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This is to certify that the Project Work titled “Impact of Social Media
on Consumer Preference in Fashion Trends” is a bona-fide work carried
out by Rohina Banerjee, a student of GLC-PGDM program 2013 –
2015 of the Institute for Technology & Management, Kharghar, Navi
Mumbai under my guidance and direction.
The whole study has been done to a particular area i.e. Mumbai.
Simplicity is the main feature of this report from beginning to end so
that even a non-marketing person can take advantage of it.
This study will throw light on how social media acts as a catalyst in
consumer preferences for fashion trends and how important it is for the
companies to engage in social media to make sure that their products
are reaching the targeted audience and also to steer the way they desire
the audience to go. This study will deduce important results about its
effectiveness and benefits to the customers.
All in all, this study looks at fashion blogging and social media within
the fashion industry and how it has transformed an elitist industry into
a consumer-friendly industry.
‘Social Media has made fashion & lifestyle more accessible and what’s
wonderful is that, now all have an opportunity to be trendy & stylish.
Fashion now transcends across all strata’s and is no longer the purview
of only the wealthy’ -Amrit Rai, publisher at Elle India.
The Project work has placed an important part to explore the practical
work, to learn in detail apart from the theoretical studies. Hence such
type of project work is valuable for the management students in
learning the core concepts with real life experiences. I perceived this
work as an opportunity to gain knowledge and experience apart from
study.
I thank all the respondents for their cooperation and time in completing
this project, without whose cooperation, it would not have been
successful.
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 08
REFERENCES 39
QUESTIONNAIRE 40
FIG 1 14
FIG 2.1 22
FIG 2.2 22
FIG 2.3 23
FIG 2.4 24
FIG 2.5 25
FIG 2.6 26
FIG 2.7 27
FIG 2.8 28
FIG 2.9 29
FIG 2.10 31
FIG 2.11 32
FIG 2.12 33
FIG 2.13 34
Fashion
Fashion Industry
Fashion Industry is the result of modern times. Until then, most clothing were
custom made, either home made for individuals or from dressmakers and tailors.
By the beginning of the 20th century—with the rise of new technologies such as
the sewing machine, the rise of global capitalism and the development of the
factory system of production, and the proliferation of retail outlets such as
department stores—clothing had increasingly come to be mass-produced in
standard sizes and sold at fixed prices.
1. the production of raw materials, principally fibres and textiles but also
leather and fur
2. the production of fashion goods by designers, manufacturers, contractors,
and others
3. retail sales
4. various forms of advertising and promotion
Media
Media is a collective outlet that are used to store and deliver information. To
understand what exactly the media is, it is first important to define the term
“media.” Even more specifically, we want to know about the mass media.
Although many different meanings and interpretations may exist for the term
“mass media,” for our framework we can say that the mass media is a group that
constructs messages with embedded values, and that disseminates those messages
to a specific portion of the public in order to achieve a specific goal.
Media in Fashion
The media plays a significant role when it comes to fashion. For instance, an
important part of fashion is fashion journalism. Editorial critique, guidelines, and
commentary can be found on television and in magazines, newspapers, fashion
websites, Social network, and fashion blogs. In recent years, fashion blogging
and YouTube videos have become a major outlet for spreading trends and fashion
tips. Through these media outlets readers and viewers all over the world can learn
about fashion, making it very accessible.
The involvement of media with the fashion industry became even more influential
with the involvement of various fashion designs in the 20th century,
Social Media
“Style doesn’t have to just come from Vogue anymore,” said Apu Gupta, CEO
of Curalate. “The democratization of style is being played out on the social web
and there is profound acknowledgement that bloggers and tastemakers actually
know what they’re doing and can influence consumers’ decisions. By
incorporating others into the mix, brands can also make everything feel a lot more
authentic.”
Fashion brands in the recent times, connect with their target market through social
media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. According to Macala
Wright Lee, CEO of Fashionably Marketing Me, “Until recently, the fashion
industry has been fashionably late to the social media party, refusing to adopt it
at all, or merely adopting one-way communication via social networks and RSS
feeds for sales and promotions.” Many brands initially believed social networking
would weaken the relationship with consumers, but for most it has turned into a
“genuine interaction between brand and client.” These brands use social media as
a contemporary platform to connect with younger demographics.
