Catalysing Choices: The Impact of Digital Marketing on Purchase Behaviour

Digital marketing has significantly affected consumer-purchasing behaviour, providing consumers with more options to study and acquire products and services. It has also made it easier for businesses to target specific audiences, allowing them to tailor their advertising to their interests and needs in the present investigation, first, it was tried to categorize the total respondents based on different demographic factors and then examine their relationship with the impact of digital marketing. The study found that digital marketing significantly influenced purchase decisions in 17.7% of respondents, while it moderately influenced 24.0%. Due to the implementation of the system, purchasing frequency increased by 45.5% while decreasing by 36.50%.These findings imply that digital marketing has a significant impact on consumer purchase behaviour as consumers can make purchases on the go without giving them much thought, potentially helping or hurting businesses depending on the product or service being sold. Changes in brand loyalty, store loyalty, and store loyalty were not observed.


Introduction
Because digital marketing methods are so prevalent now, the dynamics of customer behaviour have undergone a significant transformation.This study work aims to conduct a thorough investigation of the complex interactions between these techniques and the complex web of customer behaviour.The proliferation of digital platforms has revolutionised information transmission and fundamentally changed how people make judgements about what to buy in this changing environment.The study adopts the perspective of an astute observer looking to understand the complex effects of digital marketing over a wide range of demographic parameters.Demographic factors become crucial lenses for understanding the impact of digital marketing as we negotiate the complexity of the modern consumer landscape.

Literature Review:
The environment for digital marketing is large and dynamic.Businesses now communicate with customers on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and tik tok by creating engaging content, running interactive promotions, and working with influencers.Searching tools Even though email marketing is one of the marketing strategies, Google plays a part in consumers' journeys to discover products by influencing their purchase decisions through search engine optimisation (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) efforts.Together, these channels influence how consumers think and act and help to form the marketing ecosystem.In digital marketing understanding, consumer behaviour is critical to marketing success as consumers use the internet and online socialization tools.Brand awareness, brand perception and brand loyalty are key factors that influence consumer buying behaviour.This is relevant to stakeholders involved in the research process including management consumer associations and regulators (Nizar et al., 2018) A recent study highlights the importance of providing accessible information to consumers and its impact on their behaviour in seeking information.Additionally, the usability and interoperability of internet infrastructure significantly influence consumer preferences Customers also prioritise transaction security indicating their concern for online fraud.(Jenyo & Soyoye, 2015) Recent studies on consumer behaviour and marketing have made an important discovery.Consumers purchasing decisions are strongly influenced by digital marketing.It is interesting to note that this influence transcends geographical boundaries, which consequently underscores the crucial role that digital marketing plays in driving sales for businesses in our modern digitally driven era (Mahalaxmi & Ranjith, 2016) According to a study conducted in the Egyptian market, mobile marketing hurts the entire purchasing process while email marketing has a beneficial impact on consumer decisions during the post-purchase and information research stages.Targeting is the most important variable, with retargeting having the largest impact during the evaluation stage, while mobile marketing has the least influence.(Omar & Atteya, 2020) The accessibility of comprehensive information the diversity of available products, customer satisfaction levels and degree of education stand out as important factors in the adoption of digital payment systems.(Tiewul, 2020) In the context of B2B firms, a study was done to examine the impact of emerging trends in digital marketing on consumer purchase intentions.210 potential clients who were part of the B2B purchasing chain were included in the research sample.In particular, three of the four forms of digital marketing that were examined were found to be essential and suitable within this framework.(Hien & Nhu, 2022)

Materials and Methods:
The study was conducted in the Jorhat district of Assam due to the convenience of data collection.However, it is important to note that the district can be considered representative of all plain districts of Assam.The present study followed a random sampling procedure to select 200 consumers throughout the Jorhat district these consumers were selected using a random number table and included both male and female individuals of different age, education levels, occupations, and income levels and from both urban and rural areas.The sample included both online purchasers and those who make purchases through traditional retail formats.Primary data were collected from the sampled respondents using a specially structured schedule through personal interviews as well as mail questionnaires.Secondary information was gathered from various published and unpublished sources such as journals magazines books bulletins market reports e-publications etc.

Consumer Decision-Making Process:
The decision-making process of consumers is essential to understanding how digital marketing affects consumer purchase behaviour.Conventional models, such as the AIDA (Attention Interest Desire Action Model), have been modified to fit the digital context.Consumers are first exposed to brands through digital advertisements, social media posts, or online reviews.This exposure grabs their attention and sparks interest, which eventually turns into desire as they interact with the brand more.The effect of social proof and trust using the values of trust, digital marketing succeeds.

