Examining the influence of social media influencers on beauty product purchase intentions amongst South African consumers

Background: Social media influencers (SMIs) are critical information sources for beauty and personal care product purchases, yet limited research exists on their effectiveness in emerging markets like South Africa. Existing studies focus on the developed markets and peripheral persuasion factors, neglecting central routes (argument quality) to information adoption. Objectives: This study investigates how SMIs impact South African consumers’ beauty and personal care product purchase intentions by extending the information adoption model (IAM) to include central and peripheral route factors. Method: A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was employed using online questionnaires distributed via social media platforms. Non-probability snowball sampling yielded 242 usable responses from South African social media users aged 18–65 years who followed beauty influencers. Structural equation modelling was conducted to test the hypothesised relationships. Results: Relevance, expertise, trustworthiness, similarity and likeability have significant positive relationships with perceived usefulness. Comprehensiveness does not have a significant relationship with perceived usefulness. Perceived usefulness significantly influences information adoption, which positively affects purchase intention. Conclusion: Central and peripheral factors influence SMI effectiveness, with expertise demonstrating the strongest impact. The non-significant comprehensiveness effect challenges information richness theory, suggesting that focused content outperforms exhaustive information in social media environments. Contribution: This research extends the IAM by incorporating source attractiveness constructs and challenges established information processing theories, as well as validates the model in an emerging market context.