A STUDY OF DIGITAL CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT AND BRAND INTIMACY ACROSS FASHION SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

This study investigates how social media usage, engagement behavior, and emotional connection collectively influence consumer–brand relationships within the digital fashion industry. Using a quantitative, correlational research design, survey data from 414 active social media users across India were analyzed through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results reveal three distinct yet interrelated dimensions—Social Media Usage, Social Media Engagement, and Brand Intimacy—explaining over 54% of total variance. Findings demonstrate that engagement significantly mediates the relationship between social media usage and brand intimacy, indicating that consistent, interactive, and personalized content enhances emotional trust and loyalty. The study contributes theoretically by affirming engagement as a multidimensional construct encompassing behavioral and emotional elements, and by extending relationship marketing and social exchange theory in digital contexts. From an industry perspective, it emphasizes that authenticity, personalization, and transparency are key to fostering sustained engagement and emotional attachment. These insights provide a strategic framework for fashion brands to design human-centered, data-informed, and emotionally resonant digital marketing strategies that transform visibility into long-term brand intimacy and consumer loyalty.本研究探讨了数字时尚产业中，社交媒体使用、参与行为与情感联结如何共同作用于消费者-品牌关系。本研究采用定量相关研究设计，对来自印度的414名活跃社交媒体用户的调研数据展开分析，运用描述性统计、相关分析以及主成分分析（Principal Component Analysis，PCA）方法。研究结果揭示了三个既独立又相互关联的维度——社交媒体使用、社交媒体参与与品牌亲密感，其可解释总方差的54%以上。研究表明，社交媒体参与在社交媒体使用与品牌亲密感之间发挥显著的中介效应，即持续、互动且个性化的内容能够强化消费者的情感信任与品牌忠诚。本研究的理论贡献在于，证实了参与行为是涵盖行为与情感要素的多维度构念，并拓展了数字情境下的关系营销与社会交换理论。从产业实践视角而言，本研究强调真实性、个性化与透明度是培育持续参与行为与情感依附的核心要素。上述研究结论为时尚品牌提供了一套战略框架，助力其打造以用户为中心、基于数据且富有情感共鸣的数字化营销策略，将品牌曝光转化为长期的品牌亲密感与消费者忠诚。