

Figure 11: social media content that customers find most attractive

Source: Author’s work

26% of respondents find social media post most attractive, 30% of respondents find videos more attractive, 20% finds blogs attractive and 24% of customers find infographic content more attractive on social media.

Question 9:

Options	Response
A	18
B	12
C	11
D	9
Total	50

Table 10: social media strategy that attracts customers the most

Source: Author’s work

Figure 12: social media strategy that attracts customers the most

Source: Author’s work

According to the data collected from the participants 35% of respondents finds offers and discounts more attractive strategy on social media, 25% of respondents finds referral programs more attractive, 22% of respondents finds influencer marketing attractive, and rest 18% of respondents focus on the quality of content on social media.

4.2 Discussion-

The research aims to analyse social media's impact on customer behaviour and identify the strategies that are effective for attracting customers for the small flowers business in the UK. The researcher has conducted primary research for collecting the data directly from the customers to get relevant information regarding the research topic. The literature review helps in collecting the existing data for the research. The primary and secondary research helped in achieving the research objectives.

The first question of the research is to identify How social media impacts customer behaviour? Through the literature review, it has been identified that social media highly influences consumer behaviour and the purchasing decisions of customers. The post and content on the social media platform influence the choice and purchasing decisions of the customers (Szmigin and Piacentini, 2018). The reviews of the customers and comments about the products and services also influence consumer behaviour. Positive reviews help in developing trust among the customers and encourage the customers to buy the products (Keegan and Rowley, 2017).

Through the data collected from the customers through questionnaire, it has been identified that majority of 22% and 36% respondents agree to the fact that social media influences their purchasing decisions. Through the primary research, it has also been identified that 30% and 36% of respondents strongly agree and agree with the fact that the posts, reviews, and comments on the products and services on social media impact their purchasing decisions. The social media content and mainly the customer reviews on the business offerings highly influence the purchasing decisions of the customers and also impact their purchase decisions. The above discussion help in achieving the research objective that is to analyse the impact of social media on the purchasing decisions of the customers.

The second question of the research was to identify what are the advantages of using social media for small flowers businesses in the UK? Through the literature review conducted it has been identified that there are various advantages of using social media for businesses (Gaál et al, 2015). Social media helps in increasing brand awareness, supports in reaching a large number of customers, helps in connecting with the customers globally, enhances customer services, improves business performance, enhances the sales and profitability of the business, etc. (Alhaddad, 2015; Duane and O’Reilly, 2017).

Through the primary research, it has been identified that 38% of respondents prefer social media as an information source before making a purchase decision. Social media will help small flowers businesses in the UK in increasing brand awareness and it will help in informing the customers regarding the products and services offered by the business. Social media will help small flowers businesses in the UK in increasing brand awareness and will support in improving customer service. It will provide the opportunity to the business to enhance the business performance and will support in increasing the sales and profitability of the business. The above analysis helps in meeting the research objective that is to identify the impact of using social media on the performance of small flowers businesses in the UK.

The third question of the research was how social media can help small flowers businesses in the UK in increasing sales and profitability? Through the literature review, it has been identified that social media helps in connecting with new customers and supports better targeting of customers that helps in increasing the sales and profitability (Cesaroni and Consoli 2015). Social media helps in improving customer service and it promotes positive word of mouth for the business and it also helps in increasing sales (Maecker et al., 2016; Neirotti et al., 2016).

Through the primary research conducted it has been identified that 66% of customers pay attention to social media advertisements and increasing visibility, on social media will help small flowers businesses in the UK to increase brand awareness and will help in connecting with new customers. It will support enhancing the sales and profitability of the business. The 72% of respondents trust social media for purchasing the product and increasing the trust of the customers provides the opportunity to the small flowers business in the UK to increase brand awareness and sales of the products. Through the research, it has also been identified that products and services reviews on social media encourage 38% of respondents to purchase the products from florist through social media. Recommendations from relatives and friends also motivate the customers to buy the products from florists through social media. Focusing on improving customer experience and encouraging them to share their experience will help small flowers businesses in the UK to attract customers to buy the products. It will also encourage the customers to recommend the products and services to others that will help in increasing the sales and profitability. The above discussion helps in achieving the research objective that is to identify the factors that motivate the customers to buy flowers from florists through social media.

The last question for the research is to analyse what are the most effective social media strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers? through the literature review, it has been identified that sharing educational and informative content, monitoring the activities of the customers on social media and developing the strategies according to their social media activities, providing offers and discounts to the customers and recommendations from others mainly helps in attracting the customers (Broekemier et al., 2015; Ramzan and Syed, 2018).

