Factors that Influence Consumer Behavior Patterns, when Purchasing Fashion Items - Essay Example

Research Proposal Factors that Influence Consumer Behavior Patterns, when Purchasing Fashion Items The aim and objective of this research is to identify the influence of various factors such as consumer behavior on the demand of fashionable product. It will also try to explore that what factors really motivate the purchase of this product. We will also be comparing the store loyalty of fashionable items and non-fashion items. Accordingly, our title for this research is as follows: Factors that Influence Consumer Behavior Patterns, when Purchasing Fashion Items ABSTRACT: This study will reveal a number of factors that do inflence the consumer behavior when making the buying decision for fashion goods. There are a number of factors that have such influence. Culture is one of those factors. Besides, there a number of such factors such as the subculture, the stage of life, age demographics, the personality and perception and so on. In this research, we will be identifying those factors and exploring their impact on the buying decision of the consumers for fashion goods. INTRODUCTION: We are living a global village, where culture frequently come into contact with one another and as a result affects them. As the level of communication and interaction are growing with the rapid advancement in information and communication technology, with the same acceleration fashion is changing. One of the main factors that influence these changes in the demand of fashionable goods is consumer behavior. Consumer behavior is a complicated and diverse area of study. Since marketing is based on identifying, anticipating and providing customer needs it is important to understand them. There are two predominant types of buying: consumer buying, which consists of buying products for personal use, and organizational buying, which involves buying for organizational purposes. For marketers to satisfy consumer needs more fully than competitors it is important to recognize the elements that influence buying. RESEARCH QUESTION: This research proposal will identify the main factors influencing consumer behavior patterns, particularly when purchasing fashion items. It will examine how buyer characteristics influence buyer behavior and also how retailers react to such characteristics. In particular this research proposal will look at the cultural factors, demographic factors and psychological factors that influence consumer buying. What are the influences consumer behavior for fashion item product? How do the influences differ? What are the motivations behind the purchases? In which fashion segment the consumers are more loyal? LITERATURE REVIEW: Cultural Factors Cultural influences, therefore, are powerful ones and if a company does not understand the culture in which a particular market operates, it cannot hope to develop products and market them successfully in that market. Culture affects consumer behavior in a variety of ways. It relates to customs and beliefs that are learned from the society in which an individual grows up. Culture is a huge area of study that often has unclear boundaries and fluctuates in degree of influencing consumers. Cultural elements that influence consumer behavior can also be said to be environmental influences. Reference groups A reference group is one that the individual tends to use as the anchor point for evaluating his/her own beliefs and attitudes,’ (American Marketing Association, 2004) A good example of primary reference groups is the street gangs in Manchester. Moran (2004) writes of the gangs of youths in which members must dress according to the code of their gang. The gangs can be identified through wearing hooded tops, bandanas, balaclavas and gold chains. However, the Manchester Magistrates Court has banned four members of a gang from wearing hooded tops, bandanas and balaclavas in an attempt to make them look less threatening and dilute the gang dress codes. Members and individuals who are influenced by the gangs are in an attempt to conform, more likely purchase items of clothing such as hooded tops and bandanas. Sub-culture A sub-culture could be defined as a group of individuals whose beliefs, values and behavior differ from that of the predominant culture. ‘Sub-culture plays an important part to marketers because of their influence on brands and types of product and services demanded by their members.’ Chisnall (1975) p.98. Mintel (2003) reports of an emerging fashionable youth sub-culture, in which extreme sports is the focal point. This culture is rebelling away from long working hours and heavy television watching lifestyle. In this alternative culture the interest and participation of extreme sports has merged with music and clothing. A strong emphasis of this culture can be seen through clothing and footwear in particular. Baggy clothing is a dominant dress code. Mintel also reports that levels of disposable incomes have influenced the rise in extreme sports. Between 1998 and 2003 disposable incomes have increased by 21%. Social Class Within every society there exists a class structure. This refers to individuals who share certain similar characteristics, such as occupation, socialization, education and income. The rigidity of the class structure varies greatly in different societies. England could be said to have an open society, within which it is easy to move from one class to another. However, less developed countries such as Cambodia, where there is very little chance of social mobility, could be said to be a closed society. Since members from the same social class have alike characteristics they will also exhibit a similar pattern of behavior. Social class plays a very big role in consumer behavior. It can influence where an individual shops, such as market stalls, shopping malls or online, when and how often an individual shops, such as every day, weekly or monthly and what an individual shops for. The National Readership Survey has determined a popular and