Role of blockchain in shaping trust and purchase intentions for beauty brands advertised online

Abstract

Corporate reputation is the public’s perception of a business and how people perceive an organization with their products, services, and behaviours. In the beauty industry, consumers are known to be more curious and conscious of the broader impact of their buying decisions. With significant purchasing power, consumers now prioritize safety and health considerations when it comes to beauty care. Our empirical study investigates the role of blockchain technology on consumers’ perceptions of quality, consumers’ trust, and their intention to buy beauty brands advertised on online beauty platforms, through an experiment. Drawing broadly on the theories of swift trust and trust-based marketing, the findings of the moderated-mediation analysis highlight that the application of blockchain technology on e-commerce platforms would lead to higher buying intentions for unpopular beauty brands than for popular beauty brands. The study is empirical evidence that highlights how blockchain’s transparency and traceability characteristics could be important indicators of consumers’ perceptions and trust in a beauty product brand which may lead to better brand image and corporate reputation.