Impact of information search on purchase intention: moderating effect of perceived price on personal care products in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The personal care market in Sri Lanka has seen substantial expansion in recent years, driven by heightened consumer awareness of appearance, beauty, and product preferences. And today, consumers increasingly engage in information search activities before engaging with product selections and purchasing. Nevertheless, there is a limited understanding of how information search behavior and perceived price jointly influence consumer purchase intention of personal care products. Subsequently, perceived price plays a pivotal role in consumer decision-making. Therefore, it becomes crucial to explore how information search influences the intention to purchase personal care products with perceived prices. Thus, this study aims to examine the impact of information search on purchase intention while considering the moderating effect of perceived price for personal care products in Sri Lanka. A quantitative approach was employed to accomplish these research objectives, utilizing a structured questionnaire as the primary data collection instrument. The population of interest comprises consumers of personal care products in Sri Lanka. The sample size consisted of 384 respondents selected through convenience sampling which came under non-probability sampling. Data analysis technique was Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) through SPSS 25.0 version and AMOS 21.0 version. The findings reveal that consumers who engage in extensive information searches are more likely to exhibit higher purchase intention for personal care products in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the analysis indicates a positive interaction effect between information search and price perception on the purchase intention of personal care products. Importantly, the findings provide valuable insights for marketers and policymakers. Also, it will lead for the development of effective marketing and pricing strategies that align with consumer preferences, fostering industry growth in Sri Lanka. Within future research, other factors which influence on purchase intention in personal care product should be investigated.