Through a study of more than three million user interactions with more than 2,500
brand posts across seven social networks, Forrester Research discovered that top
brands’ Instagram posts generated an engagement rate of 4.21%. Facebook and
Twitter only garnered engagement rates of .07% and .03%, respectively.
“If your brand is looking for social engagement — and if you’re not finding it on
Facebook, Twitter, or other social networks,” said Forrester analyst Nate Elliott,
“you should start using Instagram today.”
During most recent Fashion Week, overall engagement and participation on
Instagram increased significantly between the fall/winter 2014 and
spring/summer 2015 shows, according to research from Curalate. Total number
of images shared on Instagram increased more than 25% from 92,334 to 115,912.
“These results prove to brands that Instagram isn’t just a novelty anymore,” Gupta
said. “You have to figure out how, as a brand, Instagram plays a role in how you
tell your story.”
Fashion Consciousness
1. Entertainment
2. Customization
3. Interaction
4. Word of mouth
5. Trend
Customer Relationship
Intimacy
H1 Trust
Social Media
Marketing
H3
H2 Purchase
Intention
The result shows that the chosen brand’s Social media marketing includes
distinctive elements in comparison to old-fashioned marketing performances. In
evaluating its impact on customer relationships and purchase intention,
entertainment and word of mouth had a significant positive influence on intimacy.
Trust was influenced by entertainment, customization, and trend, while purchase
intention was influenced by entertainment, interaction, and word of mouth. Every
property found in fashion brands’ Social Media Marketing positively influenced
customer relationships and purchase intention, with entertainment affecting more
variables than any other properties. Luxury brands should heavily supply an
entertainment aspect of social media contents and activities. Every activity
enabled by use of the media, such as creating relationships with other users,
providing customized service and free entertainment contents, and obtaining
genuine information on personal interest should all be entertaining. By focusing
on providing such features, customer relationships and purchase intention will be
enhanced.
These results correspond to a DEI Worldwide report that states that consumers
make a purchase decision based on the information posted on social media sites,
and consumers using those sites pass along information to others (DEI
Worldwide, 2008). While marketing can be characterized as an investment in
improving a firm’s performance (Srivastava, Shervani, and Fahey, 1998),
marketing activities using social media have proven their effectiveness. Recently,
previous studies on customer equity have noted that customers can be seen as
intangible assets that a firm should wisely acquire, maintain, and maximize like
other financial assets (Blattberg, Getz, and Thomas, 2001). In the current
competitive marketing environment, customers’ future behaviour is a key
strategic asset that must be monitored and nurtured by firms to maximize long-
term performance. And customer relationship is what strengthens the bond
between customer and brand. Thus, using social media in conducting marketing
activities appears to be an appropriate medium for luxury brands. Concerning the
association between customer relationship and purchase intention, trust and
purchase intention were highly related. Customers’ trust was strengthened via
http://bada.hb.se/bitstream/2320/12802/1/2013.11.9.pdf
In the study, 21% of respondents plan to use social media sites in their back-to-
school shopping. The study shows that one of the driving forces to social media
are search for promotions and reviews. Deloitte reports that among those planning
to use social media for back-to-school shopping, 83% will visit social media sites
to find out about promotions, and 67% will go there to read
reviews/recommendations. As noted in this year’s Youth and Media report, more
than 4 in 10 (42%) social networking teens follow companies or brands on social
media sites. Social-savvy youth will be looking for their favourite retailers to cut
through the clutter with creative approaches for savings and product information
for their fashion needs.
http://www.edisonresearch.com/how-social-media-influences-fashion-
purchases/
1) Know who your influencer are and what they are saying on fashion blog and
message boards, and engage in the conversation.
2) Turn on Facebook both for marketing and social intelligence.
3) Invest in Pinterest because it punches above its weight.
