competitive advantage in Banking

In today’s global environment, companies are constantly looking for new, modern, and innovative ways to reach customers and have a significant influence on them. Many companies have started to use social media websites to influence the customers’ decisions of purchase; these social media websites include Facebook and Twitter. However, the effects of these social websites on the consumer’s behavior, confidence, and decision-making have not been studied in Saudi Arabia. In this quantitative research study, we investigate the effects of social media websites, specifically Facebook and Twitter, on the Saudi consumer confidence. We use a Likert-like scale of 1-5 survey to ask respondents to answer various questions about their purpose of using social media networks and how the communities within these networks influence their decisions about what they purchase online. The sample size of the questionnaire is 130 responses, which includes only Saudi consumers. We analyzed the data using frequency tables and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The findings of the study showed that Facebook and Twitter social sites have a very small positive influence on the Saudi consumer’s confidence, hence, Saudi consumers’ online purchasing behavior does not change under the effects of these social sites. This study is mainly beneficial for companies’ marketers who use social media channels to reach Saudi consumers. We provide recommendations for researchers and managers to solve the problem of weak confidence of Saudi consumers in Facebook and Twitter. We provided recommendations for researchers and managers to solve the problem of weak confidence of Saudi consumers in Facebook and Twitter pages. Recommendations are provided for researchers and managers including professionals in the sector to improve the Saudi consumers’ confidence.

Keywords: Social media, Facebook and Twitter, Saudi consumer, confidence, Effects.

This research is dedicated to my loving husband, Louay, who was at my side throughout this journey, giving me the encouragement to keep moving forward and helping me stay focused on the goal. I would also like to acknowledge the love and support I received from my family, especially my mother, who is always praying for me and encouraging me.

Many thanks to Dr. Zahra Ghali for providing the right mix of guidance and inspiration during my research project journey. The experience was smoother and more meaningful due to Dr. Zahra’s influence. Dr. Zahra will have my undying gratitude for providing her insights and scholarly expertise throughout the research and writing processes.

Declaration ii Certificate iii Abstract iv Acknowledgments v Table of Contents vi List of Tables ix List of Figures x Introduction to the Study 1 Problem Statement 4 Research Structure 6 Chapter 1: The Social Media and Consumer Behavior 7 Introduction 8 The Utilization of Social Media Websites 8 Communication 9 The Effects of Social Media on Users 10 The Emergence of Social Media Websites (Facebook and Twitter) 14 Facebook. 14 Twitter 15 Conclusion 17 Chapter 2: Consumer Confidence in Social Media 18 Introduction 19 Consumer Confidence 19 Components of Consumer Confidence 22 Honesty 22 Credibility 23 Consistency 23 The Effect of Social Media on Consumer’s Confidence 24 The Consumer Confidence in the Middle East 26 The Role of Social Media in Facilitating Communication in the Saudi context 28 Saudi Consumer Confidence 31 Conclusion 32 Chapter 3: Research Hypotheses and History of The brands Studies: Zara and H&M 34 Introduction 35 Hypotheses 36 H1: Honesty 36 Credibility 37 H3: Consistency 39 History of Zara 40 History of H&M 42 Conclusion 43 Chapter 4: The Study 45 Methodology 46 Data Analysis 48 Frequency Tables 48 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). 64 Discussion of the Results 65 Recommendations 66 Conclusion: Findings, Limitations and Recommendations for New Research Ways 68 Conclusion 68 Limitations 69 Recommendations for New Research Ways. 70 References 72 Appendix A 81 Appendix B 83

Table 1: A Comparison of Consumer’s Confidence Level in Companies in Some Countries 26

Table 2: Percentages that Show the Usage of Social Media Among Internet 48

Table 3: Percentages that Show the Users’ Believe in Facebook and Twitter as Social Media Sites 49

Table 4: Customers’ Preference Between Social Media And Traditional Media 50

Table 5: Response Percentages of Respondents Interest in Becoming Fans of Zara and H&M Brands through Facebook and/or Twitter 51

Table 6: Consumers’ Usage of Social Media to Learn Information on Products 52

Table 7: Percentages that Show the Degree to which Social Media Reaches Customers of Fashion Retail Industry 53

Table 8: Frequencies of the Number of Users who Receive Retail Promotions through Social Media. 54

Table 9: Customers’ Preference towards Facebook 55

Table 10: Customers’ Preference towards Twitter 56

Table 11: Saudi Consumers’ Opinions on Social Media Reviews. 57

Table 12: Consumers’ Purchase Decisions 58

Table 13: Customers’ Trust in Facebook and Twitter 59

Table 14: Credibility of Social Media 61

Table 15: Honesty of Zara and H&M Social Sites 62

Table 16: Consumers’ Trust of the Brands Service 63

Table 17: ANOVA Analysis of the Components of Consumer’s Confidence 64

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Figure 1: A Comparison of Confidence Level in companies in Some Countries in 2015. 27

Figure 2: Customers’ preference between social media and traditional media 50

Figure 3: Percentages that show the degree to which social media reaches customers of fashion retail industry 53

Figure 4: Saudi consumers’ opinions on social media reviews. 57

Figure 5: Consumers’ purchase decisions. 58

Figure 6: Customers’ trust in Facebook and Twitter 60

Figure 7: Credibility of social media 61

Figure 8: Honesty of Zara and H&M social sites. 62

Nowadays, the access of companies to customers via traditional methods for advertisements and marketing is neither practical nor satisfactory. The results of this traditional access are no longer adequate or profitable. Therefore, it was necessary that these companies find new, modern, and innovative ways to reach customers and have a significant influence on them.

Online advertising is a new style in advertising and marketing (GfK, 2016). Many companies have started to use social media websites to influence the customers’ decisions of purchase. Two of the most well-known social media websites are Facebook and Twitter.

According to Mashabek (2015), there is greater demand from investors on successful companies, which develop and use new ways to continuously expand their sales rather than companies that follow the old, traditional methods of sales, which prove to be less effective day after day. As the owners’ confidence in the future prospects of the company increases, their assessment of the likely price of the company will increase as well.

It seems that the awareness of the role of social media in the life of the various institutions has been growing very fast in the recent times (Eid, 2016). Companies have begun to launch social media marketing campaigns for institutions and companies more effectively and increase communication between companies and their audiences through the systematic use of social networking sites on the Internet such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and forums.

Organizations have begun to realize that the use of social networking sites is not only designed to communicate information or specific messages about their products (Eid, 2016). As was previously the case when companies established a special website on the Internet to inform its customers about the company and its products, but offers this concept to create mechanisms for communication between the institutions and the public and activates public relations in general.

As the impact of customers’ feedback and opinion is essential, customers are directly addressing the institution to demonstrate their views and opinions about the company’s marketing activities, social, and informational honestly and without an intermediary. This direct relationship between customers and the companies enhances the reputation of the company and increases customers’ loyalty to its products.

With the increase of social network users, especially the most popular Twitter and Facebook (Eid, 2016). The interest of commercial companies is rapidly growing to discover how they can benefit from them. The institutions now receive uninterrupted flow of positive and negative public messages around the clock via the social networking sites. This has led to the increased attention of marketers to social media as means of low cost, and are likely to have significant impact on the promotion of products and services process.

By using social media websites, it has become easy to evaluate and measure the success of any advertising campaign and identify its weaknesses and strengths (Eid, 2016). It is also easy to identify the geographical regions that are intended by these campaigns, in addition to other goals that seem difficult to achieve when using traditional methods. Using traditional methods requires companies to spend huge amounts of money to do market research and get to know the views of the public.

PR News (2013) study indicates that users have different opinions on whether brands should have their private information on social media. It is important to win consumers’ confidence in the website and social media pages of the company in order to have a successful online business. Consumer confidence plays a key role in any e-commerce business.

As customers’ engagement and usage of their mobile devices and social media are increasing on a daily basis, companies started to pay more attention to this area and consider social

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media websites as marketing tools. After the proved success of this marketing strategy with some companies, many other companies started to follow their steps and use the same strategy in order to stay competitive and achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Two of the companies that using this strategy are Zara and H&M.

Zara is a series of shops belonging to the Spanish Inditex group and founded by Amancio Ortega in 1974 (Zara, 2016). This brand is known for its successful and innovative business. It owns more than 2,000 stores worldwide.

H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) is a Swedish company that was founded in 1947 (H&M, 2016). The company is famous for displaying fashion for women, men, teenagers, and children. Its owns 2,200 store in 38 countries and as of 2011 it employed around 87,000 people

In this research, we attempt to discuss the impact of Facebook and Twitter as marketing tools on the Saudi consumer’s confidence. The study will consider Zara and H&M to measure consumers’ confidence in their accounts in social media networks, specifically Facebook and Twitter accounts. The study sample consists of 130 Saudi consumer. We will use descriptive and analytical approach in the search for access to the results.

Many studies have been conducted to study the relationship between consumer’s confidence in social media websites. However, it is not known if the Saudi consumer’s confidence is affected by social media websites. 93% of internet users in Saudi Arabia have Facebook accounts (The Social Clinic, 2015). In addition, 7.6 million Saudi users use Facebook application on their mobile phones.

On the other hand, there are 5.4 million Twitter users in Saudi Arabia (The Social Clinic, 2015). These users tweet more than 210 million tweets in a month. In addition, 40% of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Twitter base comes from Saudi Arabia.

Individuals in the Middle East have begun to move from customary shopping to internet shopping. Internet shopping in the Middle East is quickly developing and has developed by 1500% in the course of the most recent decade. With a dynamic youthful populace and with one of the most astounding worldwide per capita web entrance levels the internet burning through potential is rapidly rising as one of the most astounding in the world (Indivirtual Dubai, 2016). Associated countries around the globe progressively utilize propelled innovation to live, work, mingle, be educated and entertained utilizing online administrations, for example, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, and numerous other social destinations.