Results and Discussion
Respondents' Profile This section discusses the distribution of respondents over demographic variables like age, sex, education, employment, income etc.
Different demographic factors like age, sex, educational qualification, Employment status, income level etc. have a significant impact on digital marketing.In the present investigation, first it was tried to categorise the total respondents based on different demographic factors and then tried to examine their relation with the impact of digital marketing.

Age
The distribution of respondents under present investigation according to their age is presented in Table 1.

Table 1: Distribution of Respondents according to their Age
From the table above it is observed that 20 per cent of the respondents were below 20 years of age while 60 per cent of respondents were between 20 years below 40 years of age which was the were the majority.The remaining 20 per cent of respondents were above 40 years of age which consists of 12.50 per cent with the age 40 years to below 60 years and 7.50 per cent above the age of 60 years.This implies that the major population of the participants were between 20 years to below 40 years old.Below is the figure depicting the age-wise distribution of respondents:

Gender
The distribution of respondents under present investigation according to their gender is presented in Table 2.The results indicate that the majority of the respondents (72.50%) were male, while the rest (27.50%) were female.

Level of Education
To participate meaningfully in the study, the respondent's scholastic aptitudes were sought.The participants were requested to state their scholastic achievements as per the Table below.
From the table, it is evident that most of the respondents (86.00) in the present study were highly educated i.e. graduates and post-graduates while 9.00 percent possessed an intermediate level of education and 10.00 were from school-level children.Hence, it can be said that the present study was confined to educated people.

Area of Profession
Table 4 represents the employment status of respondents.From the table, it is observed that 65.0 per cent of the respondents were students, 12.5 per cent were service holders, 10.00 per cent were involved in the agriculture sector, 7.50 % of the participants served in the Business, while 5.00 % of the respondents worked in others sectors.Below figure depicts the qualification wise distribution of the respondents.
Figure4: Graphical Representation Of Professional-Wise-Distribution Of The Respondents

Monthly Income
The distribution of respondents according to their monthly income is presented in Table 5.

Table 5: Distribution of respondents based Monthly Family Income
It is evident from the table that most of the respondents (53.00%) were in the monthly income category of below 20,000 per month.Another 20 per cent of respondents indicated their monthly income of 20000.00thousand and above but below 40000.00while 14.50 per cent of respondents indicated their monthly income of 40000.00 and above but below 60000.00.Only 12.5 per cent of the respondents indicated that they were earning a monthly income of Above 60000.00.smartphone apps have changed the way businesses reach and interact with their target audiences, influencing consumer purchasing behaviour in various ways.Firstly, digital marketing has made it easier for consumers to research products and services before purchasing, allowing them to make more informed decisions.This has led to a shift in power from businesses to consumers, giving them more control over the purchasing process.Secondly, digital marketing has made it easier for businesses to target specific audiences, allowing them to tailor their advertising to their interests and needs.This leads to more personalized and relevant advertising, which can be more effective in influencing consumer purchase behaviour.Thirdly, digital marketing has simplified the process for organizations to incentivize and reward client loyalty, allowing them to build stronger relationships with customers and encourage repeat purchases.This leads to more long-term relationships between businesses and consumers, which can be more profitable in the end.Finally, digital marketing has led to an increase in impulse buying behaviour, as consumers can make purchases on the go without much thought, potentially benefiting or harming businesses depending on the product or service being sold.

Impact of Digital marketing on purchase decision
The impact of digital marketing on the purchase decision of the respondents was studied and the result is summarized in Table 13.

Table 13: Impact of Digital marketing on purchase decision
It is evident from the table that the purchase decision of the respondent was highly influenced by the digital marketing system in the case of 17 per cent of respondents and moderately influenced in the case of 24.00

Respondent category Number of respondents
Level of impact per cent of respondents.The influence of digital marketing on purchase decisions was low in the case of 21.50 per cent of respondents while 37.00 per cent of respondents viewed that their purchase decision was not influenced by the digital marketing system.There was a variation in the intensity of influence over the different age groups people.The influence was observed more in the case of the younger generation while it was found less in the case of middle-aged and elderly people.

