THE ROLE OF USER-GENERATED IMAGES AND SELLER TRUST IN SHAPING GENERATION Z PURCHASE INTENTION
Abstract
This study examines the influence of user-generated images and seller trust on purchase intention among Generation Z Shopee users in Indonesia. The rapid growth of e-commerce has increased consumers’ reliance on visual information and online seller credibility when making purchase decisions. This research applies a quantitative explanatory approach using an online survey of 101 respondents aged 18–27 who actively shop on Shopee. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to evaluate the relationships between variables. The results show that user-generated images significantly enhance purchase intention by improving perceptions of product authenticity and reliability. In addition, seller trust positively influences purchase intention by reducing perceived risk and increasing confidence in online transactions. Both variables jointly contribute to shaping Generation Z’s purchasing behavior in digital marketplaces. This study provides empirical evidence on the role of visual content and trust in e-commerce decision-making, offering practical insights for online sellers to optimize review management and trust-building strategies.
Downloads
References
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211.
An, G. K., & Ngo, T. T. A. (2025). Uncovering the influence of social media marketing activities on Generation Z’s purchase intentions and eWOM for organic cosmetics. PLOS ONE, 20(6), e0325953.
APJII. (2025). Profil Perilaku Pengguna Internet Indonesia. https://survei.apjii.or.id
Ariyani, N. B. D., Hidayati, L. A., & Santosa, M. (2024). Pengaruh Brand Image, Online Customer Review, Online Customer Rating Dan E-Trust Terhadap Keputusan Pembelian Pada Ecommerce (Studi Empiris Pada Pengguna Shopee). Conference, 379–388.
Ba, S., & Pavlou, P. A. (2002). Evidence of the Effect of Trust Building Technology in Electronic Markets: Price Premiums and Buyer Behavior. MIS Quarterly, 26(3), 243.
Choi, C., Lee, I., & Yoo, H.-S. (2024). The Impact of Seller Trust in a C2C Platform on Golf Club Purchase Intention and the Interaction Effect of Regulatory Focus. Behavioral Sciences, 14(6), 479.
Cialdini, R. B. (1984). Influence: The psychology of persuasion. William Morrow.
Cochran, W. G. (1977). Sampling techniques. John Wiley & Sons.
Creswell, J. W. (2018). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. SAGE Publications.
Dewi, A. S., Wulandari, A., Rahayu, A., & Hendrayati, H. (2023). Gaining User Satisfaction of KAI-Access: E‐Service Quality Dimensions as Antecedent Through E‐Trust. Asia Pacific Management and Business Application, 011(03), 363–378.
Disastra, G. M., Hanifa, F. H., Wulandari, A., & Sastika, W. (2019). The Influence of Advertising Value on Advertising Attitude and its Impact on Purchase Intention BT - Proceedings of the Social and Humaniora Research Symposium (SoRes 2018). 426–432.
Donato, C., & Raimondo, M. A. (2021). The effects of online tactile information source for low-touch products on consumer responses. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 38(4), 364–373.
Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2015). Comparison of Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1–4.
Filieri, R., Lin, Z., Pino, G., Alguezaui, S., & Alessandro, I. (2021). The role of visual cues in eWOM on consumers’ behavioral intention and decisions. Journal of Business Research, 135, 663–675.
Fransiska, H., Heriyadi, H., Ramadania, R., & Pebrianti, W. (2025). E-commerce Revitalization Ease Study: The Role of User-Generated Content and Swift Guanxi in Reducing Shopping Cart Abandonment to Checkout Conversion on Shopee E-Commerce. Ilomata International Journal of Management, 6(1), 362–375.
Hassan, M., Iqbal, Z., & Khanum, B. (2018). The Role of Trust and Social Presence in Social Commerce Purchase Intention. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences (ISSN 1997-8553), 12(1), 111–135.
