The Influence of Virtual Influencer Characteristics on Brand Loyalty in Fashion Digital Marketing: The Mediating Role of Post-Purchase Regret

Lim, Hang Wei (2026) The Influence of Virtual Influencer Characteristics on Brand Loyalty in Fashion Digital Marketing: The Mediating Role of Post-Purchase Regret. Masters thesis, Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

Virtual influencers have revolutionized digital marketing strategies in the fashion sector by giving companies new ways to interact with customers on social media. Despite the growing popularity of virtual influencers, limited research has examined how virtual influencer characteristics influence consumers' post-purchase regret and brand loyalty. Therefore, this study is to investigate the relationships between anthropomorphism, transparency of virtual nature, personalization of digital content, perceived authenticity of influencer content, interactivity level of digital platforms, post-purchase regret, and brand loyalty in the fashion industry. A quantitative research approach was adopted in this study. Data were collected through an online questionnaire distributed to individuals aged 18 years and above who had been exposed to virtual influencer marketing content. A total of 220 valid responses were obtained and analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 27. The analyses included descriptive analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and mediation analysis. The findings revealed that anthropomorphism, transparency of virtual nature, personalization of digital content, perceived authenticity of influencer content, and interactivity level of digital platforms did not have a significant relationship with post-purchase regret. In addition, personalization of digital content, perceived authenticity of influencer content, and interactivity level of digital platforms were found to have no significant relationship with brand loyalty. However, post-purchase regret was found to have a significant relationship with brand loyalty. The results further indicated that post-purchase regret did not mediate the relationships between virtual influencer characteristics and brand loyalty. This study contributes to the existing literature on virtual influencer marketing by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between virtual influencer characteristics, post-purchase regret, and brand loyalty. The findings may assist fashion marketers in developing more effective digital marketing strategies to enhance consumer loyalty in an increasingly digitalised marketplace.