Through the primary research conducted it has been identified that 40% of customers use Instagram and 26% of customers use Facebook for finding the florist business improving the presence of Instagram and Facebook will help small flowers business in the UK in increase brand awareness and will support better targeting of customers that will help in attracting the customers. According to the customers, 35% finds offers and discounts on the products and service attractive on social media, 25% of respondents find referrals attractive and 22% of customers are attracted by influencer marketing. Providing offers and discounts to the customers occasionally will help the business in attracting the customers. Using influencer marketing and referral programs will also help small flowers businesses in the UK to attract customers and it will help in increasing sales. Through the data collected from the customers, it has also been identified that the customers find social media posts and videos most attractive, and creating unique videos and posts will also help small flowers businesses in the UK in attracting customers. Through the above analysis, the research objective to identify the social media strategies that can be used for attracting customers is also achieved.

Conclusion-

The chapter provides the details of the data collected through primary research and includes the analysis of the research. Through the discussion, the research questions are answered and it has helped in achieving the research objectives.

Chapter five: Conclusion and recommendations-

The research aims to analyse social media's impact on consumer behaviour and to identify the strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers. The research focuses on identifying the strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers and increasing the sales and profitability of the business. The researcher has used secondary and primary research methods for collecting the data for the research. The literature review helped in collecting general information regarding the research topic. Through the secondary research, the existing information related to the research topic is collected that helped in developing theoretical knowledge for the research. There was no prior research conducted for the strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers and there is no specific information available related to the research topic. For collecting data related to the business the researcher has used the primary research method. The data is collected through the online survey and the data is collected directly from the customers. The primary research method was used for fulfilling the research gap. The existing theories and knowledge are tested in relevance to small flowers businesses in the UK. The questionnaire includes nine different closed-ended questions that help in identifying the factors influencing the buying behaviour of the customers.

Through the research, the strategies that can be used by small flowers businesses in the UK for attracting customers and improving the marketing activities are identified. Effective social media marketing strategies help in enhancing the performance of the business. Social media helps in increasing the sales and profitability of the business and promotes business growth. Social media helps in increasing brand awareness and promotes better targeting of the customers. It is cost-effective for promotional activities and it provides a competitive advantage to the business. Customers are using social media for collecting information regarding the products. The reviews and comments of the customers on social media highly influence the purchasing decisions of the customers. Social media helps in identifying the needs of the customers and helps in solving the issues and queries of the customers.

Recommendations-

Developing a strong presence on Instagram and Facebook will help small flowers businesses in the UK to connect with a large number of customers. It will help in increasing brand awareness and will help in increasing the sales and profitability of the business.

Small flowers businesses in the UK should focus on providing high-quality services and products to the customers according to their needs for improving customer experience and increasing customer satisfaction. The business should encourage the customers to share their reviews; the positive reviews will help in developing trust among the customers and will help in increasing sales of products. Positive reviews will encourage the customers to buy the products of the business.

By developing creative content on social media small flowers businesses in the UK will be able to increase brand awareness and it will help in attracting customers. It will support increasing the sales of products and will improve customer engagement.

Providing offers and discounts to the customers occasionally will help small flowers businesses in the UK in increasing the sales of products of the business. Using referral programs and influencer marketing will help the business to attract a large number of customers. It will help in increasing the sales of the products of the business and will enhance the business profitability.

Creating attractive and creative social media posts and videos will help small flowers businesses in the UK in attracting customers and it will help in increasing brand awareness.

Using the different strategies will provide a competitive advantage to small flowers businesses in the UK and will provide the opportunity for business growth.

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Appendices-

Questionnaire-

Name-

Age-

1. Social media influences your purchasing decisions.

Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

2. What are the preferred sources of information for your purchasing decisions?

Social media

Website of the company

Advertisements

Friends and relatives

3. What are the factors that encourage you to buy products from florists through social media?

Recommendations from relatives or friends

Offers and discounts provided by the businesses

Products and services reviews

Quality of product

4. Which social media platform do you use to find the florist business?

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

YouTube

5. Do you pay attention to social media advertisements?

Yes

No

6. Do you trust social media for purchasing the products?

Yes

No

7. Do you agree that the posts, reviews, and comments on the products and services on social media impact your purchasing decision?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

8. What type of social media content do you find most attractive?

Posts

Videos

Blogs

Infographic content

9. According to you which social media strategy attracts you the most?

Offers and discounts

Referral programs

Influencer marketing

Quality of content