What Consumers Look For When It Comes To Apparel (2024)

What Consumers Look For When It Comes To Apparel

Research has shown that consumer buying behavior isaffected by four major factors; cultural, social, personal, and psychological.Cultural factors are the most important factor in consumer behavior. It is themost basic cause of a person’s wants and behavior.

These cultural factors are the one that causes us to havecertain wants. The type of culture we belong to and the way we perceive thingsaround us depends on our upbringing, places we have lived in, our norms andvalues.

The same goes for social factors which are also veryimportant when it comes to consumer behaviour. Social factors include aperson’s family, friends, reference groups, role, and status in society. Thesesocial factors can sometimes affect a person’s decision-making when it comes tobuying clothes as well.

Personal factors also play an important role in decidingconsumer behaviour while shopping for clothes. Personal factors such as age,gender, occupation, income, personality etc all contribute to consumerbuying behavior while purchasing clothes.

The clothing industry is a highly competitive market.With so many brands and models to choose from, it is hard for the consumer todecide what type of clothes to buy. In order to understand what consumers like,companies must first look at their target market and the type of people theyare trying to attract.

When we think about fashion trends, we often considercolor, fabric, and style. However, one of the most important factors that candetermine whether a garment is successful or not is the fit. A good fit canmake the difference between a garment looking great or looking awful and canmake all the difference to a customer who is trying to decide whether to buy itor not.

Target Market

When starting out in the clothing industry, fashioncompanies need to know who their target market will be (Young Men, Women inBusiness, Senior Citizens etc). Knowing who you are going after allows yourcompany to develop an image that will attract these people. When developingthis image, companies will look at what products are most popular, what styleis currently trending and how much money people are willing to spend. Once youhave decided on your target market and who you want to attract, the next stepis figuring out how you’re going to get them interested in your product.

Consumer Behaviour

If we take a closer look at young men as a target marketand see what they like in their clothes, it can be concluded that young menlike clothes which fit well as opposed to older men who prefer loose fittingclothes (Kanzi, 2010). Young men are also more attracted by different coloursand prints than older men.

Many factors that influence consumer behaviour have beenstudied over the years. Important factors include consumer needs, motivation,attitude and perception, learning and beliefs and values.

Consumer needs motivate consumer behaviour. Theconsumer's needs are the basic concept in understanding buyer behaviour. Needsare part of a hierarchy that ranges from basic physical needs such as hunger,thirst, warmth and shelter to higher level psychological needs such asself-esteem and self actualisation. Needs can also be categorised into twocategories:

1) Biogenic (based on biological drives)

2) Sociogenic (based on social drives)

When a need is not satisfied, it creates tension whichmotivates the consumer to purchase products which will satisfy their unmetneed. For example if a person is hungry they may purchase food product tosatisfy their hunger. It is important for marketers to understand what needsdrive consumers because they will use these needs to appeal to them in theirmarketing strategy.

The clothes you wear say a lot about your personality andlifestyle. Clothes represent your taste, your style and your attitude towardslife. They can make or break your image in front of others (or yourself).

Unfortunately, most people do not pay attention to whatthey wear in the morning – they don’t care. They wear anything they find lyingon their bed or wherever they store their clothes. They put no effort intolooking good and thus end up looking dull and boring.

But there are some who dress with great care – matchingcolors, styles and themes, paying attention to every detail from shoes toaccessories. They care about how others perceive them and do everything intheir power to make a good impression on people around them. These people knowwhat looking good means for them and how to achieve it.

Thus, consider the cloth purchasing journey of yourcustomer as a whole and it becomes easier to design effective eCommercesolutions. Pay attention to your customer, who they are and what they value.You can use this information to make better strategic decisions with regards tohow you will market and sell your products online. Online clothing stores donot need to abide by conventional rules; all that matters is that it positionsitself right so as to fit the needs of their target audience. Consumers willflock the ones who understand them best.

The impact of the new kind of pattern for clothes isrising. The impact on the market and people is also rising! It is not just apattern in the clothes but it is also as a sign to tell something about people.If you want to be better designer, you should know this kind of pattern and howpeople will react when they see different kinds of patterns.