Digital marketing and purchase intention of bank services: the role of trust and engagement

Purpose The study examined the mediating and moderating roles of engagement and trust in the relationship between digital marketing and purchase intentions in the banking industry. Design/methodology/approach The study was quantitative and cross-sectional and used a sample of 462 respondents drawn through a combination of purposive and convenience sampling techniques. The main method of data analysis was the covariance-based structural equation modeling used to assess the paths relationships, using the Amos v.23 software. Prior to that, a confirmatory factor analysis was done to assess the reliability and validity of the instrument. Findings The empirical findings support the hypothesized relationship between digital marketing and purchase intention of banks’ services. Consumer engagement partially was found to mediate the association between digital marketing and purchase intentions. Finally, consumer trust moderates the relationship between digital marketing and consumer engagement. Research limitations/implications Given digital marketing is evolving with new tools and channels coming up by the day, we recommend that future studies should explore others such as search engine marketing, affiliate marketing, content marketing, display advertisement etc. These will help give a broader perspective to the digital marketing strategy and its effect on consumers’ purchase intentions of banks’ services. Practical implications The study makes a strong case for the use of multi-channel and/or integrative approach, improving digital infrastructure and systems, adopting new and emerging digital tools/channels such as artificial intelligence, chatbots among others to facilitate digital marketing strategy implementation while ensuring active consumer engagement. It further underscores the need for managers to build trust and regularly engage consumers through their digital marketing channels. Originality/value The integration of the variables in the study provides new empirical understanding and extends knowledge in digital marketing theory. It also serves as a foundation for future studies to explore other areas in the digital marketing, especially from a developing digital economies perspective.