Investigating Consumer Purchase Decision in Tiktok Affiliate Marketing in Malaysia

Abstract

Online affiliate marketing involves compensating third parties to promote a retailer's products and services, with the goal of increasing traffic and sales. Despite the number of affiliate marketing increasingly used by brands year by year, the number of studies on affiliate marketing from consumer purchase decision is still lacking. Therefore, this study intends to investigates how TikTok Affiliate Marketing affects customer purchasing decision and it is focusing in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, which was then thematically analysed. Four major themes emerged: i) credibility and relational trust, ii) content value and information quality, iii) platform-driven engagement and personalisation, and iv) technical comfort and perceived ease of use. The findings indicate that TikTok's seamless integration of short-form video content with e-commerce capability promotes both rational and emotional engagement, hence increasing customer trust and buy intent. The result also emphasises the success of affiliate-influencer methods in establishing social proof and emotional resonance, bolstering TikTok's position as a strong platform for affecting digital consumer behaviour. These findings add to the increasing research on social commerce and have practical implications for marketers looking to use TikTok's affiliate network.