Many clothing brands have started to create social accounts in various social websites. Some of these brands include Zara, H&M, Forever21, Adidas, and Aldo. Saudi consumers reacted to this change with cautious. After some time, they have trusted the clothing websites enough to transfer their money before receiving the items.

This interesting information raise some questions about the extent to which social media affects the Saudi consumers, financially, personally, and economically. Are there significant

effects of Facebook and Twitter as tools of social media on the Saudi Consumer’s confidence? and if so, what are these effects and how do they affect the purchasing decisions of the Saudi consumer? This research will answer these questions and address these effects.

In this research project, we have four chapters. The first chapter is about social media and consumer behavior. We introduce the chapter, and then address the topics of the utilization of social media websites, communication, the effects of social media on users, in the addition to the emergence of social media websites, specifically Facebook and Twitter. We provide examples of previous research in these areas and addresses the effects of the emergence of social media on users.

The second chapter is about consumer confidence in social media. This chapter addresses consumer confidence in general. The chapter also addresses the components of consumer confidence, which are honesty, credibility, and consistency. The next section addresses the effects of social media on consumer’s confidence. We discuss consumer confidence in the Middle East, and then discuss the role of social media in facilitating communication in the Saudi context. Finally, we discuss the Saudi consumer confidence.

In the third chapter, we present the research hypothesis and divide it to three parts, honesty, credibility, and consistency. We address the history of Zara and H&M and how they emerged in the Saudi market and in the online market.

In the fourth chapter, we discuss the methodology that is used to analyze the collected data. We analyze the data and report the significance of the information. In addition, this chapter includes conclusions, recommendations, and limitations of the research.

( Chapter 1: The Social Media and Consumer Behavior )

Social media networks have changed the way consumers behave and interact with businesses, governmental circles, individuals, and many others. These changes have gradually emerged since the correct utilization of social media websites. In addition, social media has facilitated communication with businesses and individuals. Social media networks affected the mindset of their users and their selections and preferences. Two of the most popular social media websites are Facebook and Twitter.

As indicated by Koshy (2013), the utilization of online networking in the Arab world has expanded drastically. This use incorporated people in general and the private existence of online networking clients. Social media is being utilized as a part of showcasing and promotion. The exploration directed by Koshy (2013) has achieved the finding that Facebook and Twitter are not being adequately used for business utilizes as a part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The scientist's suggestion for organizations in UAE is to put more in online networking and use it adequately for business purposes.

Another research that was directed by Huertas (2015) recognizes a more vital utilization of Facebook and online networking in the usage of their capacity to convey the brands by utilizing photograph sharing as a part of an electronic social setting. The analyst reasoned that Facebook is a general specialized apparatus normally utilized as a part of Spanish vacationer travel destinations. What's more, the scientist found that more than a large portion of the posts that are distributed on Facebook by traveler destinations incorporate photographs.

According to Hajli (2013), social media has facilitated the social communication between companies and customers. When consumers are able to discuss with peers and view reviews of the products, trust and credibility of the business are increased. The findings of Hajli’s study also showed that trust has a direct effect on the consumer’s intention to buy the product. In addition, the usefulness of the site has been taken in consideration as an effective factor.

A study about the online activities of 236 social media users identifies different types of users (Vinerean, Cetina, Dumitrescu, & Tichindelean, 2013). A division of these users and a linear model examine how different predictors relate to social networking sites have a positive impact on the respondents' perception of online advertisements. The study identifies the social media consumers, Engagers, Expressers and Informers, Networkers, and Watchers and Listeners.

The results can assist in discovering how to engage with different types of audiences in order to maximize the effect of the online marketing strategy (Vinerean et al., 2013). This study contributes to the existing knowledge of customer behavior in an online environment in general, and on social media websites, in specific, by providing vision through an examination of seven significant variables on developing positive reactions to online advertisements.

The development of social media has enabled consumers to communicate and share their opinions and preferences (Chiosa, 2014). It also enabled them to provide companies with word- of-mouth advertising by sharing their experiences. Social media plays an important role in sustaining brands as their interactions and reactions affects the reputation of the brands. Chiosa (2014) found that social media is one of the most effective tools to influence consumers' behaviors. It is important to consider consumers feedback in building the brand.

According to Kralj Novak, Smailović, Sluban, and Mozetič (2015), the use of emotions icons, also called emojis, in social media has facilitated the communication between users. The study of Kralj Novak, Smailović, Sluban, and Mozetič (2015) included 83 people over 1.6 million tweets in 13 languages. The sentiment analysis allowed the researchers to conclude that emojis allow people to conclude interesting facts. In addition, people tend to use emojis at the end of their tweet (when using Twitter) or statement to emphasize their point of view and to increase chances of prompting interaction from other users.

In the study conducted by Häckner and Nyberg (2008), the researchers took into account the demand linkages between media markets and markets for advertisements purposes. The researchers found that the market outcome is likely to be significantly different from what is predicted by standard oligopoly theory. However, the researchers did not take product quality into account.

The study’s findings showed that the brand pages under the presence of CRM campaigns yielded a greater intention to join the brand page and a greater intention to invite their friends to the brand page compared to those without a CSR campaigns (Jeong, 2011). The presence of CS campaigns on the brand pages showed mixed outcomes in terms of the pattern of consumer response to brands. This indicates that the presence of any kind of CSR campaign (i.e., either the CRM campaign or the CS campaign) resulted in the greater intention of consumers to become fans of the brands in social media, as opposed to the absence of CSR campaigns.

The purpose of the study conducted by Jeong (2011) is to examine the effectiveness of two Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) campaigns on the favorable response of consumers to the

brands in a social media setting, such as Facebook. The study suggested that consumers would be mobilized to present socially favorable images to their friends by participating in joining and inviting activities on a social media brand page featuring the CSR campaigns. It integrated the roles of friends and brand image into the impression management context in social media.

Wen (2012), has conducted a study that contributes in discovering how online customers perceive the quality of the shopping websites and applications. The study also addresses customer satisfaction and the factors affecting customer’s behavior and intentions towards online business. The findings of the study showed that quality has a positive influence on the consumer’s satisfaction and his intention to repurchase. The findings also showed that it is Important to increase the customer’s loyalty since it generates positive word of mouth, the intention to repurchase, and the intention to pay more for the product. Finally, the researcher discovered a positive relationship between the perceived quality, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions.

A study conducted by Martinka (2012), has discussed the ways offline communities impact consumers’ actions and assist in creating cultural norms and ideologies. By using Mead’s theory, the study addressed Facebook and Twitter communities and their influence on consumers’ online purchasing decisions. The findings of the study proved the significant influence of Facebook communities on consumers’ online purchasing behaviors. In addition, the study also found that Twitter communities had almost no influence on consumers. This study is especially significant for marketing companies, which use social media channels to interact and communicate with consumers.

The location of participants in the survey was one of the limitations of the study (Martinka, 2012). A second limitation was time constraints. In addition, more data sources would have provided more robust results.

The use of social media and social networking websites in particular has changed the nature of consumers' marketplace behaviors and decision making (Govoni, 2012). This research addressed how marketers must familiarize strategies to maximize the influence of online initiatives. The researcher believes that the social media is constantly changing and that managing a marketing campaign can be overwhelming and expensive.

According to Goh, Heng, and Lin (2013), they conducted a study by integrating qualitative user-marketer interaction content data retrieved from a fan page on Facebook. The researchers then quantified the impact of community contents from consumers and marketers on consumers' clothing purchase expenses. The authors used content analysis to reach the findings, which include the confirmation of the positive effect of social media on consumers’ purchases.

On Forbes (2013) research, the researcher analyzed the type of product purchased, the cost of the item, and many other product dimensions that are related to the consumer’s decision to purchase to study the effects of social media on consumers’ behavior. The researcher offered the results of the study with recommendations for future research.

Mintel is a supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence. Mintel's social media analyst team has announced the five superior trends in online consumer marketplace behavior, which were identified and selected from an extensive research into the strategies employed by Fortune 500 companies across the United States (2013). The power and influence of peers is emphasized as the opinions of family, friends, and other peers affect consumers’ purchase

decisions. In addition, brands have the leveraging the power of geolocation, which has grown beyond the checking in activities in applications like Foursquare

According to consumer research run for Mintel's Social Media series (2013), about 16 percent of people search for reviews of brands for mobile phones. Despite the existence of long- term mobile phone contracts, an average of only one in ten mobile phone users have researched reviews of mobile service providers online.

The purpose of the paper by Rohm, Kaltcheva, & Milne (2013) is to analyze the role of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter among younger consumers in their communications with brands. To investigate this, the authors conducted a mixed-method study that includes latent class analysis (LCA) to examine the role of social media among younger consumers, who are referred to as digital natives, in their interactions with brands. Mixed-method approach including both qualitative analysis and LCA was used to analyze daily interactions between consumers and specific brands across two primary social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter).

The findings of the study indicate that brand-consumer interactions driven by social media can be characterized by five primary motivations or themes: entertainment, brand engagement (specifically identification with or connection to the brand), timeliness of information and service responses, product information, and incentives and promotions (Rohm et al., 2013). The authors have identified relationships among these themes related to respondents' age, gender, and social media use.

This study highlights the role of social media in helping brands to be proactive in their consumer communications and interactions in fields such as communicating product information, addressing customer service issues, engaging consumers with content relevant to the brand,

providing timely information regarding promotions and new product launches, and fostering consumer-generated comments.

According to Investment Weekly News (2014), consumer behavior in the context of social media is developing even for the developed markets. Organizations are beginning to link this channel to their overall marketing strategy. Implementing social media initiatives that associate different marketing channels and consumer segments is difficult. However, if implemented correctly, they can provide companies with direct access to a very loyal and easy to target consumer base.

