The Role of Brand Image in Mediating the Influence of Online Customer Reviews and Brand Ambassador Credibility on Purchase Decisions

The rapid growth of the cosmetic industry encourages companies to understand better the factors influencing consumers' purchase decisions. Online customer reviews and the use of brand ambassadors have become widely adopted marketing strategies to shape brand image in consumers' minds. This study focuses on Generation Z consumers of Skintific in Bali as a case study to analyze the effect of online customer reviews and brand ambassador credibility on purchase decisions, with brand image as a mediating variable. This study aims to examine the direct and indirect effects of online customer reviews and brand ambassador credibility on purchase decisions through brand image. The research population consists of Generation Z Skintific consumers in Bali. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling, involving 170 respondents. Data were collected through questionnaire distribution, and data analysis was conducted using variance-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results indicate that online customer reviews and brand ambassador credibility have a positive and significant effect on brand image and purchase decisions. Furthermore, brand image is proven to partially mediate the effect of online customer reviews and brand ambassador credibility on the purchase decisions of Generation Z Skintific consumers in Bali. These findings provide empirical contributions to the development of marketing studies, particularly in understanding consumer purchasing behavior in the cosmetic industry.