RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter presents the results, discussion, and personal insights that the
researchers have gathered through the process of conducting an investigation of the
study entitled “Trendsetters as Ambassadors: Influencers’ Impact on the purchasing
decisions of UBHS grade 11 ABM students." It is divided into three sections: 1) level
of satisfaction of grade 11 ABM students after making a purchase that is
recommended by an influencer; 2) effectiveness of social media influencers as
ambassadors of skincare products; and 3) the influences of social media trendsetters
on grade 11 ABM students at UBHS.

Level of satisfaction of grade 11 ABM consumers after making a purchase

recommended by a social media influencer.
Effects of Influencer in purchase decision:
Table 2: Descriptive Analysis of the effects of Influencer towards Purchase
Decision
Effects Mean Standard Description
Deviation
Level of 2.98 0.63 Satisfied
Satisfaction
Effectivity 3.01 0.71 Effective
Influence 2.83 0.68 Influencial
Overall Descriptive 2.94 0.30 Good
Interpretation

Table 1 shows the overall analysis of the level of satisfaction, effectivity, and
influences of influencers towards the purchasing decisions of Grade 11 ABM students.
The result indicates that, on average, respondents reported a satisfaction level of 2.98.
The standard deviation of 0.63 suggests that there's some variability in the satisfaction
levels among respondents. However, the overall description is that the respondents are
"satisfied." A mean score of 3.01 suggests that respondents believe influencers are
effective. This could signify that influencers achieve their intended goals or provide
what was anticipated of students. However, the considerably higher standard
deviation of 0.71 indicates that there is significant variation in how students assess
efficacy. Some students may find it incredibly beneficial, while others may have
concerns or believe it to be less. For influences, with an average score of 2.83,
respondents believe influencers are influential. This shows that influencers have the
power to affect decisions, opinions, and behaviors. However, similar to satisfaction
and effectivity, there is variability in respondents' perceptions, as indicated by the
standard deviation of 0.68. Some students may see it as highly influential, while
others may perceive influencers influence to be more limited. And the overall mean
score is 2.94, with a comparatively small standard deviation of 0.30, using the Likert
scale Descriptive Interpretation table, the descriptive interpretation is GOOD. This
suggests that respondents generally agree that influencers play a role in their
purchasing decisions. According to this analysis, influencers have a generally positive
impact on consumers' purchase decisions, with respondents agreeing that influencers
influence their levels of satisfaction, effectiveness, and overall purchasing influence.

Table 3: Level of satisfaction

ANOVA
Source of SS Df MS F P-value F crit
Variation
Between 0.666667 2 0.333333 0.821799 0.440955078 3.035975
Groups
Within 91.26316 225 0.405614
Groups

Total 91.92982 227

Legend
* The p-value is <0.05
**The P-value is >0.05.

Table 3 discusses the level of satisfaction of grade 11 students. The P-value is

0.440955078, and it does exceed the significance level alpha of 0.05. This indicates
that there is no statistically significant difference in levels of satisfaction across the
groups. And the p-value greater than the significance level indicates that the
researchers should accept the null hypothesis and because of the fact that there is no
sufficient data to support the alternative hypothesis this means that the null hypothesis
is accepted by default.
 Within this research, the participants had a negative view about influencers
marketing. A study conducted by Grinaldo (2024) said that consumer happiness has a
big impact on their purchase decisions. Consumer satisfaction is a person's sense of
happiness or disappointment that arises after comparing the performance (results) of
the product in question to the expected performance (or result). Consumers nowadays
are already aware about paid partnership which can affect their satisfaction when it
comes to purchasing. Grade 11 students being aware of the influencer marketing can
be a factor that affects the findings of the study. According to Grafstrom, J. et.al.
(2018), People are now very conscious of influencer marketing and its existence,
which one could say a new chapter with more critical customers has begun.

