The Impact Mechanism of Short-Form Video and Digital Marketing on Generation Z Consumers' Purchase Behavior: The Mediating Role of Consumer Engagement and Trust Validation

Abstract

This study investigates the mechanisms through which short-form video and digital marketing influence the purchase behavior of Generation Z consumers in mobile e-commerce environments. Grounded in the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework, this paper constructs an individual-time two-way fixed effects (TWFE) panel model, a bootstrapped serial mediation regression system, and a multi-group Structural Equation Model (SEM) using a 6-month micro-level panel dataset of 3,000 user-month observations (; 500 Gen Z consumers, ages 18–27). Methodologically correcting baseline model specification, empirical estimation reveals a robust total effect of digital marketing stimuli on consumer spend (), supporting Hypothesis H1. When unboxing the transmission mechanism, digital marketing exerts a direct effect of  (), while digital engagement (click frequency and cart additions, , BC 95% CI [0.0391, 0.0662]) and trust validation (time-varying merchant rating and fulfillment latency, , BC 95% CI [0.0230, 0.0398]) serve as significant independent mediators, validating H2 and H3. Furthermore, the serial chain "Digital Marketing Stimulus  Consumer Engagement  Trust Validation  Purchase Spend" is statistically confirmed (, BC 95% CI [0.0128, 0.0246]), supporting H4. Robustness checks using one-period lagged treatment () and PSM-TWFE confirm causal identification. Multi-Group SEM and group TWFE regressions demonstrate that regional economic development significantly moderates the trust gate (), with consumers in higher-GDP provinces exhibiting stronger sensitivity to trust validation. Targeted platform governance and algorithm calibration strategies are discussed