The study conducted by Sameen, Manzoor, Zafar, and Balubaid (2015) has analyzed the effects of social media on users. The study addressed the use of social media in education, e- commerce, marketing and advertisement, and social good. The study also addressed the privacy issues that users of social media face. The findings of the study concluded that social media has a huge effect on its users and that it can be used effectively in education, marketing and advertisements, and many other fields.

Facebook is a global social media network that was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg (Farfan, 2015). In the beginning of its foundation, it was a website for exclusive use by Harvard University students. Starting from 2006 and until today, Facebook is a global social media network.

The mission of this company is to provide individuals and organizations with the capabilities that enable them to connect around the world through its website and applications

(Farfan, 2015). The vision statement can be found in Zuckerberg's Facebook page. It states that people use Facebook in order to stay in touch with their friends and families. In addition, his vision include people realizing and being aware of the events of the world, sharing their opinions and expressing their feelings about them.

According to Zuckerberg (2012), the mission of Facebook is a social mission. The company is essentially a social network that aims to connect people all over the world. It was inspired by the huge effects that advanced technologies have made in our daily lives. Technologies have changed the way people communicate and share information and express their feelings about that information. The purpose of Facebook Company is to construct the means and tools that provide people with power to share, communicate, express, and deliver (Zuckerberg, 2012).

The degree of proliferation and popularity of social networking sites varies from one site to the other. The percentage of the popularity and proliferation of Facebook in the Arab world is 87%. On the other hand, the percentage of Twitter is 32% (Arab SMIS, 2015).

According to El-Mourad (2014), the number of Twitter users in Saudi Arabia is seven million users, which is larger than the population of Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain combined. Y2D (as cited in El-Mourad, 2014) published a study in early 2014 that showed that four out of every ten Internet users in Saudi Arabia have an account in "Twitter." As for the language used on Twitter in Saudi Arabia, the Arabic language is the most used language with more than 90% of the tweets in Arabic.

There are many reasons for this rapid spread of Twitter in Saudi Arabia. The most important is the availability of high-speed Internet and the proliferation of smart phones (El-

Mourad, 2014). Saudi Arabia is a young nation with more than 50% of its population under 25 years, making it fertile ground for the growth of newer types of technology, where the young are fond of all that is new.

Social networking sites pose a breather for young people as a virtual space that allows them to express their opinions freely and without any restrictions phones (El-Mourad, 2014). In addition, these sites constitute a rich source of information due to the presence of a large group of journalists and intellectuals, athletes and clergy. These networks also became a personal shopper or a guide upon which the Saudi consumers make decisions in their daily lives.

Saudi consumers resorts to Twitter to buy a product or use a particular service phones (El- Mourad, 2014). Studies have shown that 85% of Saudis are using these networks to get feedback from their friends for a restaurant, and about 73% use it to find places such as shops. The recommendations also play an important role in the choices of customers, 87% of Saudis trust recommendations from their friends about products, and 79% have full confidence in the recommendations of strangers.

The spread of smart phones that are no longer considered a luxury but has become a necessity is difficult to do without them has supported an increase of the popularity of social networks phones (El-Mourad, 2014). About 80% of young people in Saudi Arabia manage their affairs via smart phones and via the Internet on a regular basis, especially social and practical business needs. The ratio of Internet penetration through mobile devices in Saudi Arabia has reached 82%. Viacom agency indicates in a report that 39% of young people in Saudi Arabia prefer to stay in their homes instead of going on vacation destination if the destination does not provide them with Internet connection.

These record figures have put Saudi Arabia on a digital map and have prompted many large companies to begin to pay attention to the Saudi consumer (El-Mourad, 2014). The giant search engine company "Google" has sent the first official mission to Saudi Arabia in March of 2014 to discuss the opportunities for growth and development there.

Social media networks have changed the way consumers behave and interact with businesses, governmental circles, individuals, and many others. As the usage of social media in the Arab world has increased dramatically, these changes have gradually emerged since the utilization of social media websites. Social media is increasingly facilitating communication with businesses and individuals. They affect the mindset of their users and their selections and preferences. Two of the most popular social media websites are Facebook and Twitter. These networks have attracted users and businesses from all over the world.

( Chapter 2: Consumer Confidence in Social Media )

The social sites and social networks are some of the main aspects of the new media, which was produced and debuted by online revolution. It is based on new technologies such

as forums, blogs, and social networking programs. Social media has the advantage that it is not only a medium between a sender and a receiver. In social media websites, everyone is a sender and a receiver, unlike traditional media, which is a medium that sends the information from institutions to the public.

Confidence is portrayed as a condition of being sure either that a speculation or forecast is right or that a picked game-plan is the best (Nickless, 2012). Self-assurance is having trust in one's self. Pomposity or arrogance is unreasonable confidence in somebody, or something, succeeding, with no respect for disappointment. Individuals may have trust in other individuals or powers outside their ability to control. For instance, one may have trust in the police to secure them, or might have confidence in a company to provide excellent quality products.

According to Egelhoff (2016), one of the main challenges for new businesses is business structure. As the business grows, the owners are constantly dealing with and building relationships with new customers. In order to win customers’ trust, a company must always release the correct information about the prices and details of its products or services. A company that has a transparent and a clear pricing strategy is more likely to gain consumers’ trust and loyalty.

It is essential that companies build their information based on their core principles.

Building their reputation for standing behind what they do even when it sometimes costs them a lot. In addition, providing an excellent customers’ service is essential for any successful business.

Excellent service can include providing phone numbers, feedback email access, and any other ways for customers to notify the company when there is a problem (Egelhoff, 2016).

The longer time the company takes to resolve a problem the more potential customers will hear about this particular customer’s dissatisfaction with the company. In this case, the company will not only stop gaining new customers. It could lose its current customers as well (Egelhoff, 2016).

PR News (2013) study indicates that users have different opinions on whether brands should have their private information on social media: the public appears to want it both ways when it comes to brands listening in on its social conversations, according to study released in February by NetBase. 51% of consumers want to talk about companies without being listened to, 58% want companies to respond to their complaints shared on social media.

The study found that 32% of consumers of all ages and 38% of Millennials (18-24-year- olds) did not know that companies were listening to what they said on social media (PR News, 2013). In addition, 43% of consumers thought listening online intrudes on privacy. Boomers put up the biggest fight, 36% said they do not want brands listening to what they say online, while only 17% of Millennials said the same.

According to the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, about 61% of Facebook users take significant breaks from perusing the social network (PR News, 2013). The main reason for Facebook fatigue is that people were too busy or did not have time for it. Interestingly, privacy and security concerns were low on the list.

According to Mashabek (2015), social media websites can strengthen the reputation of the company in the industry in which it operates through thought leadership initiatives. Social networking sites act as sources of information for companies that sell services and products to

other companies, because these sites make it easier for individuals to communicate with others in the industry. According to Linked In (2015), 60 percent of the members of the site are interested in obtaining in-depth information from the industry in which they work, while interacting in the social networking sites.

Linked In network can put members of the company management in the leading thinker site (through the participation of in-depth information on the industry: the deployment of any authentic information, and to comment on dialogues or start them), allowing the enhancement of the reputation of those who lead the company and the company itself. Investors seek successful well-known companies in their field of specialization. Therefore, they would offer a higher price for well-known companies, which have established their names in the business.

Social networking sites offer an abundance of ways to share success stories and case studies that differentiate the business from others (Mashabek, 2015). This sharing of the success stories of the companies has an effect on increasing the consumers’ confidence. Companies can publish their success story through their website, YouTube channel, public relations sites, until the company becomes visible to the public and achieve a qualitative leap.

When the customers are viewing the company’s profile in social networking sites, success stories can provide an inside look at the operations of the company and its employees, while at the same time consolidating their achievements and their image as a creator (Mashabek, 2015). Success stories can also show customers who are looking for products to purchase that there is harmony between them and the company. Therefore, their impression of the company will have more significant effect when they attempt to buy products.

If the customer is a keen follower of the updates that appear on the company’s page in Facebook or Twitter, it is expected to get some information on the company's mission, objectives,

brand, and some advertisements of its products (Eid, 2016). The discussions and debates on social media pages inspire the work of new products sometimes. However, a negative message via a blog or social media site can create huge losses if the company could not reverse the situation by quickly responding to customers’ complaints.

Gaining consumer confidence is crucial to achieving success regardless of the ecommerce strategy that is adopted by the company (Blatt, 2015). Consumer confidence can only be received by hard work. It can be earned easier and faster when the company uses these three strategies as their guide. These strategies are honesty, credibility, and consistency.

The first step to gaining customers’ confidence is by correctly representing the products or services (Blatt, 2015). Part of the company’s job is to make its brands' products look good. However, the company must be careful to not mislead its customers. There's a big difference between an attractive representation and a misrepresentation. Any company wants their expectations to be well met. Providing consumers with accurate and comprehensive product information is the best way to give consumers a representation of what will they receive when they buy the product or order a service.

Any business owner makes a commitment to provide an excellent service or product (Paige, 2015). A business owner communicates only the truth using direct and indirect ways. Business owners reveals commitment to honesty when they pay the company’s bills and

employees. Failing to meet the corporate responsibilities establishes a climate of mistrust and potential illegality.

Credibility is an important part of a successful long-term relationship (Blatt, 2015). It is important to maintain between retailers and their customers. It is also the natural result of honesty and consistency towards customers. Gaining a consumer's trust is the first step to creating a brand that will share their positive experiences with their friends and family. According to a recent study by Forbes, 81% of respondents said that their friends and family directly influence their purchase decisions. That is a remarkable asset to retailers who are able to win consumers' trust.

