Evaluating the Determinants of Digital Marketing Channels on Consumer Buying Behavior in the Kathmandu Valley

This empirical study evaluates the influence of five key digital marketing channels: Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Content Marketing (CM), Social Media Marketing (SMM), Affiliate Marketing (AM), and E-mail Marketing (EM) on consumer buying behavior in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. A quantitative descriptive and explanatory research design was adopted to collect primary survey data from 300 active digital consumers across the Kathmandu Valley using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire. Descriptive, Cronbach’s alpha reliability analysis (α = 0.871), Pearson correlation and Chi-square tests of independence were conducted to evaluate the impact of various digital marketing channels on consumer buying behavior. The study results revealed that Search Engine Marketing (χ 2 = 243.433, p < .001), Social Media Marketing (χ2 = 231.653, p < .001), and Affiliate Marketing (χ 2 = 381.387, p < .001) significantly contribute to consumer buying behavior in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, while Content Marketing (p = .673) and E-mail Marketing (p = .453) have no notable direct influences on the behavior of consumers in the Chi-square analysis though they showed a positive Pearson correlation. This study offers implications for marketing managers and digital strategy experts in emerging economies.

Keywords: Digital marketing, Consumer buying behavior, Search engine marketing, Social media marketing, Affiliate marketing, Emerging market, Nepal.