Live fast, shop fast?
Our lives are changing rapidly over the last 20 years. The technological development has dramatically increased the pace of our lives. Indeed, we are now able to commute faster, pay faster, consume faster. In the past, there were a few solid purchasing incentives – brand, price, our friends’ or relatives’ recommendations. And it worked that way for many decades. Yet, consumer trends and our shopping behaviors have changed. Now, that we have access to the global network anytime at any stage of our customer journey, everything got way more… complicated.
How do we make purchasing decisions nowadays?
Market analyses show that we’re no longer willing to subject to market research for fashion industry. Making purchasing decisions, we’re now able to access the Internet. We Google the product, read the specifications, opinions, ask our social network for opinions. Actually, we can go back home and continue our customer journey by checking the product in online stores, comparing prices, verifying the sellers etc.
How do we buy fashion?
And here comes the most interesting part. Even though, many stores change their collections and prices a few times per season, many customers prefer their own favorite models, colors, or style. This means, even though the products change constantly, fashion brands pay special attention to being consistent. For example, it is common for many stores to have their “classics”, occurring in every collection they launch. This makes customers feel like they already know the style and the brand and perceive it as more suitable to their own personal style.
Recommendation is king
We rely on opinions of others more than ever before. Having immediate access to the recommendations not only of our own friends or family but also people living 5000 miles away from us, make us vulnerable to the power of the social proofs. But is it something bad? For us? Not really. Yet, it poses an additional challenge for the brands to take care of the customers long after they purchased their products. All in all, they are the brands’ ambassadors, and frequently, they will be the ones who shape our potential new customers’ opinions.
Read more about consumer trends in Poland:
- How do Polish consumers buy FMCG?
- Beer industry in Poland – consumers change preferences
- Second-hands – local market research insights