A study done by Torabi and Bélanger (2021) revealed the beneficial effects of
service quality characteristics on customer satisfaction, including tangibility,
dependability, assurance, empathy, and responsiveness. This demonstrates that factors
related to service quality have a significant impact on customer satisfaction.
Furthermore, the findings showed that e-WOM and social media had an effect on
customer satisfaction. Studies show that when people follow influencers to obtain
practical information, they typically have particular interests and look for specific
information relevant to them (Chae, 2017). The findings of Croes and Bartels (2021)
add to the research of Chae (2017) by revealing that college students with higher
levels of education are more likely to follow influencers in order to satisfy their
demand for practical information and pass the time. The findings focus on college
students only; this can be a factor why the researchers’ findings contradict the study
since the researchers’ study focuses on Grade 11 ABM students only. A study about
young consumers conducted by Nyrhinen et al. (2024) shows that young consumers
have less control over their impulses, making them more vulnerable to persuasion by
focused marketing stimuli in the internet environment.
Effectiveness of social media influencers as ambassadors of skincare products.

Table 4: Effectivity of social media influencers

ANOVA
Source of SS Df MS F P-value F crit
Variation
Between Groups 0.166667 2 0.083333 0.16474 0.848216 3.035975
Within Groups 113.8158 225 0.505848

Total 113.9825 227

Legend
* The p-value is <0.05
**The P-value is >0.05

This table presents an overview of the p-value level and the significance level
in association with a study on the effects of influencer marketing on the purchasing
decisions of ABM 11 students. The p-value of 0.8 exceeds the significance level of
0.05, indicating that we do not reject the null hypothesis. Given the lack of sufficient
data to support the alternative hypothesis, we default to accepting the null hypothesis.
These results are contrary to findings from Statista (2023), which suggest that
Filipinos are more likely to purchase items recommended by influencers,
demonstrating their effectiveness as influencers.

Additionally, our results challenge the study by Schouten et al. (2019), which
indicated that participants are inclined to buy products from influencers, but it is also
stated there that consumers don't necessarily prefer influencer advertisements or the
products advertised by influencers over those celebrity advertisements. This could
significantly impact the effectiveness of influencers as brand ambassadors to students,
as consumers may not engage as much with influencer advertisements as those
featuring celebrities.

A study conducted by Fan et al. (2023) aims to examine how young

consumers view the advertising efficiency of endorsements by virtual idols and how
endorsements by virtual idols differ from endorsements by real human celebrities,
such as traditional celebrities and social media influencers. The study found that
among the three types of celebrity endorsements, young consumers find traditional
celebrities the most effective.

Influences of social media trendsetters on grade 11 ABM students at UBHS.

Table 5: Influence of trendsetter to grade 11 ABM students

ANOVA
Source of SS Df MS F P-value F crit
Variation
Between 1.742222 2 0.871111111 1.899921 0.152005** 3.036524
Groups
Within Groups 101.7867 222 0.458498498

Total 103.5289 224

Legend
* The p-value is <0.05
**The P-value is >0.05.

The Marketing Research Association (2020) defined influencer influence as

the ability of influencers to shape consumers perceptions and behaviors through their
online presence and content. Table 4 presents the results of the ANOVA regarding the
influence of social media influencers on grade 11 ABM students at UBHS. The F-
statistic (1.899921) compares the variance between groups to the variance within
groups. A higher F-value indicates a greater difference between group means relative
to within-group variation. However, the F-value is only meaningful if the p-value is
significant. Since the p-value (0.152005) is greater than the significance level (0.05),
we fail to reject the null hypothesis. Therefore, influencers have no influence on the
purchase behavior of UBHS ABM students.

