The Impact of Digital Marketing on Urban Consumers’ Herbal Cosmetic Buying Behavior in Pune

Abstract

This paper found how digital marketing influences consumer purchasing habits on herbal cosmetic products in the Pune city on the understanding of how awareness, attitudes, opportunities, challenges, and desired digital mediums influence purchase intention. A questionnaire that was structured was given to 400 people and analyzed using descriptive statistics, reliability and validity tests, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Findings have shown that digital marketing has a strong impact on increasing consumer awareness and attitudes and, at the same time, opens new opportunities, including AI-driven personalization, augmented reality try-on solutions, and transparency of ingredients, and generates challenges, including mistrust, authenticity concerns, and expensive pricing. Some of the major insights made are that consumer buying behaviour is the most significant determination of purchase intention, a role that reinforces the critical role of positive digital encounter towards the final purchase decision. The research is an addition to the literature on digital marketing in developing economies as it confirms that it is both a facilitator and an inhibitor depending on its implementation. It also provides useful suggestions to marketers, managers, and policymakers to maximize the digital campaigns, increase consumer confidence, and ensure sustainable use of the herbal cosmetics.