4) Understand the nuances of how the different social channels are used in your
fashion category.
http://www.edisonresearch.com/how-social-media-influences-fashion-
purchases/
Research study found out that online social networks impact every step of
consumers’ purchasing decision process to different extent regarding food retailer
shops. The reasons are mainly because Facebook’s features bring convenience to
people, consumers spend more time on it, and Facebook’s features allow
consumers to interact with supermarkets and other consumers and see comments
from other consumers on supermarkets’ Face book pages. The market share of
different online social networking websites have been grown, for instance, Face
book grew by 0.22 percent from November 2011 to October 2011. YouTube has
the strongest growth among online social networking site with a 0.67 percent
from November 2011 to October 2011. These measurements showed the
membership of online social networks websites have been grown (Hitwise, 2011)
There are different social network groups that possess the power to influence
consumers’ purchase decision (Evans, et al, 2009):
1. Primary groups: are characterized by the size and the close relationship
with—in individuals (e.g. family members, close friends)
2. Secondary groups: are made up of more than one primary Groups (e.g. Wider
Social system within organizations or university)
3. Informal groups: are made up of individuals with common interests or
cultures.
4. Formal groups: are organized with a more rigid structures.
5. Virtual groups (communities): online social networks, blogs.
http://readersinsight.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/JMI-Shafiq-gul-2-1-24-
45-2014.pdf
Internal search involves the consumers’ memory about the products, and external
search includes word of mouth, stores visit, trial and online social networking and
social media (Kardes, et al, 2011).
http://readersinsight.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/JMI-Shafiq-gul-2-1-24-
45-2014.pdf
The study designed is analytical and exploratory in nature. There will be a further
scope for an extensive research over this project. The project will help understand
the impact of social media on Indian consumers. It will also help us understand
how advancements in the field of communication devices like computers, cell
phones and tablets impact the consumer buying behaviour.
Problem Definition
The purpose of this study is to have a better understanding of how social media
has had an impact on fashion consciousness of the consumer including
characteristics and influencing factors of change in fashion trends. It proves to be
a helpful source for understanding the importance of social media and marketing
strategies put in use on it. It also emphasizes on the importance of the trend that
has emerged with its boom. It helped a great deal to understand the changing
fashion consciousness of the consumer and how readily people adopt a change
that goes viral. It particularly focuses on how social media has come to impact
the fashion trends and consumer mindfulness about a fashion trend.
This report intends to study the growing influence of social media on fashion
consciousness and the user and the factors involved for this change.
Sampling Design
Sample Universe: - The sample universe includes the people of Navi Mumbai
region.
Sample Size: -The sample size of the participants was of 156 customers.
Research Methodology
40 and above
2%
30-40 below 20
2% 2%
20-30
94%
Figure 2.1
Q2:- Gender
Gender
48%
52%
male female
Figure 2.2
61
6
0
17
64
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Figure 2.3
Analysis:-
The first three questions are about the demographics of the respondent.
Age: It is safe to say that the Social Media targets the youth of the country. Also,
the most dynamic trend setter in the fashion segment would be the youth ranging
from the college students to the recently made employees. Thus, in order to get
the right set of information, my target audience of survey was between the age
group of 20 to 30, 94% of the respondents were between 20 to 30 years. But, just
to have a little understanding about the other age groups, I have included 3
respondents of the other groups.
Gender: It would not be right to say that only female population of the country
are active in Social Media and follow the fashion trends. With the rise in the
population of metro-sexual, men indulge in following fashion with same interest,
if not more, as that of women. Hence it is very important to involve both the
segments of the population in my research to get a centred result. My survey was
filled by 52% female and 48% male respondents.
No
2%
Yes
98%
Figure 2.4
Analysis:-
2014-2015 are the years where Social Media is dominating each and every sector
of the business. It is next to impossible to avoid Social Media Sites if the company
wants to be in touch with the masses. The digital world has taken over the
traditional ways of marketing and so it is very important to be active on these
sites for every information, be it the company’s side or the customer’s side.
As the target population of my survey was between the age group of 20 to 30, the
answer to the question, “Do you use Social Media?” is very predicted. 98% of the
respondents have answered yes and the remaining 2% do not wish to follow
Social Medias. This result shows that the Indian people are technology savvy and
are very comfortable with the use of Social Media networking.
96%
45%
25%
7%
5%
Figure 2.5
Analysis:-
This was a multiple choice question where in the focus was to find out the
common favourite sites of the sample size.
Facebook was chosen the most popular site amongst its sister sites with 94% of
the respondents selecting it. Almost all the social savvy candidates are there on
Facebook.
