This study examined social identity and self-concept as determinants of consumer purchasing behavior among Nigerian netizens using GTCO, OPAY, and Wema Bank digital financial services. The research employed a quantitative cross-sectional survey design with data collected from 384 respondents across five major Nigerian cities. The structured questionnaire measured social identity, self-concept, and consumer purchasing behavior dimensions. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, ANOVA, and multiple regression techniques. Findings revealed that social identity (M = 3.35) and self-concept (M = 3.49) significantly influence consumer behavior, with self-concept demonstrating stronger effects across behavioral outcomes. Both constructs showed significant positive correlations with satisfaction, loyalty, and recommendation intentions. Regression analyses confirmed that identity factors contribute substantially to predicting these behaviors even after controlling for functional considerations. OPAY users exhibited highest social identity scores while Wema Bank/ALAT users showed greatest self-concept congruence, suggesting different providers succeed through different psychological mechanisms. The study concludes that financial service provider selection involves identity work alongside functional evaluation, with implications for marketing strategy and financial inclusion policy in Nigeria's digital economy. Based on the findings of this study, it was therefore recommended that providers should craft brand positioning that explicitly connects functional benefits to identity outcomes, demonstrating how service features enable identity expression and social positioning, cultivate distinctive brand communities, and implement psychological segmentation by moving beyond demographic and behavioral segmentation to incorporate identity-based customer profiling, among others. Keywords: Netizens, Purchasing Behaviour, Social Identity, Self-Concept, Nigeria.
ADEDOKUN et al. (Mon,) studied this question.