This research examines the overall performance achievement of social media marketing (SMM) in Bangladesh by determining whether social media is successful in creating brand consciousness (i.e., brand preference, brand attachment, brand association, and brand loyalty) toward online consumers, which in turn may lead to buying commitment. In total, 564 Bangladeshi consumers were surveyed to monitor their responsiveness toward social media-aided motivations. We selected the online buying environment in Bangladesh, which is an emerging market established less than one decade ago. We specifically choose the entire local fashion industry as our target market, excluding the websites of international fashion brands operated overseas. We used the holistic concept of the five aspects of SMM, namely, interaction, entertainment, customization, electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and trendiness. Moreover, we statistically calculated the performance of social media through the consequences of five measures, namely, brand loyalty, brand preference, brand attachment, brand association, and buying commitment. We used regular linear multiple regression, correlation, and descriptive statistics to obtain statistical results. The study found strong evidence that SMM efforts (SMMEs) of the local Bangladeshi fashion industry are successful in establishing consumer attachment and preference. However, they fail to secure committed buyers when the measurement scale is below 50%. In line with the results of previous studies on consumer loyalty, our results demonstrate that SMMEs fail to create committed buyers. Lack of loyalty and association drive consumers to become uncommitted buyers.

E-fashion brand competition has historically been studied from an attitudinal lens, through surveys and theory-based approaches. These studies generally examine consumer attitudes, satisfaction and loyalty; highlighting that trust, satisfaction and reputation are key e-commerce success elements. However, the empirical consumer behaviour literature rebuts the use of attitudes to explain brand performance, criticising their subjectivity and the overall ineffectiveness of loyalty as a brand growth tool. The article presents Gerald Goodhardt and colleagues' Dirichlet model as an alternative approach to understanding e-fashion buyer behaviour. The Dirichlet model is a robust, stochastic model that has reliably predicted well-established lawlike patterns of buyer behaviour and brand competition. We apply Dirichlet modelling to a new, non-fast moving consumer goods category to extend consumer behaviour research in the online environment. The study uses consumer panel data from the United Kingdom, across two consecutive years. We conclude that the Dirichlet model has an excellent fit within the eBay fashion brand market. The study also identifies that the well-known double jeopardy pattern exists within this market, demonstrating that e-fashion brands grow through acquisition rather than retention of customers. This provides a different viewpoint than most e-fashion brand growth literature. In addition to this, we examine the predictive capability of the Dirichlet model. We use a holdout sample to show that the model can predict future brand performance metrics, which is an exciting new development in consumer behaviour research.