DRIVERS OF MUSLIM GENERATION Z MEN’S PURCHASE DECISIONS TOWARD NON-HALAL-CERTIFIED LOCAL PERFUMES IN BANDUNG

Abstract

The increasing use of local perfumes aligns with the growing attention of men toward appearance and self-personalization. Amid this trend, the existence of local perfumes without halal certification raises questions regarding the extent to which the halal dimension is considered in purchasing decisions. In response to this phenomenon, this study aims to provide an overview of halal awareness, product quality, price, social media influencers, and purchasing decisions of non-halal-certified local perfumes. Furthermore, this study analyzes the influence of halal awareness, product quality, price, and social media influencers on purchasing decisions using a quantitative approach with a causal design, complemented by descriptive analysis to explore data characteristics. The relationships among variables were modeled using the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method with the assistance of SmartPLS 4 software. Data were collected from 220 Muslim male Generation Z respondents residing in Bandung City. The descriptive results show that product quality, price, social media influencers, and purchasing decisions fall into the high category, while halal awareness is in the moderate category. The hypothesis testing results reveal that halal awareness has a negative and insignificant effect on purchasing decisions of non-halal-certified local perfumes, while product quality, price, and social media influencers have a positive and significant effect. These findings highlight the paradox between halal awareness and functional factors among Muslim Generation Z men and encourage active collaboration between producers, the government, and society to strengthen halal strategies and industrial digitalization for the advancement of local industries.