The Influence of AI-Based Content Marketing and Social Commerce on Purchase Decisions in Social Media: A Study on Shopee Consumers in Kendari City

Abstract

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), social media, and digital commerce has transformed the way consumers search for information, evaluate alternatives, and make purchasing decisions. This study aims to examine the influence of AI-based content marketing and social commerce on purchase decisions among Shopee consumers in Kendari City, Indonesia. A quantitative explanatory research design was employed. The proposed population consisted of consumers in Kendari City who actively use Shopee and social media and have purchased or considered purchasing products after being exposed to digital marketing content. A sample of 150 respondents was determined using purposive sampling. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale and analyzed using descriptive statistics, validity and reliability tests, classical assumption tests, multiple linear regression, t-tests, F-tests, and the coefficient of determination. The illustrative regression results indicate that AI-based content marketing has a positive and significant effect on purchase decisions, while social commerce has a stronger positive and significant effect on purchase decisions. Simultaneously, the two independent variables significantly influence purchase decisions, with an R² of 0.551. Thus, approximately 55.1% of the variation in purchase decisions is explained by AI-based content marketing and social commerce. The findings suggest that businesses selling through Shopee should combine personalized, informative, and engaging AI-assisted content with strong social interaction, reviews, recommendations, and social-shopping mechanisms.