Name: Richa Dalal
Country: India

Year: 2025
Volume: Volume-12, Issue-2 (July-December)
Page Number: 389-405
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21806088

ABSTRACT
The long-term sustainability of modern businesses depends not only on attracting customers but also on maintaining enduring consumer relationships built on trust and transparency. Although deceptive marketing practices such as misleading advertisements, exaggerated product claims, hidden pricing, fake online reviews, manipulated discounts, false promotional offers, and ambiguous product information may generate short-term sales, they often undermine organisational credibility and weaken long-term customer relationships. With the rapid growth of digital commerce, consumers are increasingly exposed to sophisticated promotional strategies, making trust a critical determinant of customer retention and sustainable competitive advantage. This study analytically examines the long-term effects of deceptive marketing on consumer relationships by evaluating the mediating role of consumer trust and the moderating influence of demographic characteristics, including age, gender, education, and income. Using a cross-sectional, quantitative research design with Stratified Random Sampling, the study analyses consumer responses through descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation, regression, mediation, moderation, and ANOVA. The findings reveal that higher perceptions of deceptive marketing significantly reduce consumer trust, relationship commitment, and customer loyalty, while transparent communication, ethical business practices, and effective complaint resolution help strengthen long-term consumer relationships across diverse demographic segments.

Keywords: Deceptive Marketing, Consumer Relationships, Consumer Trust, Relationship Marketing, Consumer Loyalty, Marketing Ethics, Demographic Moderation, Mediation Analysis