The moderator role of generations in the effect of social media on purchasing behavior

With the changing living conditions, the transition from traditional media to new media has been carried out. Such changes had also an impact on their purchasing behavior. Consumers use social media, which is a thought a necessity by many, to search products and services before shopping. Consumers pay attention to factors such as user comments about the product, content created by other consumers, and suggestions from family and friends when making a purchase decision that greatly affect shopping activities. In addition, consumers can communicate their ideas and opinions about the products with other consumers through social media, even after their purchasing activities are completed. In such new marketing environment, companies can communicate more closely with consumers and promote their products through social media. The aim of this study is to reveal whether generations have a moderator role in the effect of social media on purchasing behavior. For this purpose, data were collected from a total of 400 participants living in Antalya by questionnaire method. SPSS program was used for validity, reliability and frequency analysis in the research, and AMOS program was used to test the structural validity of the scales and to perform confirmatory factor analysis. There have been many studies in the literature on generations and purchasing. However, during the research, no study has been found on the X, Y and Z Generations together in national literatüre, which indicates the originality of the study. The findings suggest that the generations have a regulatory role that strengthens the effect of social media marketing on purchasing behavior. When this role is considered on the basis of generations, it has been seen that both X and Y generations and X and Z generations have a moderator role between social media marketing and purchasing behavior. Keywords: Social Media, Generations, Purchasing, Marketing, Consumer Behavior.