Effects of Social Media Application on Sales Performance among Small Entrepreneurs: A Case of Women Clothing Stores in Mkolani Nyamagana Tanzania

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of social media applications on sales performance among Small Entrepreneurs from the Mkolani ward in Nyamagana District. The study advanced three specific research objectives which were: (i) to determine the effects of WhatsApp social media usage on sales performance among small entrepreneurs, (ii) to determine the effects of Facebook social media usage on sales performance among small entrepreneurs, and (iii) to examine the effects of Instagram social media usage on sales performance among small entrepreneurs. The study used a quantitative research design whereby data collection was done in the form of questionnaires that were rated on a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 183 questionnaires were returned dully filled. Data was analyzed quantitatively with the help of SPSS version 24 and presented in descriptive and inferential statistics. Specifically, the demographic profiles of the respondents were presented in the form of frequency and percentages. The findings revealed that WhatsApp usage and Facebook usage were statistically significant while Instagram was not significant. The study contributes by informing SMEs who engage in selling clothes stores from Mkolani ward on the most used tools for their business success. In summary, the results showed that WhatsApp and Facebook were significant variables for sales performance where Facebook was most significant followed by WhatsApp and last is Instagram which was not statistically significant. Since the study found two variables to be significant, it reflects the most used digital tools for online business and trading. Hence, the SMEs in clothing stores should utilize the two most used tools (WhatsApp and Facebook) and tag the customers to improve their sales performance in their business.