Smart Devices and Real-Time Data Collection for Effective Digital Marketing Strategies in Europe. A Case Study of Greece

In the era of smart technology and real-time data, a new marketing paradigm has emerged, empowering organizations with numerous tools and insights to connect with consumers and optimize the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. This study seeks to uncover the level and nature of these technologies' adoption, the impact, barriers, and implications of these technologies in the Greek context, using the UTAUT as a conceptual framework. Data was collected from 320 marketing professionals in Greece, using a descriptive research design, which yielded quantitative data. Measurement instrument was psychometrically evaluated using reliability and validity tests. Cronbach's alpha coefficients, Composite Reliability (CR), Average Variance Extracted (AVE), Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and common method bias assessment were done to validate the constructs. Furthermore, the stability and the predictive ability of the proposed model were tested by regression diagnostics and robustness tests. The study's findings suggest a significant impact of smart devices on marketing outcomes through enhanced data collection, leading to increased customer engagement and campaign efficacy. Yet the economic challenges, such as costs, complex integration processes and data protection concerns are recognised as obstacles to large-scale implementation, especially for SMEs. Regulatory requirements, like GDPR, and suitable infrastructure and training are also brought to the fore as significant issues. The study looks at what these technologies might offer at the positive end, as well as at regional disparities and problems of particular technologies. The findings will help to enrich the knowledge on digital marketing and the incorporation of sophisticated technology devices in a variety of financial and legal systems, giving relevant recommendations to managers and policy makers in the use of the smart devices in different settings. The study provides a contribution to the identification of improvements for digital marketing in Greece and in other countries by setting international benchmarks, and Greek market specifics as two pillars of research.