The Influence of Social Media on Customers’ Decision-Making in Selecting Fine-Dining Restaurants: A Study of Facebook Pages in Karachi

Abstract

Nowadays social media is the fastest, least expensive and the most effective way of marketing to their customers. It has become a new digital version of "word of mouth" and has become an integral part of the road to business success around the world. The study aimed to investigate how restaurants can attract the attention of their customers and stimulate their interest in visiting a great restaurant and get ideas from participants who visit that restaurant after a Facebook review/Facebook pages. The study reported that the effects of online reviews, recommendations, likes and dislikes and group feedback have a significant effect on Patronization of Restaurants. The study clearly shows that all the variables had a great impact on Patronization of Restaurants as people are mostly following online reviews via social media channels which create significantly negative impact on restaurants. People sometimes give bad reviews or biased on through personal opinion which reflects the bad image of restaurants. Moreover, it is concluded that recommendations and group feedbacks create a positive impact on restaurants and supports a great patronization.