The Impact of Online Product Reviews on Gen Z’s Consumers’ Purchase Intentions for Fashion Products in E-Commerce in Hanoi, Vietnam

Abstract

This study investigates the profound influence of online product reviews on Generation Z consumers' purchase intentions for fashion products within Hanoi, Vietnam's burgeoning e-commerce landscape. Recognizing Gen Z as a leading force shaping contemporary consumption trends due to their digital fluency and reliance on community-driven information, this research applies and extends the Heuristic – Systematic Model (HSM). It decomposes heuristic and systematic cues while integrating online reviews acceptance as a pivotal mediating variable in the consumer information processing pathway. Utilizing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) on survey data from 220 Gen Z consumers in Hanoi, the findings confirm that review credibility, review quality, and review quantity significantly enhance consumers' trust and directly impact their online fashion purchase intentions. Notably, review quantity elicits a social contagion effect and improves perceived quality, while review quality supports deliberate and informed purchase decisions. Crucially, online review acceptance—reflecting consumers' integration of review content—is identified as a strong predictor of purchase intention. This study offers unique empirical insights from an underrepresented emerging market, enriching theoretical discourse on digital consumer behavior and providing valuable managerial and policy implications for optimizing online review strategies tailored to this influential cohort.