A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON INFLUENCER MARKETING AND CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT IN MAXFASHIONS AND RELIANCE TRENDS

Abstract

Retail brands increasingly rely on marketing activities and celebrity endorsement to build awareness, shape brand image, and influence purchase decisions in an intensely competitive marketplace. This study undertakes a comparative examination of the influence of marketing activities and celebrity endorsement on consumer behaviour, with specific reference to two leading Indian value-fashion retailers, Max Fashion and Reliance Trends. A structured questionnaire was administered to 200 respondents drawn from the customers of the two brands, selected through simple random sampling, and the resulting primary data on respondent demographics, brand awareness, marketing effectiveness, and celebrity-endorsement perception was analysed using percentage analysis and tabulation. The results show that product quality, affordable pricing, and discounts and offers are the strongest drivers of purchase decisions and brand preference, while celebrity endorsement exerts only a moderate, supporting influence on brand awareness and purchase behaviour. Social media and word-of-mouth through friends and family emerged as the leading sources of brand awareness, and Reliance Trends was perceived to hold a marginally stronger brand image than Max Fashion. The study concludes that although celebrity endorsement contributes to brand recall and initial interest, core marketing fundamentals — product quality, pricing, and customer experience — have a considerably greater bearing on consumer preference and loyalty, and recommends that both brands strengthen these fundamentals while using celebrity endorsement selectively rather than as a primary strategy.