Sports stars influence consumer choices

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how consumers in a social media group in North Texas describe the influence of their favourite sports celebrities on their interest in, evaluation of, and purchase of products the athlete has endorsed. Prior empirical research contributed to the topic of this study and is the anchor of the research. The defined problem space aligns with research conducted on the subject and the suggestions of their authors for future research. Celebrity endorsements are a commonly used strategy for marketing communication efforts. Through celebrity endorsements, a firm hopes to connect its product or service with consumers based on the credibility of the celebrity. A person is defined as a celebrity if they have a significant profile in the entertainment or sports industries and recognition by the general public based on their accomplishments (Friedman & Friedman, 1979; Nanda & Khandelwal, 2017)