Once the company has set the superiority of honesty and credibility with customers, it is critical that it provides consistency (Blatt, 2015). A negative shopping experience can obliterate a great one. It is important to make sure of consistency in the areas of product information, branding, and customer service.

Inconsistent product information is very frustrating to customers (Blatt, 2015). All of the product information needs to remain consistent. Anything that could potentially confuse customers must be eliminated. Products should be consistent with their brandings. It is crucial that the brand connects with the target audience. Eventually, it is more important to stay true to core customer base than risk alienating them to attract a new one.

Customer service department is an important part of the company that is providing shoppers with whatever they need to be happy (Blatt, 2015). Companies must go above and beyond

to consistently surprise and delight customers with the ability to handle their problems by doing things like offering online shoppers free return shipping so they feel comfortable purchasing new products.

Social media has led some of its users to experience social anxiety (Kemp, 2014). Social anxiety occurs as a person has an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations (Web MD, 2016). Social media users, such as Facebook users, are experiencing this anxiety as a result of their confidence in the content of social media websites (Kemp, 2014). The emergence of many celebrities on these social websites, witnessing their lifestyles and positions, has affected the users and made them feel incompetent. These celebrities motivate people to want more and be more as a result of their confidence in social media websites.

The confidence of social media consumers continues to increase. According to Daas and Puts (2014), who conducted a study about the Dutch consumer’s confidence in social media website. The researchers created a theory that a consumer decision is influenced by two kinds of emotions, incidental and integral. The integral emotion is relevant for the decision , whereas the incidental emotion is not. Based on this theory, consumer confidence is expected to be influenced essentially by the incidental emotion.

The researchers found that the sentiment in social media messages might reflect the incidental emotion in that part of the population that is active on social media (Daas & Puts, 2014). A strong relationship exists between consumer’s confidence in social media and the decisions consumers make. The study revealed a clear association between changes in the sentiment of Dutch

social media messages and consumer confidence. It was also proved that Facebook cause the main effect on this relationship, followed by twitter.

According to the research of Struijs (2014), there is a high correlation between consumers’ confidence and social media sentiment. Another finding of the study is that Changes in consumers’ confidence precede changes in sentiment by one week. In addition, the researcher discovered short processing time, which shows that time-to-market can still be reduced.

For many companies, developing a social media strategy influences people’s spending and saving habits (Karczewski, 2014). Consumer confidence has increased 32 points since 2008. The research also shows that consumers who are fully engaged represent an average 23 percent premium in terms of share of wallet, profitability, revenue, and relationship growth over the average customer.

According to Newsweek (as cited in Karczewski, 2014), the Unites States’ employment records are anticipated to show even greater economic consumer confidence. The research showed that marketing and media has a great impact on people’s purchasing decisions. 5% of consumer stated that social media affects their purchase decisions. The increase of consumer’s confidence in social media has opened many opportunities for companies and brands to educate and convince consumers through their social media accounts and blogs (Karczewski, 2014).

Igboayaka (2015) has conducted a research about the effects of social media on the consumer’s confidence in Canada, which leads to economic and financial decisions made by the consumer.

The researcher included several popular social media websites in his research, including Facebook, Twitter, Blog, and Reddit. The findings of the study showed the existence of online conversations and posts related to consumers’ personal finance and economic outlook (Igboayaka, 2015).

A paper of Liu and Lopez (2016) estimates the impact of social media conversations on consumer judgement of brand features and demand for carbonated soft drinks (CSDs). The researchers formulate a random coefficient, discrete choice model of consumer demand that includes social media conversations. In addition, the paper estimates it matching Nielsen sales data on carbonated soft drinks to social media chats on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

The findings of the study indicate that consumers' conversations about brands and nutritional aspects of CSDs have an important influence on their valuation of brand features and eventually on their selections of CSDs (Liu & Lopez, 2016). These results include important repercussions not only for companies that are using social media as a strategic tool for effective brand promotion and product design but also for public health policies which aim to minimize the consumption of soft drinks and unhealthy foods.

The Middle East/Africa region registered a one-point increase in Nielsen’s latest first- quarter global consumer confidence results with an index score of 96. Three of five countries measured in the region also showed confidence increases.

Table 1

A Comparison of Consumer’s Confidence Level in Companies in Some Countries in 2015.

( Egypt South Africa Pakistan The United Arab Saudi Arabia Emirates 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Confidence Level )

Figure 1: A Comparison of Confidence Level in companies in Some Countries in 2015.

According to Figure 1, the United Arab Emirates is leading the region, with a score of 115, it showed an increase of one point from fourth-quarter 2014 (Nielsen, 2015). Confidence also increased in Saudi Arabia by five points to 107 and one point in Pakistan to 102. Conversely, confidence decreased one point in South Africa to 87 and remained steady in Egypt at 90.

The emotional feelings about job prospects has increased up one point to 44%, while personal finances sentiment and immediate spending intentions remained flat at 60% and 39%, respectively, from fourth-quarter 2014 (Nielsen, 2015). Job confidence enhanced mostly in Egypt, rising three percentage points to 43%, while the personal financial outlook in Pakistan rose five percentage points from fourth-quarter 2014. Similarly, recessionary sentiment improved in three out of five Middle East/Africa markets: Egypt and South Africa each declined two percentage points to 79% and 70%, respectively, and Saudi Arabia declined one percentage point to 43%.

Social media websites and applications have provided companies with new ways of doing business. They offered ease and convenience to the direct communication with companies (Wen, 2012). In the last few years, online communication through social media has been the most used medium between companies and their customers (Tamplin, 2015). Global companies and known brand names have adapted to this new medium and facilitated the interaction with customers.

One of the findings of a study conducted by Wakefield (as cited in Currie & Lee, 2015) was that 68.9% of university students are registered in Facebook and they view their Facebook page daily. Another finding was that the percentage is larger for the general public. These statistics raise some questions about the extent to which social media websites affect their users and influence their decisions.

Advancement of the internet and the social media has enabled customers to have more power over their decisions and to communicate their needs freely (Hajli, 2013). The availability of many companies in the social media websites has attracted and encouraged customers to communicate and interact directly with these companies. It also have benefited the business though the direct and indirect advertisements and receiving consumers’ feedback.

According to psychologists and sociologists, the social interaction between consumers and companies represents the prominence in the communicative process between the two parties. psychologists and sociologists have given this interaction a special significance and considered it the basis of the public relationship between individuals and organizations. In addition, they believe it is the basis of communication and the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional processes between the connected parties (Soroor, 2015). As more companies realized these facts, they started to consider how to increase the effectiveness of the communication process between the company

and the customers as there are many benefits that would result from a truly effective communication between the company and its customers.

Through effective communication, companies can increase customers’ awareness of their products or services’ value. According to a study published by Ogilvy and Mather Chat Threads (2011) as cited by Mashabek (2015), it seems that social media has a powerful influence on the increasing preferences of brands. In addition, the study found that customers are willing to pay higher prices to companies with strong brand names.

Another benefit of effective communication between the company and their customers is to increase sales. Social media websites are not only mediums to reconnect with old friends. Smart marketers (and business owners) know that the most important social networking sites provide a variety of means to assist in the sales development. A recent study published by CIO.com (as cited by Mashabek, 2015), reported three important examples to emphasize this fact: Dell Inc. made $3 million in sales from Twitter, $2 million of Starwood's sales came from the campaign in Facebook, and 1,600% return on investment was achieved by VMare through hosting a chat in Google Plus. Social media websites improve service and customer satisfaction by effective communication with their customers. Whenever customers are happy, it is more likely that a stronger relationship between the company and the consumer will generate. According to Pew Research (as cited by Mashabek, 2015), 74% of Internet users today are using social networking.

The people (especially the older age groups at least) expect to be able to communicate with companies via social media.

Customers monitor social networking sites for companies they wish to purchase from in order to see the level of customer service, how the inquiries and complaints are dealt with, and to discover how often such complaints or inquiries occur (Mashabek, 2015). If the business does not

take the initiative to interact with clients and deal with inquiries and complaints, investors may cast doubt on the company’s ability to retain customers and resale, which might make a good pricing for the company at risk.

According to Al-Amari (2016), social media plays an important role in our lives. The technological revolution produced what has become known as new media, which has become a competitor with traditional media. There is a significantly high proportion of Internet users in Saudi Arabia, there are about 7.6 million Saudi user's of "Facebook", and more than 4.8 million users of "Twitter", and more than one million users of the network "LinkedIn", and more than 290 million views a day to video clips on "YouTube."

This reality requires even charities to go to invest in traditional and social networking media (Al-Amari, 2016). Charitable and volunteer work needs to spread its culture as an institutionally organized practice. The awareness of members of the community of the services offered to many beneficiaries.

Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, General Director of the Department of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai, said that communication with the public through social networking sites is an urgent need these days. He also stated that it is a useful addition to any department or enterprise system that seeks to provide better services (Albayan, 2015). It is a fact that social media websites have become an integral part of our daily operation and personal lives.

The idea of social networking was based on the achievement of these processes and behaviors among individuals and friends. However, after only a few years of its inception, it penetrated all the various sectors including politics, economy, and religion. As a result, it began to gain the Saudi user’s confidence gradually.

The concept of social media, or alternative media, is now one of the most prominent social aspects of internet. Recently, it is witnessing a dynamic movement of development. It transferred from being a default community on a small and a limited scale textual information tool to media audio-visual tool.

Social networking sites were able to impose forcefully as they have become an important source for journalists, the media, and satellite television in KSA (Soroor, 2015). These journalists, media, and satellite television are interested in recognizing the trends in public opinion, coordination, and networking with journalists, scholars, and many officials on community issues. Therefore, the effect of social media on the Saudi users has increased.

Nowadays, the vast majority of the Saudi society have become users of these sites, including the official and non-official circles, public and private individuals and companies, the elite Political clerics, academics, ministers, and even royal families.

