This study delves into the body image issues among women as they progress in their age. Body image is an evolving research field. Body image is the subjective view of one’s appearance. With the intervention of social media and mass media, body image concerns among people are growing and has significantly contributed to behaviors like social comparisons, public avoidance, and causes an array of physical and psychological ailments. The study aims to provide a comparative insight on what factors affect body image concerns among women of different age groups, particularly young adult (18-25 years) and middle-aged (45-59 years) women. The study particularly considers these two age groups because priorities are often different among the two age groups. It would therefore be interesting to investigate what specific body image related concerns exist for each group, what factors influence their concerns, how they differently respond to them, and what can be done to help them having a better body image. The study requires basic knowledge of psychology and would be of help to not only academicians but industry too. The beauty, cosmetic and personal care industry is expected to have the maximum advantage of the study as its findings may help them to devise their marketing mix strategies. The study is based entirely on secondary data, and involves a comprehensive reading of journal articles, magazines, newspaper articles, books, and other sources of online data. A systematic review of available literature through PRISMA would be conducted. Research in this domain is generally constrained to studying a particular age group in men and women. Hence, the study would attempt to fill the existing literary gap.

‘Influencers’ are individuals with a significant online following. Companies leverage their popularity to promote their brand, product or service on social media like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook. Social media has emerged as a powerful platform influencing consumer perception because of its role in building connections and sharing information. In this context, ‘perception’ refers to brand image, product trust and credibility, purchase intention, consumer engagement, perceived value, and skepticism. Influencers tie up with brands to create content that discusses its product features via sponsored posts, product reviews, tutorials, and ads.

Survey and interview methods are used to map consumers’ perception to understand how consumers view a brand and whether  they are more like to purchase its product after seeing its recommendations from social media influencers. We use a pre-existing scale to determine the effect. The selected industries are cosmetics, food, clothing and consumer electronics. The findings will help to give marketers insightful information about how to improve influencer marketing campaigns' authenticity and, consequently, strengthen positive consumer perceptions in the dynamic digital age.

Making chatbots more personalised to improve consumer loyalty

In a world where businesses are driven by abundance and competition, consumer loyalty has become an invaluable tool for survival. Not only does it ensure continuity in sales, but it also reduces cost of acquiring new customers via word of mouth. However consumer personalities are constantly evolving. Numerous personality models have emerged in recent years to navigate the complexity of personality traits, especially to understand their influence on consumer behaviour.

This study takes into account the 16 personality factors model to understand how chatbots influence consumer loyalty in modern businesses. Preliminary investigation shows that chatbots affect consumers’ purchase behaviour and overall experience with a brand. In this relationship, personality factors act as the mediating variable which invariably influences the outcome of their interaction with chatbots. Therefore personalising chatbots is expected to offer companies immense benefits by maximising consumer loyalty. A recommendation model for personalising chatbots is therefore proposed.

Tags: consumer loyalty, personality factors, literature review, systematic review, marketing, sem analysis, mediating variable, mediation analysis, spss amos, research methodology, survey analysis

Systems around the world have become complex and dynamic, meaning that they are made of many components and are changing continuously. The education system is complex as it is made up of multiple interconnected elements like industrial expectations, government regulations, technological innovation, and teaching methods. It is also dynamic because these factors are constantly changing, affecting the whole system and ultimately, learning outcomes.

But learning outcomes are facing a massive challenge in the form of high dropout rates, poor academic performance, and a widening gap between industrial requirements and skills available. This study proposes the concept of systems thinking as a solution to these problems by recommending a non-linear and holistic approach to addressing problems in the education system. It explores case studies of educational institutions that have applied systems thinking in the past and uses the findings to suggest models which can be implemented in order to improve learning outcomes for all higher education institutions.