The mediating role of personality in the impact of digital marketing and social media on the consumer's purchasing decision

The Internet is a large communication network where billions of people can share information, communicate, meet and transfer files at the same time. With the widespread use of the internet, especially on mobile screens, the marketing of companies' products and services on the internet, and the unlimited range of products offered by digital shopping sites and platforms to consumers have made online marketing even more effective on society. With the expansion and spread of social networks, traditional shopping methods have been replaced by digital marketing over time, and consumption behaviors have changed as people become members of digital shopping platforms and continue their shopping experiences in this direction. The ability to easily compare the prices of the products and choose the best price, to provide ease of payment at the door, to offer free shipping, product returns and product exchange opportunities have increased the confidence in online shopping. Before buying a product, the consumer makes the final decision by examining the promotion of the product on social media, usage videos, consumer comments about the product and complaint forms and makes the purchase. Digital technology has a facilitating effect on consumers' purchasing decisions. Businesses and brands benefit from the potential of technology by marketing their products and services online around the world without high investments, regardless of time and place, through chatbots, live chat and voice assistants that analyze messages on their websites and mobile applications, make sales using customer history as a source, track cargo and stocks, and create reservations. Today, many people, regardless of their personality traits, buy many products and services that they need personally or domestically in the online shopping environment with digital marketing activities instead of traditional purchasing methods. Based on this idea, it has been investigated whether personality traits play a mediating role in the effect of digital marketing and social media on purchasing behavior. In this study, quantitative research type was adopted and relational survey model was preferred by considering the variables or cases examined. The research was carried out for people who live in Turkey and actively use social media. In the research model; use of social media, perception of digital marketing and personality traits as independent variables; Purchasing behavior was also predicted as the dependent variable. Data were collected from a total of 986 people by using online and face-to-face survey techniques together. The questionnaire used in the study consists of 4 parts and 105 questions. In the preliminary section, there are 9 questions to determine the demographic characteristics of the participants. In the first part of the questionnaire, there are survey questions consisting of 30 questions about purchasing behaviors. Semiz (2017)'s 5-point Likert type scale was used. In the second part, the 5-point Likert-type digital marketing scale of Çiçekdağı (2022), consisting of 17 questions, was used. The scale of social media use in the workplace was used by Er, Solmaz and Yıldız (2020), a 5-point Likert-type questionnaire scale consisting of 22 questions. In the last part, Subaş and Çetin (2017)'s 4-point Likert type Enneagram personality scale, which includes 27 questions, was used. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS-22. In the analyzes; it was determined that the people participating in the research used social media at a moderate level. Respondents found digital marketing moderately reliable, informative, persuasive, and irritating. It was determined that the participants made compulsive, hedonic and unplanned shopping according to their location. It has been determined that they do not have distinctive features in terms of personality traits. In the study, participants' social media usage levels, digital marketing perception, purchasing behaviors and personality traits were compared demographically. In this context, it has been determined that there are differences depending on gender, marital status, age, profession, education, income status, type of social media used and time spent on social media. Study; middle between social media use and digital marketing perception; high among purchasing behaviors; a high level of positive correlation was found between personality traits. Medium between digital marketing perception and purchasing behaviors; a moderate positive correlation was found between personality traits. It was also determined that there was a moderate positive relationship between purchasing behavior and personality traits. It has been determined that personality plays a role in the effect of digital marketing on purchasing behavior and the effect of social media on purchasing behavior. In all three cases, it was determined that personality played a partial mediating role, as the effect of digital marketing and social media perception on purchasing behavior did not disappear with the introduction of personality.