In Saudi Arabia, the Consumer Confidence Index is part of The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions (Trading Economics, 2016). The survey is conducted every quarter by the Internet and measures the level of optimism that consumers have about job prospects, personal finances, and spending intentions. Twice a year, the survey also includes questions regarding consumer habits and opinions on a number of other issues, ranging from climate change to online shopping and food safety.

The index levels above 100 indicate optimism and below 100 indicate pessimism (Trading Economics, 2016). This page provides - Saudi Arabia Consumer Confidence - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. Saudi Arabia Consumer Confidence - actual data, historical chart and calendar of releases - was last updated on March of 2016.

Consumer confidence in Saudi Arabia has decreased from 109 in the third quarter of 2015 to 106 in the fourth quarter of 2015 (Trading Economics, 2016). Consumer confidence in Saudi Arabia averaged 107.74 from 2010 until 2015, reaching an all time high of 120 in the third quarter of 2011 and a record low of 95 in the first quarter of 2013. Consumer confidence in Saudi Arabia is reported by the Nielsen.

The most prominent features of social networks are the diffusion of common knowledge, Interactivity and participation among users, constant intangible attendance of users, freedom of speech, crossing barriers and red lines, and canceling cultural differences between communities. These positive features have affected the confidence of the Saudi consumer positively. Therefore, Saudi consumers became more open to the idea of shopping online and using social media as a reference.

The social sites and social networks are some of the most important aspects of the new media, which was produced and debuted by online revolution. It is based on new technologies such as forums, blogs, and social networking programs. Social media has the advantage that it is not only a medium between a sender and a receiver. In social media websites, everyone is a sender

and a receiver, unlike traditional media, which is a medium that sends the information from institutions to the public.

Consumer confidence in social media websites has developed gradually since the emergence of social media websites. The Saudi consumer is now more open and accepting to social media as tools of marketing and branding for companies. The Saudi consumer confidence is greatly affected by the presence of social media websites.

( C h a p t e r 3 : Research Hypotheses and History of The brands Studies: Zara and H&M )

Online retail sales have grown as more people purchased high-speed internet connections (Caesar, 2010). Another factor is shoppers who do not have enough time to go shopping and they took advantage of shopping from home or work, according to industry observers. Shopping on the Internet is expected to see sales grow in Western Europe by 2014.

However, online sales still only make up a small proportion of total sales (Caesar, 2010). In the United Kingdom, 8% of total sales in July were made online, according to the Office for National Statistics "Shops that don't have an online presence have noticed rival stores enjoying a dramatic increase in online sales, while their sales in shops have been pretty flat," according to Jeremy Baker, professor of marketing at the ESCP business school.

Online stores add to rather than seize the physical stores (Caesar, 2010). Therefore, they tend to bring in additional sales, according to industry observers. There is a consistent and a clear demand for Zara’s products online, this statement was announced by retail consultant at Verdict Research. He also stated that it will easily complement its extensive existing store estate and add an extra level of service for its customers.

The hypothesis of this research will be applied on two brands, Zara and H&M. The first brand, Zara, is a Spanish brand that was founded in 1974 (Zara, 2016). It opened its first Saudi branch in 1999. The second brand, H&M, is Swedish and was founded in 1947 (H&M, 2016). It is one of the most popular and loved brands in Saudi Arabia.

The previous researches in the area of social media and consumers’ confidence and the information about the Saudi consumer’s confidence lead to the believe that social media websites, specifically Facebook and Twitter, impact the Saudi consumers’ confidence. It also expected that the Saudi consumer confidence is greatly affected by the presence of social media websites. The hypothesis of this research is that social media websites affect Saudi consumer confidence. The components of consumer confidence are honesty, credibility, and consistency.

According to Miller (2001), his study looked to decide the impact of individual and expert qualities on the estimation of trustworthiness. Since the study was correlational in nature, direct circumstances and end results suggestions could not be expressed. The one ward variable was the estimation of trustworthiness and the seven autonomous variables were the accompanying seven individual and expert qualities: physiological/security, social/connection, regard acknowledgment, self-completion, accomplishment, reasonableness, and aiding and sympathy toward others.

According to Business Wire (2010), in the recovering Financial Services marketplace new and existing providers are competing to grow their share of an increasingly wary and cynical customer base. Data monitor has identified ten consumer trends that provide a vital tool for providers wanting to succeed. The need to understand why consumers value authenticity and how this trend drives consumer behavior is more important than ever. The research found that authenticity and honesty will help to break down the barriers created during the global financial crisis.

Semaan (2012) explored the underlying role of two-sided advertisements and social comparison measures as perceived attainability of model’s looks in explaining these effects on consumer honesty. The study explores four different types of attractive-relevant products as boundary conditions for these effects.

The findings of this study recommended that revelation of computerized control creates higher item assessments. Three studies demonstrated that shoppers always lean toward the corrected notices and much all the more so when they are informed that these ads have been digitally improved. It was suggested that this divulgence would lead purchasers to see the revealed modified commercials as two-sided notice and to expand impression of model's looks feasibility and thusly prompt good item assessments and higher self-assessments. The literature in this area has prompted us to generate the following hypothesis:

H1: There is a positive relationship between the utilization of FB and Twitter to buy clothes and the consumer honesty.

The consideration paid to the impact of authoritative charity on customer reactions has encouraged a movement in the part this practice plays in hierarchical elements - with altruism turning into an undeniably key promoting instrument (Walker and Kent, 2013). The creators created and tried a model foreseeing that the apparent authoritative validity will intercede the relationship between attention to generosity and the results of promotion and monetary penance. Furthermore, that shopper social cognizance will direct the relationship between attention to magnanimity and firm validity, and in the middle of believability and the result variables.

In addition, these moderated relationships will be mediated by perceived credibility. Data obtained from a sample of professional golf patrons support our assertions. The findings implicate perceived credibility as a key intervening variable in the hypothesized relationships for the PGA Tour.

In their exploration, Wu, Huang, and Hsu (2014) proposed and tried an expanded and brought together hypothesis of acknowledgment and utilization of innovation (UTAUT) model, including the extra zones of fulfillment, believability, trust, and kindheartedness trust, utilizing an observational review of 676 OSN clients to look at the impact of these components. The aftereffects of relapse investigation demonstrated that the four key develops of UTAUT (social impact, execution anticipation, exertion hope, and encouraging conditions), and in addition fulfillment, believability, trust, and generosity trust, are all immediate determinants of client continuation utilization of OSN.

The investigation of Rahman (2014) investigated the relationship between media use, validity, and political supposition development among taught Pakistani youth. The relationship is considered under the reason that as trust assumes an imperative part in numerous all zones of social life, it will impact the feeling of the group of onlookers. Taking after the same rationale the study recommended that trust in media would encourage media's viability in arrangement of feeling. Discoveries has demonstrated that the in overwhelming review of TV news channels does not have any association with the way individuals see the validity of the channels and it additionally does not influence the assessment making handle, the apparent believability of the media is a more imperative element in the development of political feeling.

The reason for the investigation of Porter, Anderson, and Nhotsavang (2015) was to take the aftereffects of two studies to conjecture about practice and prescribe research/banter on

business pioneers' utilization and view of online networking. Information were considered under the umbrella of current senior administration rehearse, with the reason to improve recommendations for practice, however basically to guess about the likely development of online networking worth and validity for officials. The literature in this area has prompted us to generate the following hypothesis:

H2: There is a positive relationship between the utilization of FB and Twitter to buy clothes and consumer credibility.

The continuously evolving capabilities of integrating new media into an organization's strategic mix has caused organizations, including those in sport, to find a need to employ social media as a marketing strategy. However, there continues to be concerns regarding the adoption of social media and its subsequent effectiveness and implementation. Along these lines, Dixon's, Martinez', and Martin's (2015) study reason for existing was to investigate the utilization and saw viability of online networking inside intercollegiate sports offices. Reactions from 158 NCAA Division I promoting experts were broke down to survey online networking utilization and saw viability. Results recommend that most games offices utilize online networking to bring issues to light and bolster showcasing destinations, yet few use it for raising support and volunteer enlistment. Discoveries may help intercollegiate games offices by giving proof based method of reasoning to bolster the utilization of online networking as a successful showcasing methodology. Social media offers customers a unique service value proposition. Perceiving administration esteem as a vital idea, the investigation of Hu, Kettinger, and Poston (2015) builds up a total develop of online social quality, whereby clients assess utilitarian and hedonic

advantages with respect to what they should yield in exertion and danger in determining a worth figuring of online person to person communication administrations which predicts fulfillment and proceeded with utilization of online social networking, for example, Facebook. By experimentally testing a model that clarifies online social esteem, this exploration adds to data frameworks (IS) hypothesis by presenting a client esteem point of view in the online networking connection and administrations suppliers by recognizing elements anticipating fulfillment and proceeded with utilize that may be utilized to enhance offerings to hold clients returning.

The findings of the research of Valos, Haji, Casidy, and Driesener (2016) revealed that the unique characteristics of Social Media (such as interactivity and individualization, integration of communication and distribution channels, immediacy and information collection) impact traditional marketing communications frameworks. These effects showed in 12 adjustments particular to administrations and Social Media to customary non specific IMC structures included by the subjects of achieve, administration channel, informal promotion, shopper created messages, tuning in, consistency, and behavioral estimation. The literature in this area has prompted us to generate the following hypothesis:

H3: There is a positive relationship between the utilization of FB and Twitter to bay the clothes and the consumer consistency.

Zara is a series of shops belonging to the Spanish Inditex group and founded by Amancio Ortega in 1974 (Zara, 2016). This brand is known for its successful and innovative business. It owns more than 2,000 stores worldwide.

