Effect of online marketing on cloth business growth in Tanzania: A case study of Arusha City

Abstract

This study sought to establish the effect of online marketing on cloth business growth in Tanzania, a case of Arusha City through the quantitative approach. The sample of three hundred and thirty five (335) cloth business owners in Arusha City were selected through simple random sampling but the response rate was three hundred (300) respondents which is 89.5% of the total sample. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data. The study established that cloth business people participated in online marketing and advertisement in the social network was useful for their business. There is a significant difference in the use of online marketing strategy by cloth business people in Arusha City categorized according to gender whereby the rate of females’ participation was higher than the rate of male participation. There is a significant positive relationship between online marketing strategy and growth of cloth business in Arusha City. Based on the conclusions of the study, the researcher recommends that as lack of accessibility to internet was the key challenges that reduced the rate of participation in online marketing, there is need for cloth business owners to unite and purchase electronic devices that supply reliable internet network for them to keep browsing while running their business. Furthermore, there is a need for continuous education especially in business areas as the level of education enhanced the growth of the business. Finally, cloth business owners need to be encouraged to use online marketing as the same increases the rate of business growth.

Keywords:

Online, marketing, cloth business, Arusha, Tanzania, growth, Arusha, advertisement.