Clicks to cravings: how social media serves as the culinary compass for Sri Lankan youth's food choices

Abstract

Sri Lanka's food industry is changing, and young people are using the internet more and more to get food recommendations as a result of the economic crisis of 2021. This has caused many food companies to move to virtual marketing. The impact of social media marketing (SMM) versus traditional media marketing (TMM) on the food purchasing behavior of Sri Lankan youth (18–30 years old) is examined in this study, which looks at the effective marketing strategies for this demographic given the widespread use of social media among young people. Two hypotheses were investigated using quantitative methods: H0, which states that there is no significant difference in purchasing decisions between youth exposed to TMM and SMM, and H1, which states that young Sri Lankans prefer SMM. Using R software, the analysis validated H1, showing that there is a stronger positive relationship (r = 0.5413) between SMM and youth food purchases than there is with TMM (r = 0.1108). A significant difference in conversion rates was noted for youth exposed to SMM (p < 0.001), but not for TMM (p = 0.1913), according to Welch's t-test. This study shows empirically that SMM influences young Sri Lankan consumers' food choices more than TMM does, highlighting the significance of digital marketing tactics for this group. These findings have an impact on companies and marketers who want to attract and keep young customers in the rapidly changing digital landscape.