Zara has gained experience in business and it started to become more determined to enter a global expansion. Regardless of cultural and geographical differences (Lopez & Fan, 2009). Zara started its internationalization by opening a store in Israel in 1997. In 1998, Zara established branches in eight countries, consolidating its presence in the Middle East with Kuwait, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates. Argentina along with Venezuela, Great Britain, Japan and Turkey were also added to the list in 1998. It opened branches in nine countries in 1999, which are Germany, The Netherlands, Poland, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

According to Caesar (2010), Spanish clothing retailer Zara has opened its new online store in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and the UK. Zara’s group already sells a home range online, but its new innovative website will offer fashion lines, which have only been available in its stores until now. The push into the online world is interpreted as a defensive move that comes amongst fears of a decline in High Street spending. Consumer confidence is declining and many fear an additional economic slowdown. Online fashion sales, meanwhile, are proving to be strong (Caesar, 2010).

Increased strength in Internet trading has been reported by Asos, the online market leader, which said sales increased 54% during the January-to-March quarter when compared with the same period of the last year.

Online retail sales are expected to double in next three years (Caesar, 2010). Zara’s page is liked by more than 4.5 million people who have registered as fans on Facebook. The main task now is to convert those fans into customers. Inditex, Zara's parent company, has overtaken Gap as the world's biggest clothing retailer by sales. Inditex chief executive, Pablo Isla, stated that customers should expect the initiation of online selling for the Group's other brands in the next years.

The success of retailers such as the dedicated online fashion site Asos proves how rapid the transition of sales from traditional stores to the internet is, especially among the 18-34 age group (Caesar, 2010). Zara has made a small profit in the year until the end of January 2010, after experiencing a sharp loss during the previous year. The company is hopeful to achieve a 10% increase in revenue that is associated with its online store.

Zara has been selling and owning stores in the Latin America country since 1992 (Evans, 2014). The retailer stated that the move to sell online in Mexico is part of Zara’s plan to sell on the websites in all of the countries where Zara owns stores. The fashion retailer Zara sells in Mexico in 59 stores and now shoppers in the country will be also able to shop for the Zara’s fashionable clothing from their computers or smartphones.

H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) is a Swedish company that was founded in 1947 (H&M, 2016). The company is famous for displaying fashion for women, men, teenagers, and children. It owns

2,200 store in 38 countries and as of 2011, it employed around 87,000 people. The philosophy of the company is to provide trendy and quality fashion with the best prices. It employs more than 100 designer to create a modern fashion.

In 2009, the company announced the opening of two new shops in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on the third of April within the expansion process (Riyadh, 2009). This expansion process came as a result of strategic cooperation with MH Alshaya Co., which is one of the largest leading companies in retail sales in the Middle East sector.

The clothing retailer H&M has plans of opening online stores in Switzerland and Russia and in nine additional countries (Lindner, 2015). Sweden-based apparel and accessories retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB, better known as H&M, is expanding its global online reach. In 2015, H&M, No. 85 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Europe 500, stated in its third quarter earnings release that it plans to establish e-commerce sites in nine global markets in 2016: Croatia, Japan, Ireland Greece, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg.

According to CEO Karl-Johan Persson, H&M’s online expansion to establish new stores in new countries is continuing according to plan (Lindner, 2015). Eight new H&M online markets have been opened in 2015, all of them have had a very good reaction. H&M is planning to launch online stores in Switzerland and Russia in 2016. After the completion of its plans, H&M will have an online store in 32 countries.

The hypothesis of this research will be applied on two brands, Zara and H&M. The first brand, Zara, is a Spanish brand that was founded in 1974 (Zara, 2016). It opened its first Saudi branch in 1999. The second brand, H&M, is Swedish and was founded in 1947 (H&M, 2016). This

brand is continuously opening new branches in Saudi Arabia. In 2009, it has opened two branches in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia.

( Chapter 4: The Study )

We used a quantitative research method, which was appropriate method for this study. Quantitative researches are more reliable and objective (IIS, 2016). They are more convenient to use statistics to generate findings and generalize them. Quantitative methods of research simplify complex problems and limit its variables. These methods of research identify relationships between variables and are able to test theories and hypotheses.

In quantitative methods, the sample represents the population and then results are generalized on the whole population (IIS, 2016). One of the disadvantages of this method is that it is difficult to recognize the subjectivity of the researcher using quantitative methods. In addition, it is less detailed than qualitative methods that may oversee a desired response from the participants.

We used a questionnaire consisted of 15 questions and three dimensions. Due to time limitations, the use of the questionnaire will allow us to collect the needed amounts of information from a reasonable number of people in a short period of time and in a relatively cost effective way. The questionnaire was delivered using the online tool Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.com). The questionnaire will ask questions that respondents will answer using a Likert-like rating scale of 1-5, which we will later analyze quantitatively.

The first part of the questionnaire, which include questions from 1 to 7, measures the usage of the Saudi consumer of social media websites. The first question (Is your main purpose of using the Internet is to use social media sites?) identifies if the consumer is a regular user of social media websites, therefore, he would be more affected by them.

The second part of the questionnaire measures how many users prefer Facebook and how many users prefer Twitter to communicate and connect with clothing brands, specifically, Zara

and H&M. This part includes questions 8 and 9 and it is used to compare the results and identify users’ preference.

The third part of the questionnaire, including questions 10 to 15, measures the Saudi consumer’s confidence degree towards Facebook and Twitter as marketing tools. This part is the main objective of the survey. Users’ answers on these questions will be analyzed and used in determining the effects of Facebook and Twitter on the Saudi consumer’s confidence.

The sample size of the questionnaire is 130 responses. The sample includes only Saudi consumers. Their ages from 18 to 40. Both male and female respondents were considered. The questions that were asked were specific to Facebook and Twitter to gain more insight into how the two social media tools affect consumer behavior online

We amassed 130 responses. The responses came from male and female Saudi individuals. The reason for performing statistical analysis is to translate data into numeric values in order to make some statistical analyzes that will assist in insuring the validity of the research hypotheses and answering the research questions. The results will enable us to make accurate conclusions about the data.

Table 2

Percentages that show the usage of social media among internet users.

Is your main purpose of using the Internet is to use social media sites?

As it can be seen in Table 2, the first question (Is your main purpose of using the Internet is to use social media sites?) identifies if the consumer is a regular user of social media websites, if he was, it is more likely that he would be affected and influenced by them. 40.8% of respondents have confirmed that their main purpose of using the internet is to use social media sites. This is due to the wide effect that social media sites have influenced on users and it made many Saudi consumers use the internet mainly to use these social sites. In addition, 8.5% of respondents

strongly agree with the statement. This means that a total of 49.3% of respondents use social media extensively. This fact is significant as it shows that almost half of Saudi consumers use social media as a main purpose of using the internet. Therefore, it would be more likely that the behavior and confidence of Saudi consumers is affected and influenced by these social sites.

Table 3

Percentages that show the users’ believe in Facebook and Twitter as social media sites.

Two of the most popular social media websites used in KSA are Facebook and Twitter.

Table 3 shows the frequencies and their percentages for the second question (Two of the most popular social media websites used in KSA are Facebook and Twitter). The majority of responses, 41 responses, responded with agreement on the statement. In addition, 15 respondents responded that they strongly agree with the statement. The reason for this result is that Facebook and Twitter are widely used and very popular in Saudi Arabia. This means that 43% of Saudi Consumers believe in the popularity of Facebook and Twitter, which proves that Facebook and Twitter are actually utilized and used in Saudi Arabia and enhances the reliability of the results of further questions about them.

Table 4

Customers’ preference between social media and traditional media

I prefer social media site such as Facebook or Twitter versus traditional media such as, TV, radio or newspaper.

( I prefer social media site such as Facebook or Twitter versus traditional media such as, TV, radio or newspaper. ت و ي ت ر أو ا ل ف يس بوك م ث ل ا ال ج ت م اع ي ة ا ال ع ال م و س ا ئ ل م وا ق ع أفض ل م ق ا ب ل و س ا ئ ل ا إ ل ع ا ل م ا ل ت ق ل ي د ي ة م ث ل ا ل ت لف ز ي و ن وا إ ل ذا ع ة وا ل ص ح ف . ال disagree Strongly أوافق بشدة ال أوافق Disagree محايد Neutral أوافق Agree أوافق Agree Strongly ب شدة )

Figure 2: Customers’ preference between social media and traditional media

In Figure 2 and Table 4, it can be seen that the majority of respondents prefer the new social media versus traditional media. In total, 59% of responses prefer social media (the green area in the circle). This means that there are significant effects of social media on the majority of Saudi consumers. Social media websites have many users in Saudi Arabia and they will be more

affected by the new social media than traditional media like papers and television. This result increases the validity of the research findings.

Table 5

Response percentages of respondents interest in becoming fans of Zara and H&M brands through Facebook and/or Twitter.

I am interested in becoming a "fan" of ZARA and H&M. through Facebook and/or Twitter.

Table 5 shows that 20.8% of responses state that the consumers agree with the statement (I am interested in becoming a "fan" of ZARA and H&M. through Facebook and/or Twitter.) 0.8% strongly agree with the statement. On the other hand, the majority of responses disagreed with the statement. Whereas 19.2% were neutral. This suggests that although many Saudi consumers use Facebook and Twitter, they do not necessarily want to follow pages of these specific brands. We can conclude that some Saudi customers do not prefer to use and participate in social media websites. This result suggest that Saudi consumers’ confidence in these pages is not significant.

Table 6

Consumers’ usage of social media to learn information on products.

