The Effect of Brand Awareness and Brand Image on Purchasing Decisions for Scarlett Whitening Products

: Two factors influence consumers' decision to purchase a product, namely brand awareness and brand image. This study examines the significant influence of brand awareness and brand image on purchasing decisions for Scarlett Whitening products. The data used is primary data. All consumers who know and have/are using Scarlett Whitening are the population in this research. The sample collected was 106 respondents. The sampling technique used was non-probability sampling, namely the purposive method (judgment sampling). Data was collected using an online questionnaire (Google-form) distributed through social media. The analysis technique used is validity and reliability testing, multiple linear analysis models to generate t-test results, F-test, and coefficient of determination. The findings of this study are brand awareness and brand image, both of which affect purchasing decisions positively and significantly. The results of this study imply that companies can increase efforts to build and increase brand awareness and a positive brand image.


Introduction
Along with the development of the era, people have become more aware of their needs in terms of appearance, especially face and skin care. A face and skin that looks soft, bright, and healthy attract everyone. This is what causes companies in the field of cosmetics, especially skincare, to compete to issue various variants of facial and skin care products. In 2022, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said that the chemical pharmaceutical industry and traditional medicines, including the cosmetics sector, experienced a growth of 9.39%. The phenomenon in Indonesia related to the development of the cosmetics sector, especially the skin and facial care category, is increasing consumer interest in products that are effective and safe for the face and skin and increasing consumer awareness and desire for the importance of skincare. One of the local skincare products currently phenomenal and widely discussed on social media is Scarlett Whitening by Felycia Angelista. This brand is known for its products that can whiten facial skin and remove dark spots. With the tagline "Reveal Your Beauty" Scarlett Whitening offers beauty products such as body lotion, body scrub, facial wash, face mask, face serum, and sunscreen. The trend of using Scarlett products in Indonesia continues to increase, especially the ease of access through online and offline sales. According to Scarlett Whitening's sales data, the brand is at the top of the market share at 11.32% and can beat its competitors, who are international brands. During the second quarter (2022), sales revenue of Scarlett Whitening products alone reached more than Rp 23.8 billion (Jumeneng et al., 2023).
Purchasing decisions are consumer efforts to identify all possible options for solving problems and assess options systematically and objectively as well as goals that determine the advantages or disadvantages of each (Eli Achmad Mahiri, 2020). There are many factors that influence it such as brand awareness and brand image. Consumers who are aware of the existence of a brand will easily get information and make the product an alternative choice. Planting and creating a brand memory in the minds of consumers is very important in an effort to increase consumer purchase intention for a product. Not only brand awareness, consumers also view brand image as an important factor of a product. In other words, brand image and brand awareness are one of the drivers for consumers to make purchasing decisions on a product.  Yunita & Indriyatni (2022) state that brand awareness and brand image do not affect purchasing decisions. So this research is motivated by some inconsistent results of previous research. The advantage of this research is that the variables used are relevant to recent phenomena and the sample obtained also has a wide scale because the questionnaire is distributed online and offline so that the respondents obtained are not biased (Fachrudin & Taufiqurahman, 2022).

Agency Theory
According to Kotler, a purchase decision is a stage where consumers have made a choice and are ready to purchase or exchange money and a promise to pay for the right to ownership or use of a good or service. In purchasing decisions, primary factors influence consumers, namely purchase intention and purchase decision (Ragatirta & Tiningrum, 2021). Many factors influence consumer purchasing decisions for a beauty product, such as brand awareness and image. The higher the level of brand awareness and brand image, the more consumer purchasing decisions will increase. Purchasing decisions also have several indicators such as {1} Steadiness to buy after knowing product information, {2} Deciding to buy because the brand is most preferred, {3} Buying because of needs and desires, {4} Buying because of recommendations and reviews from others (Pradana et al., 2018).

Brand Awareness
According to Aaker, brand awareness is the ability of consumers to recognize or remember that a brand is a member of a particular product category. If a person is aware and knows about a brand, of course, that person will become interested and intend to try to buy a brand, in contrast to people who do not know the brand (Wardhana, 2022). Of course, consumers will not accept the product. So, the higher the consumer awareness of a brand, the more likely consumers will buy the product. According to Kotler and Keller, four indicators can be used to determine how far consumers recognize a brand: {1} Recall, which is how far consumers can remember when asked what brands they remember, {2} Recognition, which is how far consumers can recognize the brand into a particular category, {3} Purchase, which is how far consumers will include the name of a brand in choices when buying a product/service, {4} Consumption, which is how far consumers can recognize brands when using products and services (Sari, 2021).
Brand Awareness is one of the important factors in consumer purchasing decisions for a product. If someone knows and is aware of a brand, they will be interested in buying it (Supangkat & Pudjoprastyono, 2022). High brand awareness will significantly affect the memories of consumers on a brand and when consumers recall a particular product. This is in line with previous research conducted by Cahyani & Sutrasmawati (2022); Sari et al. (2020); Fachrudin & Taufiqurahman (2022) which state that brand awareness has a positive and significant influence on purchasing decisions, so the first hypothesis in this study is:

