USER-GENERATED CONTENT AND PURCHASE INTENTION OF GENERATION Z (A STUDY ON @HALAMANTERAKHIR_)

Abstract

This quantitative study examined the effect of user-generated content (UGC) on purchase intention among Generation Z users of the Instagram account @halamanterakhir_. UGC was measured through four dimensions: credibility, informativeness, attractiveness, and engagement. Purchase intention was operationalized through interest, intention to purchase, and recommendation willingness. The sample consisted of 120 Generation Z respondents (age 17–28) domiciled in West Java who are active Instagram users and have seen or interacted with @halamanterakhir_ content. Data were collected with a Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS v27 with simple linear regression. Results show that UGC significantly predicts purchase intention (R = .604, R² = .365, F(1,118) = 67.78, p < .001). The regression coefficient indicates that a one-unit increase in UGC score is associated with a 0.472 increase in purchase intention. The study concludes that UGC explains 36.5% of the variance in purchase intention among Generation Z in this sample. Practical implications for social media marketing and limitations are discussed.