The Impact of Digital Marketing on Consumer Behaviour in Urban Bangladesh

Abstract

The paper examines how online marketing affects consumer behaviour in urban individuals in Bangladesh with reference to three main objectives that measure the efficiency of digital marketing platforms, the psychological influences on consumer behaviours and the perception of the digital marketing strategies by people in the major cities. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 300 respondents who are mostly based in Dhaka, Chattogram and Rajshahi and the data were gathered on the demographics, habits of platform use, frequency of exposure and attitudinal reactions on Likert scales. The survey investigated behavioural outcomes such as discovery, consideration, purchase and brand loyalty, trust roles, social proof roles, personalization roles and cultural relevancy roles. The outcome showed that digital marketing has a moderately significant impact on various purchase funnel levels. One-way ANOVA of three dimensions dealing with purchases (online purchase after viewing targeted adverts, probability of buying a brand followed, loyalty because of digital marketing offers) also showed no significant differences (F = 2.78, p = 0.063), indicating that they do not work independently, but instead, they act at the same level. The hypothesis that psychological factors, including trust, perceived relevance and personalization play a vital role in engagement and purchase intentions was confirmed by the finding of moderate to moderately strong positive correlations (r = 0.23-0.55) between psychological constructs of trust-building mechanisms (positive reviews, influencer recommendations) and personalization strategies (loyalty points, tailored offers). The most noticeable formats in terms of social media advertisements, video, and collaborations with influencers, and immediate consumer reaction were noted to be the most active informationseeking and indicating-it response, with some actively saving or sharing the content and a significant part of the public ignoring ads. The paper identifies differences in the level of exposure to digital marketing in urban Bangladesh, with Dhaka recording the highest exposure and Chattogram and Rajshahi recording relatively low exposure. This skewed nature indicates that awareness of digital marketing is more skewed toward Dhaka, and thus, the awareness intensity in other urban centres could be less. Cultural alignment and family influence are also other important v ©Daffodil International University contextual factors that influence consumer behaviour as identified in the study. The majority of the respondents noted that they did not make decisions without considering the views of their family members, but they still had the final say on what to do. In addition, respondents tended to believe that culturally relevant marketing is important in the establishment of trust among consumers. Considering the findings, the study proposes that digital marketing tools in the urban context of Bangladesh can be effective in changing consumer behaviour, especially by utilizing campaign appeals that concentrate on developing trust, employing social influence, and providing value propositions in a personalized manner. Also, the study explains that even though these effects are moderate, due to the geographical clustering of the digital marketing exposure in Dhaka, it suggests that marketers need to take into account a more regionally balanced approach. The current paper is a novel empirical contribution to the existing knowledge on digital marketing dynamics in South Asia, and it can be useful to marketers who aim at maximizing the platform utility, behavioural motivations, and reach beyond the capital.