The Effect of Influencer Credibility on Consumer Online Purchase Intentions: Empirical Insights from Pakistan’s Online Private-Label Market

This research study examined the effects of various dimensions of social media influencer credibility, specifically trustworthiness, goodwill, and expertise, on shaping consumer intentions to purchase online private-label brands (PLBs). By integrating market signaling theory, the research investigated how consumer attitudes mediated this relationship, along with the moderating influence of perceived risk. An online survey targeting habitual private-label buyers in Pakistan was utilized for data gathering, documented on a 7-point Likert scale, resulting in 537 valid responses. Analytical tools, including SPSS and AMOS, were used to test the hypotheses. The results revealed that perceived goodwill and expertise significantly enhanced consumer attitudes and purchase intentions; however, perceived trustworthiness did not exert a direct positive influence. This highlighted a contextual divergence in the interpretation of trust for less-established brands. More importantly, the perceived risks weakened the attitude-intention link, exerting a negative influence. The results provide implications for strategic influencer partnerships to strengthen brand resonance and reduce consumer hesitation while buying PLBs. A major contribution of the study lies in advancing the understanding of a relatively underexplored domain through empirically examining influencer dynamics within the Pakistani online retail context.