Brand Image
Nguyen and Leblanc state that brand image is the overall impression formed in people's minds about the company. Image is related to business names, product variations, traditions, ideologies, and beliefs of brand quality (Priansa, 2017). A brand image comes from experience, giving an idea that there has been involvement between consumers and brands. A good brand image will have a positive impact on the company because it can provide satisfaction to consumers so that it can increase consumer attractiveness to use a product/service. According to Da Silva and Alwi, the brand image indicators are as follows: {1} The level of physical attributes, namely recognizing names, brands, and logos, {2} The level of functional implications, namely the risks or benefits that will be obtained, {3} The psychosocial implications, namely the feeling of pleasure and comfort when wearing it (Indrasari, 2020).
In building a company impression and increasing purchasing decisions, brand image is an important factor influencing it. Brands with a better image can reflect better product quality in the eyes of consumers. Consumers tend to choose brands with a good or positive brand image when making purchases. Positive consumer perceptions about a brand can influence purchasing decisions. This is in line with previous research conducted by Fachrudin & Taufiqurahman (2022); Rosita & Novitaningtyas (2021); Supangkat & Pudjoprastyono (2022) which state that brand image has a positive and significant effect on purchasing decisions then the second hypothesis in this study is: People currently make more beauty product purchasing decisions regarding brand awareness and brand image because most consumers buy beauty products driven by the suitability of consumers in using these products. Because not all beauty products have ingredients that are suitable for consumers. So brand awareness and brand image of a product are very influential on purchasing decisions (Supangkat & Pudjoprastyono, 2022).

Method
People who know and have used Scarlett Whitening products are the population in this study. The sampling technique used is non-probability sampling using the purposive sampling method (judgment sampling). This study's response criteria or samples are aged 17-50 years, know Scarlett Whitening products, and have experience using Scarlett Whitening skincare or cosmetic products. The data type used is primary data obtained from online questionnaires using Google Forms. The sample collected in this study was 106 respondents. Researchers used a Likert scale with five scales ranging from "Strongly disagree" with points 1 to "Strongly agree" with points 5.  (Sari, 2021) 1. "Reveal Your Beauty" is Scarlett Whitening's tagline. 2. Body lotion, body scrub, facial wash, face mask, face serum, and sunscreen are some of the variants of Scarlett Whitening products. 3. Scarlett Whitening's packaging has bright and attractive colors in each product variant. 4. When asked about the local skincare category, the brand that comes to my mind is Scarlett Whitening. Brand Image (Indrasari, 2020) 1. The Scarlett Whitening brand is well-known to many people. 2. I can easily recognize the Scarlett Whitening logo. 3. Scarlett Whitening products are beneficial in solving my face and skin problems. 4. I feel comfortable using Scarlett Whitening products. 5. I am suitable to use Scarlett Whitening products. Purchasing Decision (Pradana et al., 2018) 1. I will buy Scarlett Whitening after knowing the products. 2. Scarlett Whitening is my favorite brand. 3. Scarlett Whitening products is a brand that can help my skin and facial care needs. 4. I will surely buy Scarlett Whitening products after reading reviews and recommendations from others.

Result
This research was conducted by distributing online questionnaires via Google form to various social media such as Instagram, Twitter, and Whatsapp. The data collected is 106 with the characteristics of the respondents as in Table 2. Table 3 shows the results of the validity test of each research variable instrument. Table 4 is the result of the reliability test of 106 respondents, which states that all variables in the study are reliable because Cronbach's alpha value is > 0.70.    Table 4 shows that brand awareness affects purchasing decisions for Scarlett products, which means that the first hypothesis is accepted. This result is in line with previous research, which states that if someone realizes the existence of a brand, of course, they will be interested in making a purchase (Arianty & Andira, 2021). In addition, if the company builds a strong brand in the minds of customers, the company will have added value. Added value is the anchor that hooks the company to increase sales, and consumers increasingly recognize the brand (Yanti & Sukotjo, 2016). That recall is essential for purchasing decisions because consumers will tend to choose and make products with strong brands as a consideration of various alternatives to meet the needs of their face and skin.

Discussion
The results of the second hypothesis also prove that brand image affects purchasing decisions for Scarlett Whitening products. An established brand will have a strong position in the competition. Brand impressions that appear in consumers' memories will increase due to the increasing number of consumer experiences in consuming or making purchasing decisions for the brand (Yanti & Sukotjo, 2016). Consumers often buy products from wellknown brands because they feel more comfortable with familiar things. There is an assumption that famous brands can be more reliable so that consumers more often choose more prominent brands. The more associations that are related, the stronger the brand image created by the brand, brand image is a set of brand associations formed in the minds of consumers (Sari et al., 2020).

Conclusion
Based on the results of hypothesis testing, it can be concluded that brand awareness and brand image have a positive and significant effect on purchasing decisions for Scarlett Whitening products. The limitation is that this research only focuses on the variables of brand awareness and brand image, so that for further research other variables that influence purchasing decisions can be added, such as brand loyalty, brand personality, brand extension, promotion with selling promotion, E-WOM and viral marketing because these variables are often a topic that many people are discussing lately. Future research can also consider other data collection techniques, such as interviews or focus group discussions. With these methods, future research can gain a deeper and more accurate understanding of how brand awareness and brand image influence the purchasing decisions of skincare brands (Supangkat & Pudjoprastyono, 2022).