Consumer behaviour in the fashion market

Citation

Jones, R. (2002), "Consumer behaviour in the fashion market", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 6 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/jfmm.2002.28406caa.001

Consumer behaviour in the fashion market

Consumer behaviour in the fashion market

The size of the fashion market – as measured by expenditure – is largely determined by trends in consumer income. The evidence for this assertion can be found both in the global dispersion of apparel consumption (the developed countries represent the main markets), the variation in fibre consumption per head, which is clearly related to per capita income, and in microeconomic studies (based on regression analysis) of trends in apparel consumption in a range of countries, such as the UK, Sweden and the USA. (Jones and Robb, 1997; Norum, 1999). In the UK, for example, the current market of around £25 billion really only began to emerge in the period 1975 to 1990 during which time the market grew from 40 per cent to 70 per cent of its current size. The explanation seems to lie entirely in the increasing wealth of the community. (Jones, 2002, p. 262). Therefore, we can predict with some confidence the size of the fashion market because we do have reliable leading indicators.

However, it is also clear that there are very big limitations as to the extent of economic determinism in fashion markets. Economic variables play a much smaller role in any explanation of the process of fashion change – the speed (Jones and Robb, 1997; Norum, 1999) at which fashions change and the direction in which fashion influences travel throughout society. A variety of models have been developed with the intention of explaining these movements. These include the traditional Behling (1985) model which does have a strong economic component through the symbolic interactionist model developed by Nagasawa et al.&/it; (1995) to the newest model propounded in the last edition of this Journal – the model developed by Cholachatpinyo (2002)

The ability of these models to make consistently reliable forward looking predictions which are testable in the positivist tradition is severely limited (Jones, 2002). Many explanations, it is true, can be found in a retrospective sense, i.e. after the event. Mendes and De La Hague (1999), in a sweeping survey of the UK fashion scene, for example, call upon an amazing array of influences to explain past fashion trends. Finally, at the level of the individual firm or garment the problems caused by the difficulty of demand forecasting in the notoriously fickle and increasingly fragmented market are well documented (Lowson et al.,&/it; 1999; Evans, 1989; Kaiser, 1990; Mendes and De La Hague, 1999).

The post modernist view (Bayman, 1996; Morgado, 1996) of the fashion market would be, I suppose, that nothing is in fact predictable. As society becomes more affluent and ceases to send out unambiguous messages as to what is fashionable or acceptable, then consumers will demand – and be able to obtain – an infinite variety of products to suit their individual demands. If the UK is any guide they may even be able to achieve this at ever lower cost – in five of the last six years in the UK apparel prices fell, while in the last 12 months prices fell by an amazing 5.6 per cent. In a sense, therefore, the consumer is the problem – ever capricious and ever demanding more for less. In recognition of the importance of achieving the best possible understanding of consumer behaviour in the market place this issue brings together six papers on a range of issues relating to aspects of consumer behaviour in the fashion market.

The papers by Oh and Fiorito and by Moye and Giddings both study questions of consumer loyalty in that the former paper examines brand loyalty in the market of women's wear in Korea while the latter investigates the reaction of elderly consumers (in America) to various types of retail outlet and store attributes which might in turn affect loyalty to those outlets.

Kim and colleagues examine the ways in which the consumer's involvement with apparel influences their perceptions of advertising messages. Goldsmith also is concerned with the consumer's involvement with the apparel market as he studies the personal characteristics of frequent clothing buyers in order to establish a variety of shared traits, knowledge of which could be of use to apparel retailers.

Anderson-Connell and colleagues study the degree of consumer interest in the concept of mass customisation, which is an aspect of production which has received increasing attention in the literature (Lowson et al.&/it;, 1999) and which is driven by the conflict between the increased eclecticism of the market discussed above and the desire to achieve the low costs normally associated with mass production. Norum and colleagues' study of home furnishing expenditure in the USA extends the boundaries of the fashion market in recognition of the increased fashion orientation of that sector in today's market and highlights the shortened life cycles in the home furnishings market, along with other features which parallel developments in the mainstream fashion industry. The income variable was positively related to expenditure in this market also. The paper outlines a number of potential marketing strategies which might allow companies in this market to expand into new segments and to further exploit the fashion orientation which has developed over the last 20 years.

It is something of a paradox that the very unpredictability of the market might be a blessing in disguise for the survival of autochthonous capacity in developed countries, as was explored in the Editorial in Vol 6 No. 1, while further evidence of the difficulty of achieving accurate forecasts of future demand might be attested to by the very high stock levels maintained by apparel manufacturers – an issue which will be explored in the next edition of the journal.

Richard Jones

ReferencesBayman, Z. (1996), "From pilgrim to tourist", in Du Gay, S. and Du Gay, P. (Eds), Questions of Culture and Identity, Sage, London, pp. 18-36.Behling, D. (1985), "Fashion change and demographics: a model", Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, Vol. 4, pp. 18-23.Cholochatpinyo, A., Padgett, I., Crocker, M. and Fletcher, B. (2002), "A conceptual model of the fashion process – part 1: the fashion transformation process model", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 11-23.Evans, M. (1989), "Consumer behaviour towards fashion", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 23, pp. 7-16.Jones, R.M. (2002), The Apparel Industry, Blackwell Science, Oxford.Jones, R.M. and Robb, P. (1997), "The demand for clothing in the UK and Sweden", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 1, pp. 113-25.Kaiser, S. (1990), The Social Psychology of Clothing, Macmillan, New York, NY.Lowson, B., King, R. and Hunter, A. (1999), Quick Response – Managing the Supply Chain to Meet Consumer Demand, John Wiley, Chichester.Mendes, V. and De La Hague, A. (1999), 20th Century Fashion, Thames and Hudson, London.Morgado, M. (1996), "Coming to terms with post modernism", Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, Vol. 14, pp. 41-54.Nagasawa, R., Kaiser, S. and Hatton, S. (1995), "Construction of a symbolic interactionist theory of fashion", Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, Vol. 13, pp. 172-84.Norum, P. (1999), "The demand for accessories, footwear and hosiery: an economic analysis", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 11-23.