Effect of Social Media Marketing on Sales Performance of Large Retail Stores in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

Increasing competition and advancement in technology has had organizations look out for alternatives to fit into a rapidly changing business environment.Social media marketing offers an opportunity for organizations to leverage themselves above competition as it offers a unique networking and communication platform.This study investigated the effect of social media marketing on sales performance of large retail stores in Nairobi city county.The study employed a descriptive survey design with a study population of 135 retail stores in Nairobi city county.The study used primary data which was collected using semi-structured questionnaires. Data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics. Regression analysis was used to assess the effect of social media marketing on sales performance of large retail stores in Nairobi city county.The independent variable was evaluated for statistical significance using t-test for regression co-efficients at 5% significance level (95% confidence level).The statistical significance of the entire model was also assessed at 5% significance. The regression analysis was able to deduce that theiris a positive relationship between social media marketing and sales performance. The study found out that most of the large retail stores had embraced the use of social media marketing, frequent usage of the different social media platforms that were indicated by the respondents had a great impact on sales performance. The cost-effective attribute of social media platforms also made their use very popular. The study was also able to deduce that social media marketing enhanced customer loyalty and were also effective in disseminating information about a product/service to targeted clientele. The study recommends that large retail stores that are yet to adopt social media marketing in the running of their business operations should try and do so because of the tremendous benefits that businesses get from having an online prescence.