Chapter 4 - Pearson

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dia76827_ch04.qxd 12/1/04 1:19 PM Page 90 90 SECTION I Introduction to Fashion Retailing Depression Babies. Having spent a great deal of money on college education for their children, the time is ripe for members of this group to spend on entertainment, travel, and some luxury items.Those with considerable money are status spenders and are the prime targets for designer labels.They are likely to shop at upscale department and specialty stores, boutiques, and designer shops. World War II Babies. While a large percentage of this class is still paying for their children’s college education, members of this group are often devotees of fashion products. Many of the women are in the work force and require fashionable clothing and accessories. Since their careers provide them with less time to shop in department stores,those who still enjoy a hands-on approach to purchasing often head for the specialty chains and boutiques.Many in the group purchase through catalogs and Internet Web sites during their free time.This group accounts for a number of divorces, which means that they have less money to spend on fashion merchandise. Both divorced men and women shop at off-price outlets that feature designer labels at prices below those of the traditional department stores. Mature Boomers. At ages forty-five to fifty-five, the mature boomers would like to spend on fashionable clothing, but many are often preoccupied with the costs of raising their families.They like nice things but cannot always buy in the amounts that they would like. Merchandise for members of this group is fashionable but functional, and they usually shop at chains, off-price centers, and specialty department stores. Mid-Boomers. This age segment is from thirty-three to forty-four years of age. Mid-boomers spend more on fashion merchandise than any other group. Many are dual-income families, therefore significantly increasing their overall finances, and spend to reflect their increased income. Making fashion statements is a must for many of them. They shop at boutiques, specialty stores, upscale department stores, and other brick-and-mortar operations where their fashion appetites can be satisfied. Many of them also make significant use of catalogs and Internet Web sites to make their purchases. Young Boomers. These twenty-six to thirty-two year-olds are often focused on making money and spending it as quickly as they earn it. Young boomers’ fashion requirements are often trendy, and they shop at the specialty chains, from catalogs, and on-line resources. Mature Busters. The twenty-to-twenty-five year-olds are generally influenced by their peers when it comes to purchasing fashion items. Mature busters are also greatly inspired by the fashion publications they regularly read and the personalities they see on their favorite television shows.They patronize lower-price point stores because their incomes are usually too low to afford better. Quantity is more important than quality in terms of their clothing and accessories purchases. Young Busters. At ages fourteen to nineteen, these shoppers are not self-sufficient. Young busters have part-time earnings that go toward fashion purchases at chains such as Express. Mature Boomlets. Although they are only eight to thirteen-years of age, mature boomlets are the ones whose members are highly indulged by their parents. Many are already aware of style and fashion and influence their parents to purchase such merchandise for them.They are more “sophisticated” in terms of fashion than any others in that age group that came before them, due in part to their fascination with television.Their needs are primarily satisfied by the chains such as GapKids and Limited II. TRENDS IN FASHION CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AND STATUS In the coming years, competition for consumers is expected to increase at significant rates. To make certain that they continue to get their fair share of the consumer’s dollars, many fashion merchants will continue to study the trends that will affect consumer spending. Some of these trends are described in the following sections. Assessment of On-line Buying Motivation The enormous increase in the use of the Internet for fashion purchasing will prompt merchants to explore the motives of those who buy apparel and accessories on-line. More and
dia76827_ch04.qxd 11/29/04 7:55 PM Page 91 CHAPTER 4 The Fashion Consumer: Identification and Analysis 91 Two young girls at Christmas. (Andy Crawford © Dorling Kindersley) more studies will be undertaken to see if the shopping motives of the off-site purchasers are the same as those who shop in the brick-and-mortar operations. Reexamination of Demographics Many merchants who have extended their brick-and-mortar operations toward multichannel retailing will consider intensive investigation of demographics. With the expanded trading areas affording more business to these retailers, it will be necessary to research their newfound consumer markets such as Web sites and catalogs and to see if their merchandise mixes are sufficient to satisfy the needs of those purchasers. SMALL STORE APPLICATIONS Rarely do owners of small retail operations take the time to formally investigate the theories and concepts concerned with the analysis of consumers’ wants and needs. Their approach to inventory procurement, for example, is generally based upon experience, intuition, the information disseminated by trade periodicals, and manufacturers’ representatives. Personal interactions with their shoppers gives many store owners all of the information they think necessary to run a successful business. While past experience should play a vital role in small retailer decision making, these store owners should not rely solely on that. Reading basic textbooks on consumer behavior and motivation is one way in which they can master a basic understanding of the concepts. Subscribing to trade periodicals such as Stores Magazine, Visual Merchandising and Store Design, Women’s Wear Daily, and DNR can give them up-to-the-minute insights about trends that might affect their consumers’ wants and needs.
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Chapter 4 - Pearson

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