Isbahi, M. B., Zuana, M. M. M., & Toha, M. (2024). The Multi-Social Relation of the Cattle Industry in the Plaosan Subdistrict Animal Market of Magetan Regency. Malacca: Journal of Management and Business Development, 1(1), 31–46. https://doi.org/10.69965/malacca.v1i1.51
Kim, D. J., Ferrin, D. L., & Rao, H. (2009). Trust and Satisfaction, Two Stepping Stones for Successful E-Commerce Relationships: A Longitudinal Exploration. Information Systems Research, 20(2), 237–257.
Kübler, R. V., Lobschat, L., Welke, L., & van der Meij, H. (2024). The effect of review images on review helpfulness: A contingency approach. Journal of Retailing, 100(1), 5–23.
Lee, T. S., Ariff, M. S. M., Zakuan, N., Sulaiman, Z., & Saman, M. Z. M. (2016). Online Sellers’ Website Quality Influencing Online Buyers’ Purchase Intention. Iop Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering, 131, 12014.
Liu, Y., & Tang, X. (2018). The Effects of Online Trust-Building Mechanisms on Trust and Repurchase Intentions. Information Technology and People, 31(3), 666–687.
Luo, H., Zhou, W., Song, W., & He, X. (2022). An Empirical Study on the Differences between Online Picture Reviews and Text Reviews. Information, 13(7).
Ma, X., Mezghani, L., Wilber, K., Hong, H., Piramuthu, R., Naaman, M., & Belongie, S. (2018). Understanding image quality and trust in peer-to-peer marketplaces. In IEEE Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision (WACV). IEEE.
Prastiwi, S. K., Rohimat, A. M., & Aisyiah, H. N. (2022). Consumer Reviews, Ratings, and Gamification on Muslim Millennials’ Online Purchasing Decisions. Shirkah Journal of Economics and Business, 7(3), 267–285.
Rashid, R. M., Rashid, Q. u. A., & Pitafi, A. H. (2020). Examining the Role of Social Factors and Mooring Effects as Moderators on Consumers’ Shopping Intentions in Social Commerce Environments. Sage Open, 10(3).
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research Methods For Business: A Skill Building Approach. Wiley.
Senali, M. G., Iranmanesh, M., Ghobakhloo, M., Foroughi, B., Asadi, S., & Rejeb, A. (2024). Determinants of trust and purchase intention in social commerce: Perceived price fairness and trust disposition as moderators. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 64(December 2023), 101370.
Shaheen, R., & Ghasemi, M. (2025). Make it real with gen Z ! The impact AR reality congruence on brand information sharing : Exploring a sequential mediation mechanism. 9, 227–242.
Sirclo. (2025, April 30). Menelaah Lanskap E-Commerce Indonesia: Tren 2024 dan Proyeksi 2025. Sirclo Commerce. https://www.sirclo.com/press/menelaah-lanskap-e-commerce-indonesia-tren-2024-dan-proyeksi-2025-versi-sirclo
Spence, M. (1973). Job Market Signaling. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3), 355–374.
Sun, H. (2010). Sellers’ trust and continued use of online marketplaces. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 11(4), 182–211.
Turban, E., Outland, J., King, D., Lee, J., Liang, T.-P., & Turban, D. (2018). Electronic Commerce 2018: A Managerial and Social Networks Perspective.
Wang, J., Shahzad, F., Ahmad, Z., Abdullah, M., & Hassan, N. M. (2022). Trust and Consumers’ Purchase Intention in a Social Commerce Platform: A Meta-Analytic Approach. SAGE Open, 12(2), 1–15.
Wulandari, A., & Suryawardani, B. (2019). Advertisement Effectivity : Visibility , Purchasing Decision and Its Impact on. JAM : Jurnal Aplikasi Manajemen, 7(4), 719–728.
Ye, Q., Law, R., Gu, B., & Chen, W. (2011). The Influence of User-Generated Content on Traveler Behavior: An Empirical Investigation on the Effects of E-Word-of-Mouth to Hotel Online Bookings. Computers in Human Behavior, 27, 634–639.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dwi Anugrah Setiawati, Astri Wulandari, Alma Syifa Maulidina

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.