I use social media to learn information on products provided by ZARA and H&M

Table 6 shows percentages of the usage of social media to learn information about Zara and H&M products. 28.5% of Saudi consumers agree that they use social media to learn information about the brands’ products. However, 26.2% disagree with the statement and 23.8% are neutral. The significance of this information is to show how many consumers’ actively use social media to learn information about products and services of companies. The percentages are close because some Saudi consumers use social media to investigate the products they want to buy, whereas other individuals do not prefer to do so and would like to personally ask the seller about the products in the store. Less than third of Saudi consumers use social media for this purpose. We can conclude that many Saudi consumers do not prefer to use Facebook and Twitter for product information, which implies that their confidence in these sites is limited. However, there are some Saudi consumers who prefer to use Facebook and Twitter for product information.

Table 7

Percentages that show the degree to which social media reaches customers of fashion retail industry.

I think that social media is an effective way to reach me as a customer when it comes to the fashion retail industry.

skipped question 1

( reach to way effective an is media social that think I retail fashion the to comes it when customer a as me أع ت ق د أن و س ا ئ ل ا إل ع ال م ا ال ج ت م اعي ه ي و س ي ل ة ف ع ال ة لل وص ول industry إ ل ي ك ع م ي ل ع ن د م ا ي ت عل ق ا أل م ر ب ق طاع ت جارة ا أل ز ي اء disagree Strongly ال أوافق بشدة ال أوافق Disagree محايد Neutral اوافق Agree Agree Strongly أوافق بشدة )

Figure 3: Percentages that show the degree to which social media reaches customers of fashion retail industry.

It can be seen in Figure 3 and Table 7 that the majority of consumers agree with the statement (I think that social media is an effective way to reach me as a customer when it comes to the fashion retail industry). The percentage for the agreement is 53.5%. Whereas 17.1 strongly agree with the statement. On the other hand, the total number of consumers who disagreed with

the statement is 10.9%. The significance of this information is to show consumer’s opinions of how effective the social media is as a marketing tool in the fashion retail industry. Most Saudi consumers agreed that social media is in fact an effective tool for marketing. The reason is that they receive offers, promotions, and information about the products through Facebook and Twitter. However, this result indicates that some consumer confidence exist in Facebook and Twitter.

Table 8

Frequencies of the number of users who receive retail promotions through social media.

I generally receive retail promotions through social media.

Table 8 displays frequencies of the number of users who receive retail promotions through social media. More than half respondents receive promotions and offers through social media with 49.2% of responses who agree and 10% responses who do not agree. It is clear that social media has reached out to consumers and is trying to attract them with promotions and special offers. Most Saudi consumers agree with the statement because of the active interaction of social media accounts of clothing brands. This fact indicates that brands are utilizing Facebook and Twitter effectively for marketing purposes.

Table 9

Customers’ preference towards Facebook.

I prefer to connect with clothing brands on Facebook

It can be seen from Table 9 that only 10.1% of Saudi Consumers prefer using Facebook to connect with clothing brands. On the other hand, 45% do not prefer to use Facebook to connect with clothing brands. In addition, 27.1 strongly disagree with the statement (I prefer to connect with clothing brands on Facebook). This information is significant in showing the degree to which Saudi users are using Facebook to connect to clothing brands. It can be concluded that Saudi users do not prefer to use Facebook for this purpose because they do not fully trust the information they receive from these social sites. In addition, they do not consider Facebook as an effective tool for connecting with clothing brands. We conclude that Saudi consumers’ confidence in Facebook is not strong.

Customers’ preference towards Twitter

answered question 128

skipped question 2

It can be seen in Table 10 that most responses do not prefer to connect with clothing brands on Twitter. A small percentage of 17.9% agree with the statement (I prefer to connect with clothing brands on Twitter). Whereas 63.3% disagreed with the statement. 18.8% had neutral opinions to the statement. By generalizing the information, it can concluded that the Saudi Consumers do not prefer to use Twitter to connect with clothing brands because they do not fully trust the information that is found on this social site. Consumers may not view Twitter as an effective marketing tool. We conclude that Saudi consumers’ confidence in Twitter is not strong.

( 56 ) ( Table 10 )

Table 11

Saudi consumers’ opinions on social media reviews.

Before purchasing a clothing item, I check a social media site for reviews and/or promotions.

( Before purchasing a clothing item, I check a social media site for reviews and/or promotions. ق ط ع ة أي ش را ء ق ب ل م ا ل ب س ، أ ق وم ب ا ل ت ح ق ق م ن م وا ق ع و س ا ئ ل ا ا ل ع ا ل م ا ا ل ج ت م ا ع ي ة ا ل س ت ع ر اض ا أ ل راء و ا ل ع ر وض ا ل ت ر و ي ج ي ة . Disagree Strongly ال أوافق بشدة ال أوافق Disagree محايد Neutral اوافق Agree أوافق Agree Strongly ب شدة )

Figure 4: Saudi consumers’ opinions on social media reviews.

In Figure 4 and Table 11, Saudi consumers’ opinions on social media reviews and promotions are investigated. It is clear that Saudi Consumers have different opinions regarding this matter. However, the largest responses of 27.3% stated that they do not check social media websites for promotions and reviews. On the other hand, 25.8% have agreed with the statement. Whereas 24.2% were neutral. The significance of this information is to show the different opinions

( 57 )

of Saudi consumers regarding checking social media before purchasing products. It appears that Saudi consumers have little confidence in Facebook and Twitter that makes them check the websites before purchasing products.

Table 12

Consumers’ purchase decisions.

I buy products based on the information I receive through a social media.

Figure 5: Consumers’ purchase decisions.

( 58 )

In Table 12 and Figure 5, the frequencies of Saudi consumers’ responses to the statement (I buy products based on the information I receive through a social media) are presented in a table and a pie chart. This statement indicates the customers’ trust in social media, which leads to making decisions based on the information that is available in social media. The number of customers who agree with the statement equals the number of customers who do not agree with the statement, which is 40 responses. However, 18 consumers strongly disagreed with the statement, whereas only 6 consumers strongly agreed with it. This indicates that customers who trust social media enough to make decisions based on the information that is available in social media websites are a less than half of Saudi Consumers, which indicate small confidence.

Table 13

Customers’ trust in Facebook and Twitter.

I trust Facebook and/or Twitter to provide me with useful and correct information about the product and brands of ZARA and H&M.

Figure 6: Customers’ trust in Facebook and Twitter.

In Table 13 and Figure 6, we recorded frequencies of customers’ responses to the statement (I trust Facebook and/or Twitter to provide me with useful and correct information about the product and brands of ZARA and H&M) to measure customers’ trust in social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter. 30.8% had neutral opinions regarding this statement, whereas 29.2% disagree with it. In addition, 20.8% agreed with the statement. Most responses have disagreed (or strongly disagreed) with the statement. It can be concluded that not all Saudi consumers trust Facebook and Twitter to make purchasing decisions.

Table 14

Credibility of social media.

I feel that the information diffused by Facebook and/or Twitter is credible.

Figure 7: Credibility of social media.

According to Table 14, the majority of frequencies of Saudi consumers’ responses regarding the statement (I feel that the information diffused by Facebook and/or Twitter are credible) were neutral by 42.3%. Frequencies with disagreement with the statement equaled

26.9%, whereas frequencies with agreement equaled 12.3%. In addition, 15.4% strongly disagreed with the statement. We concluded that Saudi consumers’ do not fully trust the information in social media websites.

Table 15

Honesty of Zara and H&M social sites

I think that ZARA and H&M are honest through their messages addressed to consumer.

Figure 8: Honesty of Zara and H&M social sites.

From Table 15, we conclude that the majority of respondents, 44.2%, chose to be neutral regarding the statement (I think that ZARA and H&M are honest through their messages addressed to consumer). 29.5% agreed to the statement whereas 7% strongly agreed. In addition, 14% disagreed with the statement and 5.4% strongly disagreed. It appears that Saudi consumers do not fully trust social media websites and base their decision on them. Many Saudi consumers do not believe that clothing brands are honest through their social media messages.

Table 16

Consumers’ trust of the brands service.

ZARA and H&M address favorably of its clients.

In Table 16, 40.3% of Saudi consumers agree to the statement (ZARA and H&M address favorably of its clients), which is the largest percentage in addition to 5.4% of customers who strongly agree. However, 38% of responses were neutral. On the other hand, 10.1% of customers disagreed with the statement and 6.2% strongly disagreed. This information is useful in identifying consumers’ trust of Zara and H&M social media pages. We conclude that some Saudi consumers trust the ability of Zara and H&M in providing useful content on their social pages.

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is a collection of statistical models used to analyze the differences among group means and their associated procedures developed by statistician and evolutionary biologist Ronald Fisher. We will use ANOVA analysis to test the effects of social media utilization on Saudi consumers’ confidence. The F statistic indicates the amount of overlap between distributions. A large F statistic indicates that the distributions barely overlap. A small F statistic indicates that the overlap is large.

Table 17

ANOVA analysis of the components of consumer’s confidence.

We can see from Table 17 that the p values for the components of consumer confidence is less than 0.05. This means that there is a relationship between consumer’s confidence and social media utilization. However, this relationship is not strong enough to confirm the effect of Facebook and Twitter on the Saudi consumer.

The results from the frequencies tables indicate some results and we will discuss these results and their significance to our research. First, the facts we concluded about Saudi consumers’ usage of social website include the following: many Saudi consumers use the internet mainly to use these social sites. Facebook and Twitter are widely used and very popular in Saudi Arabia. In addition, many Saudi Consumers realize the popularity of Facebook and Twitter, which proves that Facebook and Twitter are actually utilized and used in Saudi Arabia. The majority of Saudi consumers prefer social media rather than traditional media. These facts enhance the reliability of the results of further questions since they prove the effective utilization of Facebook and Twitter by brands and Saudi consumers.

