A Study on the Impact of Social Networking Sites on Purchase Behaviour among Youth Prof. Shrimali Harshita Director, Faculty of Management Studies, Pacific University, Udaipur, Raj. Online published on 22 June, 2018. Abstract This era marketing practices are very much influenced by changes in consumer behavior and attitude, thanks to new wave technology. As consumers become more collaborative, cultural and spiritual; the character of marketing also transforms. This study aims to study that very change in consumer behavior, occurring on account of social media's advent-how the youth, the future customers are adopting and using the new wave technology to their advantage and how companies can embed such current trends into their business models. Aim of research was to study the impact of social networking sites on purchase behavior among youth. The study was based on a sample of 300 college students aged between 21–24 years mostly, pursuing technical courses (mainly Engineering and Management) from Gujarat Technical University affiliated colleges in Ahemdabad and Gandhinagar. Judgemental Sampling was done and Factor Analysis was done to draw results. It was found that social networking sites users are influenced by their contacts for using social networking sites. Strong ties were found to trigger increased Social Networking Sites usage thus generating further interactions as in case of close friends, colleagues and family. Also the SNS usage pattern was found to have positive correlation with number of online communities in one's networks/ In this study, it was observed that students used social networking sites mainly for socializing and connecting with others. They also used it as a medium for keeping up to date via networking because of which they prefer to join their friends’ groups and hobbies communities where they can interact with likeminded people. Top Keywords Consumer behavior, Social Networking Sites, new wave technology, social media. Top |