The impact of social media on consumer behaviour in fashion retailing

Abstract

The study is focused on the impact of technological advances through the internet on the consumer behaviour in relation to the fashion retailing sector. The main objective is to find out whether consumers are changing their behaviour due to the development in online interaction by means of social media. This study also seeks to understand the relationship between the way consumers are behaving online and any relative impact on this industry. The study gathered secondary data through published sources from online journals, articles and books. The review of the literature amalgamates the three aspects that constitute the main basis of the study; social media, consumer behaviour, and fashion retailing. Moreover, in order to broaden the study, primary data was also carried out. The research gathered was conducted by the use of two focus groups in order to analyse whether the use of social media in Malta with respect to fashion brands, is affecting consumer behaviour when compared to the aspects that emerged from the literature review. The literature review shows that social media today has in fact affected the way consumers behave when shopping for fashion brands. It resulted that consumers are taking Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Bloggers as a source for information and a source for interactivity with fashion brands. Moreover, social media breakthrough has also contributed to a greater exposure for the brands in such a way that the brands also benefit higher sales. The outcome from the primary data conclude that social media is effective to consumers in order to discover brands and to generate ideas how to express their identity through clothing. The study highlights that compared to other countries, Malta has a higher emphasis to Facebook in relation to other social media sites, while in other countries there is a greater mix of social media to the extent that Twitter, YouTube and Bloggers are often as popular as Facebook. The study shows also that the Gozitain participants in the focus group seem to be more inclined to make a purchase action through online websites than Maltese participants. The study was carried out among particular limitations, particularly with regards to the process to prepare and to carry out the focus groups. The main struggle was the difficulty to gather the right persons to form groups who are knowledgeable about the subject and who are confident to express freely their opinions and considerations. In view of the limitation, certain participants lacked responsiveness and interaction. The study originated from the understanding that social media is not only a means of communication, but practically became part of our everyday life. The study also evolved from the experience obtained by the author through a fashion blog and through the interest in following numerous social media websites that are related to fashion. The interest in the subject and the commitment to keep a regular blog has not only increased the author's activity in social media, but also has changed the consumer behaviour as well. Thus, this study contains both the scientific methodology process and the necessary expertise to analyse whether consumers are affected by such means of media in fashion retailing.