effective classification of social groups. Williams, T (2002) examines consumer behavior in relation to social class. In a study involving 612 respondents it was found that income doesn’t have a direct relationship with class because there are huge overlaps between incomes of different classes. For example a doctor earning £30,000 a year would be middle class while a brick layer earning £50,000 a year would remain working class. However it was found that income does influence consumer behavior within the context of social class. It was also found that education has a large bearing on consumer information processing and decision-making. More educated consumers; such as university graduates tend to be knowledgeable of market forces and opportunities than the school leaver. ‘They read more, read different magazines, spend less time watching television, rely less on well know brands and put more time and effort into purchasing decisions. Varying levels of knowledge and comprehension lead to different behavioral patterns in decision making processes.’ Demographical Factors Demographic elements, such as: age, sex, income, education and occupation are all individual factors that can significantly affect consumer behavior. These elements influence the type of product an individual may want, where the individual may shop and also the purchase evaluation process. Demographic variables are some of the major factors targeted in market segmentation. As an individual’s stage of life progresses, so the will needs and wants of a product. To help marketers make a clearer distinction between demographic groups for market segmentation classification bases have been developed. ‘A Classification of Residential Neighborhoods’ (ACORN) is a popular geo-demographic technique used as a segmentation base. ACORN maps geographically the concentrations of a particular type of individual and can be useful for helping marketers decide upon store locations and targeting direct mailing. The American Marketing Association (2004) looks at of the spending habits amongst teenagers. From surveys carried out in America it’s said that increasing amounts of teenagers are trying to look more trendy and fashionable. As a result they are becoming more responsive to marketing and spending more money than ever on clothing. American youths aged 12 – 19 spent $175 billion in 2003 on clothes, which is an increase of $20 from 2000. Marketers have become aware of how impressionable teenagers are. They have reacted by segmenting the youth and marketing directly to them. Shops such as Urban Outfitters target the youth market by watching their choices carefully to set the trends. The Life Cycle Stage An individual goes through various stages throughout their life. Each stage of life will affect what the consumer needs and wants, the purchase evaluation process and volumes of expenditure. Consumer behavior of a single individual will vary greatly for that of an individual who is married with children. For a marketer to successfully target a market it is important to identify the main stages in an individual’s life. Mintel (2001) reports that the greatest time of expenditure for a women in the AB social grade is during the bachelor stage. During this period 56% of women spent more than £500 on clothes in a year. However, during the newly married couples, full nest 1 and full nest 2 periods the percentage of women that spends £500 a year on clothes decreases to 35%. This percentage increases at the empty nest stage to 46%. (See appendix 3, figure Psychological Factors Psychological factors are related to perceptions, motivations, attitudes and personality of a consumer. These are all individual elements that can affect consumer behavior. Although demographical research and the life cycle stage help to classify and quantify consumers it is necessary to have a broader view, which will help to explain how life patterns influence purchasing decisions. ‘Psychographics are usually based on demographic information as well as ratings of consumer’s activities, interests and opinions.’ Williams, K (1981) pg.91 Lifestyle Variables Lifestyles and patterns have strong influences on consumer behavior. The life style has following important elements ; activities, interests, age and demographics (Plummer, J 1974) Perception and Motivation The perception is an influencing factor in determining the buying decisions, especially that of consumer goods. Maslow recognizes that people have varying needs and if the need is intense then they are motivated to purchase the goods that will satisfy it. To illustrate this a hierarchy of needs has been created. Lancaster, G, Massingham, L, and Ashford, R (2002) pg. 80. Goldsmiths, R (2002) examines the personal characteristics of frequent buyers. From a survey involving 533 consumers a link was found between that of frequent clothing buyers and similar psychological and motivational traits. The survey concluded that frequent clothing buyers were more likely to buy fashion items and were more susceptible to marketing efforts. Personality The subject of personality is a very complicated area. There are many variables that must be taken into account when trying to obtain a comprehensive view of a personality. This makes it difficult for marketers to understand the link personality has with consumer behavior. (Williams, K (1981) pg.133) Market Segmentation, Target Marketing and Product Positioning: Segmenting market is essential for analyzing the consumer behavior. Batista (2004) reports of the clothing manufacturer Benetton who plans to weave radio frequency ID chips into its garments to track its clothes worldwide. Having the ability to track a customer would give the company extremely detailed information on customer buying habits. Benetton would then have a much better understanding of their target market, and be able to manipulate elements of the marketing mix, such as price, product, place and promotion for effectively. The clothing manufacturer Prada already embeds RFID chips into its clothes. RESEARCH DESIGN: Research