Instagram is voted the second most popular social site with 45%. It enables the
user to upload pictures they want for others to see it. This particular site is very
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Yes No
Figure 2.6
Analysis:-
The result to this question is self-explanatory. With almost 130 people responded
that they follow fashion brands, on the sites. On further asking as to what is it that
they follow on these groups, they responded that the marketing promotions (3%),
the recommendations and reviews (9%), information regarding the existing
products (18%), and the new trends (70%).
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Yes No
Figure 2.7
Analysis:-
Advertising is everywhere. Anything and everything is some kind of advertising.
Hence when asked, whether they see any fashion related advertising in these
social media sites, the majority response was Yes.
Primarily in Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter, the presence of fashion
advertisement is very prominent. These advertisements encourage the users to
click on them which ultimately leads to the company websites. Hence, high
chances for impulse shopping. The growth in online shopping and e-commerce
have a lot to thank to the social media sites as they are able to post their
advertisements on these sites, thus, increase their revenue.
Chart Title
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Category 1
Figure 2.8
Analysis:-
You don’t learn style from watching people on a runway. Fashion happens every
morning when you wake up. This particular quote explains half the purpose of
my research. The runway fashion is for the designers and other entertainment
industry players. More approachable that the runways.
When asked the question, “How do you observe the latest fashion trends?” the
majority of the responses where social networking sites, like Facebook,
Instagram. This further signifies my research that social media has a great deal
of influence on the emergence of new fashion related trends. The nest source of
releasing the new fashion trends would be the television. According to the survey,
70 people have admitted that they look out for fashion related tips from the
television.
Print Media and observing what other people are wearing are also the sources to
understand the trending fashion in the region of Navi Mumbai.
This question concludes that social media has the highest percentage of people
attracted to itself for fashion related information.
Category 1
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Figure 2.9
Analysis:-
Smartphones and social media expand our universe. We can connect with others
and collect information easier and faster than ever. It is the tool which is the
ultimate equalizer. It gives a voice and platform to anyone willing to engage.
Social Media is a platform where one can get information without even asking
for it. The information is readily available there and all you have to do is log in
and start following.
About 133 responses (out of 156) agree that that social media helps in acquiring
the information about the emerging fashion trends. Social Media is the platform
where like-minded people get connected and share their views with each other.
Now a days, a new trend has emerged on Facebook where a person willing to buy
a certain product posts on his walls in search of reviews and recommendations of
those who already are using the product or have good reliable information
regarding the same. The social shopper relies a lot on the reviews and
recommendations of their friends from the social media. Two major target groups
are prevailing in the social media:
Q.10
Yes No Sometimes
Figure 2.10
Analysis:
59% of the people responded that Yes, they follow blogs. A new and trending
way of staying in touch with the new and emerging trends in the fashion industry
can be revealed to the general masses through these blogs. The new trend is that
now a days, most of the fashion designers and other big players of the industry
like to keep a private blog where-in they can post all the works they are
undergoing in the present time. These blogs give specifics to the people reading
it.
As these blogs are specifically for those readers who are looking for specifics
about the fashion, hence they are not very popular among the masses. This can
be confirmed when 41% of the survey say that they do not follow fashion blogs.
When asked whether they will be interested in the future to get engaged to these
blogs, most of them replied, only when I am absolutely need expert opinion.
Figure 2.11
Analysis:-
After satisfying reviews and recommendations about the products, the question
comes whether they are willing to buy these products. 120 out of 156 people say
that ‘Yes’ they do buy these products and 29 people responded ‘Often’. Only 7
out of 156 replied straight out ‘No’.
These responses imply that the masses are willingly influenced by the social
media and act upon it. The fashionistas and the social shoppers, both the
categories take the information on the social media very seriously which
ultimately influence their buying behaviour.
Q.12
Yes No
Figure 2.12
Analysis:-
Reviews condition people. At the end of the day, a lot of human minds are
malleable. They can be easily shaped with strong words.
120 respondents’ reply that ‘Yes’, reviews and recommendations affect their
buying decisions. Social Media is the platform where the purchaser can get
valuable reviews and recommendations about the product which ultimately affect
the buying decision of the purchaser.
This model of “reviews and recommendations” is so popular that it even gained
the interests of the ecommerce and online shopping websites like flipkart, amazon
etc.
There is a dedicated team which pay serious attention to the reviews and
recommendations of other people before purchasing anything.