Impact of Digital marketing on Item Purchased
The impact of digital marketing on the item purchased by the respondents was studied and the result is summarized in Table 14.It is evident from the table that the choice of item purchased by the respondent was highly influenced by the digital marketing system in the case of 47.00 per cent of respondents and moderately influenced in the case of 31.50 per cent of respondents.The influence of digital marketing on items purchased was low in the case of 9.00 per cent of respondents while 10.00 per cent of respondents viewed that their choice of item purchased was not influenced by the digital marketing system.There was a variation in intensity of influence over the different age groups of people.Here the influence was observed more in the case of the younger generation while it was found less in the case of middle-aged and elderly people.

Impact of Digital marketing on Frequency of Purchasing
The impact of digital marketing on the Frequency of Purchasing of the respondents was studied and the result is summarized in Table 15.

Table 15: Impact of Digital marketing on Frequency of Purchasing
It is evident from the table that the frequency of purchasing of the respondent was highly increased by the digital marketing system in the case of 45.00 per cent of respondents and moderately increased in the case of 36.50 per cent of respondents.The influence of digital marketing was not observed by 18.50 per cent of respondents.There was a variation in the intensity of influence over the different age groups people.The highly increased category was more prominent in the case of the younger generation while it was found less in the case of middle-aged and elderly people.

Impact of Digital marketing on Brand Loyalty
The impact of digital marketing on the Brand Loyalty of the respondents was studied and the result is summarized in Table 16.It is observed from the table that the brand loyalty of the respondents was highly decreased due to the introduction of the digital marketing system in the case of 32.50 per cent of respondents and moderately decreased in the case of 29.50 per cent of respondents.The changes in brand loyalty because of digital marketing were not observed in the case of 38.00 per cent of respondents.In the case of brand loyalty changes, also there was a variation in the intensity of changes over the different age groups people.Changes were higher in the case of the younger generation and less in the case of middle-aged and elderly people.

Impact of Digital marketing on Store Loyalty
The impact of digital marketing on the Store Loyalty of the respondents was studied and the result is summarized in It is observed from the table that the store loyalty of the respondents was highly decreased due to the introduction of the digital marketing system in the case of 34.00 per cent of respondents and moderately decreased in the case of another 34.00 per cent of respondents.The changes in store loyalty because of digital marketing were not observed in the case of 32.00 per cent of respondents.In the case of store loyalty, the changes varied over the different age groups people

Summary
The goal of the research was to examine how digital marketing affected customer behaviour while taking into consideration a variety of demographic parameters, including age, gender, education, occupation, and income.The results showed some fascinating trends within these categories.The study's participants were diversified in terms of age, with the majority being in the 20 to 40 year old range.Male respondents were also more numerous than female respondents.A sizable portion of the participants had higher academic credentials in terms of education.The participants represented a wide range of professions and income levels, enriching the demographic spectrum.The impact of digital marketing on consumer behaviour was evident; almost 41.5 percent of respondents said it had some bearing on how they behaved.

Conclusion
Digital marketing has a significant impact on consumer behaviour across various demographic characteristics, including age, gender, education, occupation, income, and more.Young people, particularly those under 40, are more vulnerable to the influence of digital marketing, as they are more likely to make purchasing decisions and select products.Older consumers tend to see changes that are more significant in brand and in-store loyalty because of digital marketing activities.Gender dynamics also play a significant role, with a higher proportion of male respondents.This underscores the importance of gender-inclusive digital marketing campaigns to engage both male and female audiences effectively.
Education is another significant factor, with highly educated respondents exhibiting greater responsiveness to digital marketing.Businesses should create content and campaigns that cater to the interests and intellect of well-educated consumers.Income-based sensitivity may have a more pronounced impact on individuals with lower incomes, potentially due to their sensitivity to promotional offers and discounts.
To navigate the dynamic landscape of digital marketing, businesses must constantly adapt their digital marketing approaches while prioritizing ethical considerations.By doing so, they can harness the full potential of digital marketing to engage consumers effectively and achieve sustainable growth in today's digital-centric world.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Graphical Representation Of Age-Wise Distribution Of Respondents

Figure 2 :
Figure 2: Graphical representation of gender-wise distribution of respondents

Figure 3 :
Figure 3: Graphical Representation Of Qualification-Wise-Distribution Of The Respondents

Table 4 : distribution of respondents based on Profession
Consumer Purchase BehaviourDigital marketing has significantly affected consumer purchasing behaviour, providing consumers with more options to study and acquire products and services.Platforms like social media, search engines, and