Chapter 4 - Pearson

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dia76827_ch04.qxd 11/29/04 7:55 PM Page 72 72 SECTION I Introduction to Fashion Retailing takes for items that consumers have ordered through catalogs and on-line to get to them, the different price points of fashion merchandise available for purchasing, the different types of brick-and-mortar environments, and the alternatives to shopping in-store by way of catalogs and Internet Web sites. But in the face of increasing competition, fashion merchants also must understand what motivates people to buy fashion merchandise and how to appeal to those motivations to attract their target market and entice them to spend. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR The motives that make consumers act and react in a particular way are broken down into rational, emotional, and patronage motives. Rational Motives People who consider such factors as price, care, serviceability, practicality, warranties, and safety when making a purchase are rationally motivated. In times when the economy is poor and consumers are either out of work or are experiencing difficulty in paying their bills, rational motives play an important part in how they satisfy their everyday needs. This is especially important when people buy fashion merchandise, because such purchases are not as important as necessities. Shoppers who head to such value-oriented operations such as Target, Kmart, Wal-Mart, and Kohl’s to make their fashion purchases as well as those who go to the off-price emporiums where marque labels such as Ralph Lauren and Liz Claiborne are offered for prices that are substantially lower than at the traditional retail operations, are most motivated by the rational factor of price. Some people who have good jobs and spend a great deal of their disposable income on fashion goods but do not have to pay attention to price are affected by rational motives and are opting to buy from companies such as Old Navy, where style is available at an affordable price. Price is a major factor for shoppers who patronize Filene’s Basement. (Courtesy of Ellen Diamond)
dia76827_ch04.qxd 11/29/04 7:55 PM Page 73 CHAPTER 4 The Fashion Consumer: Identification and Analysis 73 Emotional Motives Striving to achieve prestige, status, romance, and social acceptance are emotionally driven motives. People often make fashion purchases to satisfy one or more of these needs. An important case in point is the “polo pony” that adorns much of the clothing in Ralph Lauren’s collections. Does the insignia make the garment better than something comparable to it, or does it give the wearer a certain aura that implies prestige and status? Macy’s Charter Club line features a polo shirt that rivals the Ralph Lauren design feature by feature. The only difference is the price. The Lauren shirt is significantly-costlier than the Charter Club version. How can merchants justify stocking their shelves with the higher-priced item? The answer is simple. A significantly large number of consumers are willing to pay higher prices for the “benefits” of status and prestige afforded them with such purchases. A wealth of fashion merchandise is marketed solely on the basis of emotional appeal: couture creations from France and Italy that bear such names as Chanel, Armani, and Vuitton; cosmetics that bear names such as Estee Lauder and Bobbi Brown; footwear and handbag designs by Prada; and jewelry by David Yurman. There are many lower-priced versions of these items, but they cannot capture the attention of many fashion enthusiasts simply because the prestigious signatures are missing. Patronage Motives People have numerous places where they may purchase fashion merchandise, including brick-and-mortar outlets, catalogs, Internet Web sites, and cable television programming. The factors that motivate shoppers to buy from these vendors include service, price, sales associate attention, personal shopping availability, convenience, and merchandise assortment. The more of these features a retailer offers, the more likely it is that shoppers will continue to return for future needs. These are called patronage motives. Nordstrom, considered to be the benchmark in customer service, offers a wealth of these factors and has thus emerged as a primary destination for the fashion consumer. Shoppers who Façonnable, a French-based company, caters to many consumers who are emotionally motivated. (Courtesy of Façonnable USA)
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Chapter 4 - Pearson

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