Philosophy The underpinning philosophy of this research will be to base the entire research effort on the non-quantitative and non-numeric (often called qualitative) factors and research procedures instead of quantitative facts. There are a number of reasons for it. When we talk about the fashion products, usually the quantifiable facts such as price do not matter as much as other qualitative factors like brand name, customer loyalty etc does. Thus, basing the entire research or its major part on the quantitative data would not do justice to the research. It is therefore decided that we would also be taking into consideration, the factors like culture, the subculture, perception etc. Methodology The data collection methodology for this research will be comprised of two phases. The first phase would be secondary research to determine that what the existing research on this topic has explored. Having explored the secondary research in prior will help us in developing the better, comprehensive and to the point primary research instruments. The Secondary Research: The secondary research will be based on the exploration of the marketing book, marketing journals, internet, newspapers etc. All of these research tools have their own purposes. The marketing books will be telling us that how the marketing theorists think about the factors that influence consumer behaviour regarding the fashion products. The marketing journals will be enabling us to look into up-to-date researches and explore their findings. The internet will be the best tool in order to determine how this issue is addressed globally. The global perspective can be explored through internet. For example, we can see the blogs at various sites to explore what people think about fashion products and what motivates them. The newspapers, especially the international one will be providing various new stories that would be reflecting a number of factors that influence fashion market. We will also explore various fashion magazines. Primary Research The second method that we will use will be the primary research. The findings of the secondary research will help in developing the instruments for primary research. At present, we have planned to adopt two methods of primary research: 1. Questionnaires: The target audience for the questionnaires will be the customers of the fashion products which may be male may be female. Their ages may range from 15 years to 40 years or even more. However, the parameters of target audience may changed after doing secondary research, based on its findings. 2. Interview: The second method in this regard is that of interview. We will be interviewing the salesman of the retail outlets of the fashion products. We will also interview from the manufacturers of fashion products. 3. Other methods: If the need arises, we may also shift to other methods too, such as focus group etc. Research Outcome As an outcome to this effort, we wish to achieve a sound understanding of the factors that influence the demand of the fashion goods and how the consumer behaviour is affected by them. This research will allow us to apply the concepts of marketing and consumer behaviour in to the fashion goods industry. It will also be exploring that how do the customer preference vary from culture to culture, with special reference to consumer goods. SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY Fashion good industry is one of the most dynamic one by nature. At one day, we have one fashion while at another day we have another. In such a dynamic and rapidly changing world scenario, in the context of fashion goods too, it thus becomes essential for the marketers of the fashion goods as well as the product developers of the firms competing for shares in the fashion good industry to anticipate the emerging fashion and then develop and market the product accordingly. This forecasting and farsightedness is not easy to achieve, on account of the variable nature of the industry. However, what really is permanent is change. Thus what these professionals need to know is the pattern of changes that is, what are the factors that influence the demand of fashion goods and how the consumer behaviour is affected by them. This research will try its level best to answer these questions. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY As mentioned above, what really matters in the demand of fashion goods are the variables that are qualitative in nature. Taking into account those qualitative variables will on one hand make the research more relevant, while on the other hand, make it cumbersome and complex to analyze. Moreover, had the research been done by someone having professional exposure of the fashion goods industry, it would have been better. However, we wil try to minimize these effects through hard work and dedicated research. RESEARCH ETHICS We will honestly follow the various codes of ethics of the research, as mentioned by various global bodies. The information will be used only for the purpose it is taken for. The privacy of the respondents will be kept completely confidential. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bernard, D (2002). Understanding the Consumer. 1st edition. Pearson Education Limited. Chisnall, P (1975). Marketing: A Behavioural Analysis. 1st edition. McGraw-Hill Book Company (UK) Limited. Lancaster, G, Massingham, L, and Ashford, R (2002). Essentials of Marketing: Understanding the Behaviour of Customers. 4th edition. McGraw-Hill Education. Lansing, J and Morgan, J (1955). Consumer Behaviour: Consumer finances over the life-cycle. 1st Edition. Clark, L.H., New York University Press. Peter, P, Olson, J and Grunert, K (2000). Consumer Behaviour and Marketing. Plummer, T (1974). The Concept and Application of Lifestyle Segmentation: Journal of Marketing. Publisher not specified. Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2007) Research Methods for Business Students. 4th edition. FT. Prentice Hall. Williams, K (1981). Behavioural Aspects of Marketing. 1st edition. Butterworth Heinemann. Read More