Digital Marketing and Purchasing Decisions: The mediating Role of Online Engagement and Brand Advocacy among Gen Z at McDonald's Sidoarjo

Abstract

This study investigates the role of online engagement and brand advocacy in mediating the relationship between digital marketing and purchase decisions among Gen Z consumers at McDonald’s restaurants in Sidoarjo. Adopting a quantitative descriptive approach, the study surveyed 108 respondents selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire with indicators measured on a Likert scale and analyzed using PLS-SEM with SmartPLS 3.0. The findings reveal that digital marketing significantly influences both online engagement and brand advocacy, which in turn significantly affect purchase decisions. Notably, both mediators play a crucial role in strengthening the indirect effect of digital marketing on purchase decisions. These results emphasize the importance of creating interactive digital content and fostering brand-related conversations to drive purchasing behavior among digitally native Gen Z consumers effectively. The study contributes to marketing literature by highlighting the mediating mechanism of consumer engagement and advocacy in a localized digital context and suggests practical implications for F&B marketers targeting similar demographics.