User-Generated and Influencer Content in Social Commerce: A Review of Their Impact on Trust and Purchase Intention

The growing connection between social media and e-commerce has changed the way consumers make purchasing decisions. This review examines recent English-language studies published between ۲۰۲۲ and ۲۰۲۶ that explore how user-generated content and influencer content affect consumer trust, engagement, and purchase intention in social commerce. Fifteen peer-reviewed studies were reviewed, focusing on areas such as customer reviews, user-generated content advertising, creator-generated content, influencer credibility and authenticity, parasocial interaction, brand trust, and social-commerce purchasing behavior. Overall, the findings suggest that the characteristics of online content and its source play an important role in shaping consumers' responses. Factors such as information quality, authenticity, credibility, perceived usefulness, social presence, and similarity between creators and consumers can contribute to greater trust and engagement. Trust also emerges as a crucial link between social media content and consumers' purchase intentions. In the context of influencer-generated content, Relationships with creators-particularly those fostered through parasocial interactions and perceptions of credibility-can significantly shape consumers' attitudes, enhance brand engagement, and ultimately strengthen their purchase intentions. The reviewed studies also indicate that the effectiveness of content may vary across formats and platforms. In particular, short-form user-generated video content may be more effective than graphic content because it provides greater value and reduces the perceived distance between consumers and the content creator. The review concludes that a better understanding of social commerce requires considering content, creators, consumer relationships, and trust together. Further research is needed to examine these factors using integrated models, longitudinal studies, and cross-platform comparisons, particularly regarding content disclosure and algorithmic visibility.

کلیدواژه ها:

user-generated content ، influencer marketing ، social commerce ، consumer trust ، customer engagement ، purchase intention