Second, although many Saudi consumers use Facebook and Twitter, they do not necessarily want to follow pages of these specific brands. Less than third of Saudi consumers use social media to learn information about desired products. However, most Saudi consumers agreed that social media is in fact an effective tool for marketing. These results suggest that Saudi consumers’ utilization of pages of brands on Facebook and Twitter is not significant or large.

Third, Saudi users do not prefer to use Facebook for this purpose because they do not fully trust the information they receive from these social sites. . In addition, they do not consider Facebook as an effective tool for connecting with clothing brands. Additionally, Saudi Consumers do not prefer to use Twitter to connect with clothing brands either, because they do not fully trust the information that is found on this social site.

Fourth, it appears that Saudi consumers do not trust social websites enough to check them before purchase. Customers who trust social media enough to make decisions based on the information that is available in social media websites are a less than half of Saudi Consumers. It

can be concluded that Saudi consumers do not trust Facebook and Twitter yet to make purchasing decisions. Saudi consumers do not believe that clothing brands are honest through their social media messages. However, they realize the effective utilization of Facebook and Twitter as marketing tools.

Recommendations for managers of companies to improve their social media pages, which would improve the confidence of their customers’, include the following: First, it is important that the design and the layout of the Facebook and Twitter pages of the company are attractive. Appearances play an important role in attracting e-commerce customers. Appealing web outline has constantly assumed a key part in fruitful online deals and showcasing. That is on account of expanding the general estimation of the organization's items and attempts to make the site and business appear to be more dependable. Perspectives of targeted consumers should be considered.

The second recommendation for managers is to improve customers’ service in online pages on social sites. Potential customers are in a situation that makes them unable to examine the product in person, which leads to a host of problems: clothing may not fit, software may be incompatible, or a purchase may be damaged during shipping. Shoppers must measure themselves and study a sizing chart instead of simply entering a dressing room, or gather system requirements information instead of just asking a sales representative. Existing customers must diagnose problems by themselves, navigate self-help websites, or wait for a support rep to take them off hold. Any service an e-commerce retailer can provide to ease the cognitive costs of shopping online increases the customer is perceived value of the products.

The third recommendation for managers to improve their social pages is to maintain honest, integrity, credibility, and consistency in their interactions with customers. These elements will assist managers in increasing consumers’ confidence in their online business. It is also essential to provie updated and timely information to online customers and answer their enquiries.

Forth, it is recommended that managers should provide special offers and promotions in the company’s Facebook and Twitter pages in order to encourage customers to view these pages continuously. These promotions should only be provided for followers of the social site page. This action will motivate consumers to follow the company’s social pages and to inform their friends and relatives.

Fifth, managers should provide interactive games in the company’s social pages on Facebook and Twitter in order to attract customers to visit the page more often. They can allow customers to collect points through these games and then points can be exchanged for store credit, discounts, or special offers. The company’s social pages on Facebook and Twitter should have more features than the company’s website in order to attract customers. For example, managers can provide limited edition products that are provided for followers of its social pages only.

The impacts of online networking are not something entrepreneurs can bear to neglect. According to Roesler (2015), customers who use online networking amid their shopping procedure are four times more prone to spend more on buys than the individuals who do not. In addition, customers are 29 percent more prone to make a buy that day when utilizing online networking to shop before or amid a visit to the store. These interesting facts make it necessary that further research should be conducted about social media and consumers’ behaviors.

The new innovative social media plays a key role in people’s lives. Individuals and companies utilize these social websites for different purposes. While the purposes for using social media may differ, many companies are utilizing these websites for advertisement and marketing purposes. In addition, many Saudis use social media constantly for various reasons.

This research project seeks to investigate the Saudi consumer’s confidence in Facebook and Twitter as marketing tools. We investigated the social media and consumer behavior and the utilization of social media websites. We addressed consumer confidence in social media in the Middle East and in Saudi Arabia specifically. We identified the three components of consumer’s confidence, which are honesty, credibility, and consistency

We developed three hypotheses based on the three components of consumer’s confidence, which are honesty, credibility, and consistency. The first hypothesis H1: There is a positive relationship between the utilization of Facebook and Twitter to buy clothes and honesty. The second hypothesis H2: There is a positive relationship between the utilization of Facebook and Twitter to buy clothes and credibility. The third hypothesis H3: There is a positive relationship between the utilization of Facebook and Twitter to buy the clothes and consistency.

We used a questionnaire that consists of 15 questions and three dimensions. The questionnaire is a Likert-like rating scale of 1-5, which we analyzed quantitatively. We used frequency tables and ANOVA test to analyze our data. The results of the analysis provided a basis for answering the research question, Are there effects of Facebook and Twitter as tools of social media on the Saudi Consumer’s confidence?. the findings of the research were as follows:

First, H1: There is a positive relationship between the utilization of Facebook and Twitter to buy clothes and honesty. The first hypothesis is confirmed as there is evidence of the existence of a relationship between the utilization of Facebook and Twitter to buy clothes and consumers’ honesty. However, this relationship is not strong enough to generalize it on the entire population. Second, H2: There is a positive relationship between the utilization of Facebook and Twitter to buy clothes and credibility. There is a relationship between credibility and the utilization of Facebook and Twitter, therefore, we confirm the second hypothesis. However, as in the first

hypothesis, this relationship is not strong enough to generalize it on the Saudi population.

Third, H3: There is a positive relationship between the utilization of Facebook and Twitter to buy clothes and consistency. There is a relationship between the consistency, as a component of consumer’s confidence, and the utilization of Facebook and Twitter. The third hypothesis is confirmed. However, as in the first and the second hypotheses, this relationship is not strong enough to generalize it on the Saudi population.

While this research has provided us with interesting results, there are some limitations that served as obstacles in the way of generating better results. First, the time limitation of the research has forced us to use only quantitative methods of data collection and limit the number of methods of data analysis. Qualitative methods for collecting data provide understanding and description of people’s personal experiences of phenomena and can describe in rich detail phenomena as they are situated and embedded in local contexts. In addition, additional methods of data analysis could have added more reliability and validity to the findings.

Second, the number of researches as references in the same area was limited. A larger number of references in the area could have served as a guide to more solid literature review. In addition, previous researches did not include Saudi consumers in the sample and population.

Third, the questionnaire was limited and did not specify the respondents’ basic information, such as gender, age, and level of education. This information would have been useful in identifying which group of respondents has more confidence in social media websites. Therefore, the solution to the problem of the lack of confidence would be more clear.

The findings of our study indicate the need for additional research in the area of social media marketing and their effects on consumers. We will provide recommendations for researchers and managers to solve the problem of weak confidence of Saudi consumers in Facebook and Twitter pages. The first recommendation for researchers for further studies about the effects of social media on the Saudi consumer’s behavior should address more aspects of the consumer behavior. In addition to consumers’ confidence, other areas can be studied, such as satisfaction, commitment, attachment, and pleasure. These areas should be explored in order to fully understand the effects of the utilization of social media as marketing tools on the consumer’s behavioral aspects.

The second recommendation for researchers is the study of advertisements on Facebook and Twitter. Users of Facebook and Twitters are constantly faced with advertisements. Marketers believe that these advertisements will encourage consumers to have interest in viewing the company’s page and, hence, purchase their products. Further studies should investigate the effects of the Facebook and Twitter advertisements on the Saudi consumer.

Third, it is recommended that researchers should collect quantitative and qualitative data in future studies. Using multiple data collection methods will allow them to gain accurate and reliable data and increase their research validity. In addition, it is recommended that researchers should use multiple statistical analysis methods for analyzing the collected data.

Fourth, It is recommended that future researchers should collect the respondents’ basic information, such as gender, age, and level of education. This information will be useful in identifying which group of respondents has more confidence in social media websites. Therefore, researchers will be able to deduce accurate conclusions.

Fifth, investigating the extent to which Saudi consumers are affected by social media can open doors to study the negative effects that social media has on consumers. Future research about social media marketing should include many other areas such as brand awareness, website traffic, and fan engagement.

Fifth, in this study, the findings indicated that there is not a significant positive influence on the Saudi consumer’s confidence by Facebook and Twitter social sites. The reasons for this result can be addressed in future research. What is the reason for the lack of positive relationships between consumers’ confidence and Facebook and Twitter? It has been reported in the results of this research that social websites including Facebook and Twitter are widely used and known in Saudi Arabia. The reasons for the reluctance of consumers’ to have confidence in Saudi Arabia should be investigated and addressed. These reasons can include the lack of confidence in online shopping in general, the lack of confidence in specific brands, or the inability of the brands to deliver attractive image of the products through their pages in Facebook and Twitter.

This questionnaire aims to study the effects of Facebook and Twitter as social media tools on the Saudi consumer's confidence; this purpose is achieved by using Zara and H&M brands.

1. Is your main purpose of using the Internet is to use social media sites?

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

2. Two of the most popular social media websites used in KSA are Facebook and Twitter. Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

3. I prefer social media site such as Facebook or Twitter versus traditional media such as, TV, radio or newspaper.

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

4. I am interested in becoming a "fan" of ZARA and H&M. through Facebook and/or Twitter Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

5. I use social media to learn information on products/services

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

6. I think that social media is an effective way to reach me as a customer when it comes to the fashion retail industry.

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

7. I generally receive retail promotions through social media

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

8. I prefer to connect with clothing brands on Facebook.

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

9. I prefer to connect with clothing brands on Twitter.

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

10. Before purchasing a clothing item, I check a social media site for reviews and/or promotions. Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

11. I buy products based on the information I receive through a social media

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

12. I trust Facebook and/or Twitter to provide me with useful and correct information about the product and brands.

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

13. I feel that the information diffused by Facebook and/or Twitter is credible.

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

14. I think that Zara and H&M are honest through their messages addressed to consumer.

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

15. Zara and H&M address favorably of its clients.

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

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ANOVA