The Influence of User-Generated Content (UGC) on Generation Z Purchase Decisions on E-Commerce Platforms

This study aims to analyze the influence of User-Generated Content (UGC) characteristics, namely authenticity, relevance, and emotional engagement, on Generation Z's purchasing decisions on e-commerce platforms. In addition, this study also explores the role of trust as a mediator and social influence (recommendations of friends/micro-influencers) as moderation variables in these relationships. The method used is a quantitative approach with the distribution of online questionnaires to 250 Generation Z respondents who are actively shopping through platforms such as Shopee and Tokopedia. The purposive sampling technique ensures the relevance of the sample, while the data is analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) after being tested for reliability (Cronbach's Alpha) and convergent validity. SEM results showed that UGC authenticity was the strongest predictor of purchase decisions (β = 0.38; p < 0.001). Emotional engagement from visual content (unboxing videos, tutorials) and user reviews also increases consumer trust by up to 27%.