13 people replied that ‘No’ they do not value these reviews. For these people, the
buying decision of any product is his personal decision and are not comfortable
others deciding for them.
The survey implies that, in the Navi Mumbai region, 77% of the people are more
dependent on reviews and respondents which ultimately alter their buying
behaviour.
Chart Title
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Figure 2.13
I took the responses on a 10 point scale, 1 being ‘never’ to 10 being ‘always’ and
for the purpose of analysis I have combined 2 consecutive point into one response.
Point 1 & 2: Never
Point 3 & 4: Rarely
Point 5 & 6: Sometimes
Point 7 & 8: Often/ most of the times
Point 9 & 10: Always
Analysis:-
This is a direct question. I asked the group whether they copy or willing to copy
fashion from the Social Media and 37% said that “yes” they do copy their fashion
tips from the sites whereas 41% said that they “sometimes” do. These sometimes
being, occasional, festive or other party related fashion. They do not indulge in
relying on social media for their day to day fashion. 22% said that they do not
copy the fashion from Social Media.
It is found that after laptops, people mostly use smart phones for internet access.
Usage of smart phones for accessing the internet and social media is increasing
at a very rapid pace as advancements in the field of smart phone technology is
happening at a very high rate. In the next decade, smart phone will be the device
which will be the deciding factor in marketing and advertising industry as it is a
medium which not many have tapped for marketing and advertisement purposes.
A recent survey states that the ratio of cell phones to landlines in India is 14:1.
As the penetration rate of cell phones in rural India continues to increase, more
people will start using the internet and are more likely to start using social media
for information search
This study discovers that fashion blogging is an incredibly impactful tool in the
fashion industry, especially when paired with social media use. Majority of the
respondents have shown tremendous interest in social media and have admitted
that they follow fashion through social media. Social Media has made a formerly
exclusive industry more inclusive to consumers. Fashion brands and designers
are using social media heavily and are encouraging two-way communication
between themselves and consumers. They are not just people giving consumers
an insider look into the fashion industry, but today, they are able to get into the
minds of the consumers through these sites. They have begun driving trends and
brands have begun to understand how important and influential social media can
be to consumers. Brands are beginning to partner with social networking sites so
that they will have a severe sales driving force on the grunt level as consumers
show religious following to the social media in respect to these fashion trends.
As the survey has been taken out from a small cluster of 100 respondents, it
cannot be taken as an accurate result of how the digital media has impacted the
consumer buying behaviour. The study respondents were mainly students; it can
be conducted on different population other than students as well that can give a
better picture of the impact that social media is having on the people on the overall
scale.
Data sample was quite small that shows limited generalizability of the research.
Sample size should be increased in order to make the results more generalize able
as it would cover a wider section of the society and help facilitate to create a more
generalized picture.
Fashion brands’ presence on Social Networking Sites give the impression that
they are closer to their audience. This impression is derived from the interaction
between consumers and brands that social media provide. Contrary to traditional
media where consumers have a third party opinion that they do not know if they
can trust and are only fed information by the brand, social media gave consumers
a chance to be influenced by other consumers’ shared opinions, people that they
might trust more because of their online influence.
For instance, a lot of designers share their views and personal preferences that are
followed by thousands or millions of people. These designers are opinion leaders
that are often used by brands. Fashion brands could take advantage of this
phenomenon and make use of social media to exert more influence on the
formation young consumers’ opinion.
The role of social media in the process of purchase is in its preliminary phase
with it being costly informational. Dependency of consumers on social media to
know about latest fashion is high. Findings show that Social Media affects both
the Consumer Buying Behaviour and Fashion Consciousness of Consumer. So it
is revealed that Social media has little bit influence on Consumer Purchase
Behaviour as well as Fashion Consciousness of Consumer.
Age
o Less than 20
o 20 - 30
o 30 - 40
o 40 and above
Gender
o Male
o Female
Occupation
o Student
o Businessman
o House Maker
o Employee
o Other:
o Yes
o No
o Facebook
o Instagram
o Pinterest
o Twitter
o Other:
o Yes
o No
o Yes
o No
o Strongly agree
o Agree
o Neutral
o Disagree
o Strongly disagree
o Yes
o No
o Sometimes
How often do you buy products that you see on these sites?
o Always
o Sometimes
o Yes
o No
Never Mostly