Generation Y female consumers’ perceived value of beauty vlogs: path analysis

Abstract

The beauty sector is widely recognised for being among the earliest adopters of social media marketing and for acknowledging the potential of social media influencers. A beauty vlogger refers to an individual who has attracted a significant number of followers on a video-based social media platform. Although academic  literature is increasingly focusing on social media influencer marketing, there is demand for additional research, particularly on YouTube vlogs, regarding their impact on beauty product consumption among Generation Y female consumers. The goal of this study was to identify the elements that contribute to Generation Y female consumers’ assessment of the perceived value of beauty vlogs on YouTube. A structured electronic questionnaire was used to gather data from a sample of 340 females, 18 years of age or older, living in South Africa. The results infer that Generation Y female consumers perceive beauty vlogs on YouTube as informative, entertaining, credible and of value. Path analysis revealed that beauty vlog informativeness, entertainment value and credibility explain 69% of the variance in Generation Y females’ perceived value of beauty vlogs on YouTube. The findings underscore the relevance of beauty product marketers collaborating with beauty product influencers on YouTube when targeting Generation Y female consumers.