The Role of Online Reviews and Source Credibility in Driving Trust and Purchase Intentions for Beauty Products

In today's digital marketplace, online customers reviews OC-Rs heavily steer buying choices, a trend especially noticeable in the fast-moving beauty sector. This research investigates how OCRs, together with the credibility of their sources, shape brand trust and e-commerce purchase intentions among beauty shoppers in Batam, Indonesia. A quantitative design grounded in Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling PLS-SEM evaluates the interplay of these constructs. Information was gathered via an online questionnaire completed by 300 active consumers who had ordered beauty items through e-commerce platforms in the previous six months. The analysis revealed that the quality of an argument, the overall popularity of a post, and its visual attractiveness each exert a strong, positive effect on trust in a brand. The study also confirmed that this trust significantly drives consumers' intentions to purchase, acting as an essential mediating link. Furthermore, the credibility of the review author was found to moderate this relationship; as source credibility rises, trust exerts an even greater influence on the likelihood of purchase. Taken together, these results offer clear guidance to beauty firms and e-commerce managers: by curating high-quality, credible reviews, they can enhance brand trust and, in turn, steer more shoppers toward the checkout.