Recent studies shows that influencers have a greater impact on purchasing

decisions for clothing, shoes, cosmetics, and services. Using influencer marketing to
develop and promote positive electronic word of mouth can have significant effects
on a consumer's product review during the decision-making process (jeffbullas.com,
2024). As stated by Schenker M. (2022), the so-called “wisdom of the-crowds” is one
of the most effective applications of social proof. This indicates that the majority of
customers look to influencer reviews as confirmation before making a purchase.
Influencers’ recommendations have the power to influence people’s desires and
change a person’s thoughts about purchasing a product or service. However, this does
not support our findings; based on the results, the null hypothesis is accepted,
implying that influencers have no significant influence on Grade 11 ABM students'
purchasing decisions.

The results of Žák and Hasprová's (2020) survey suggested that certain
products might gain more from influencer marketing than others. When it comes to
buying clothing, jewelry, shoes, makeup, and, astonishingly, services, the most
significant influences will be evident. In the meantime, 430 respondents from various
age groups and geographical areas participated in the study. Since our responses only
comprise 76 students from the UBHS ABM strand, this may be another factor why
the study's conclusions do not corroborate the researchers' findings since the data
gathered may not be sufficient to support the alternative hypothesis. The biggest
influencers will also be seen when buying shoes, jewelry, clothes, makeup, and,
unexpectedly, services. Our study is centered on skin care products.

CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION

In this research paper, emphasis is placed on the impact of influencer

marketing on the behavior of young consumers, in which the majority of the buyers of
these products are students, and they are often persuaded by influencers to purchase
these products. Using the descriptive statistics, the data clearly indicates that
influencers are important in influencing consumer satisfaction and purchasing
decisions. As businesses continue to advertise or market their products, influencers
become key to their marketing strategies. They play an important role in modern
marketing due to their popularity among youth. Thus, using influencers in marketing
campaigns or advertising becomes pivotal in today's age of technology.

The researchers would like to recommend this study to all future researchers
who would be making a study related to influencers' impact on students' purchasing
decisions. However, the researchers could not provide more data regarding this study
due to the limited time given. Even though the sample size was enough to provide
data, future researchers might consider obtaining a larger number of respondents to
provide more reliable data. Despite the limitations, it was possible to draw meaningful
conclusions. Nevertheless, future research should investigate thoroughly how
influencers impact the purchasing decisions of students. Therefore, the researchers
would appreciate it if future researchers would give their time to improve their studies
and provide more data to address how influencers impact students' purchasing
decisions. Future studies could explore additional factors such as the role of
influencer credibility, the effectiveness of different influencer marketing strategies,
and the long-term effects of influencer endorsements on brand loyalty.

Acknowledgement

First and foremost, praises and thanks to God the Almighty, for his showers of
blessings throughout the successful completion of this research study. ​ The
researchers would like to thank the following persons who in many ways contributed
to the success of this research. We the researchers would like to express our deep and
sincere gratitude to our research adviser, Ms. Pamela Butz, for providing us
invaluable supervision and support during the course of this research study. It was a
great privilege and honor to work and study under her guidance. We would also like
to thank our research teacher Mrs. Rowena R. Cuntapay for her effort, patience, and
knowledge that she imparts unto us, it wouldn't have been possible without her
exceptional support. We are also grateful to our research panels, Ms. Cristy Ramilo
and Ms. Ros Claire Marzan for their insightful comments. Their generosity and
expertise have improved this study in innumerable ways and saved us from many
errors. We also want to thank Mr. John Gabriel V. Macuha for his support, motivation,
and understanding while conducting this research.

The researchers’ gratitude extends to the school principal Dr. Marivic Mutong
for allowing us to conduct our research among the grade 11 ABM students. Also, to
the senior high school teachers who have given their consent for the full participation
of the grade 11 respondents. The researchers thanks and appreciations also goes to the
respondents who willingly helped with their full cooperation which has made the
research study achieve its smooth completion.
 ​ Last but not the least, special thanks to our friends and loved ones for their
support and valuable prayers that helped us in completing this research. And we
sincerely thank our dearest parents for their love, understanding and deep
consideration for the finances and undying support throughout the making of the
research study.

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