Social Media: The Future of Fashion Consumerism by Rebecca Lawson

‘SOCIAL MEDIA: THE FUTURE OF FASHION CONSUMERISM’ REBECCA LAWSON

BA (Hons) Fashion, Communication and Promotion. Module THD1038 Fashion Communication Promotion Case Study

UNIVERSITY OF HUDDERSFIELD School of Art, Design and Architecture Department of Design

Social media: The future of fashion consumerism

Rebecca Lawson

A Major Project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for

BA (Hons) Fashion, Communication and Promotion.

Module THD1038 Fashion Communication Promotion Case Study The candidate confirms that the work submitted is their own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. The University of Huddersfield School of Art & Design Department of Design Huddersfield West Yorkshire ENGLAND

14/02/2014 2

ABSTRACT In light of a growing interest in the use of social media marketing and digital technology among forerunning fashion brands, this case study set out to identify SMM activities and examine the effects this networking has on both brand and consumer. The study also offers an exploration of fashion brandsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; use of digital innovation to improve a consumer shopping experience, suggesting the future of fashion consumerism. Requirements of successful social media activities used by fashion brands include entertainment, interaction and customisation. The effects social media has on the fashion industry are significantly positive. Forming a relationship with consumers through engagement in social media and innovative digital technologies evidently benefits brands as shown throughout the study. The findings of this study show fashion brands the importance of integrating digital technology into their marketing strategies, enabling them to forecast the future of fashion consumerism and the behaviour or expectations that their consumers may have in regard to shopping fashion in years to come.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study benefitted from the knowledge of a number of individuals to which I owe gratitude. I wish to express my sincere thanks to all 44 social media users who took part in the conduction of primary research through the form of a survey, and to Hannah Proctor owner of clothing brand â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Aphrodite and Aresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, for her additional contribution through an interview. Most importantly, I take this opportunity to express gratitude to the course leader of Fashion Communication and Promotion Charlotte Goldthorpe, subject leader of Fashion Stephen Wigley and my parents for their continuous support and constructive feedback throughout the conduction of the study.

CONTENTS DECLARATION

ABSTRACT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CHAPTER ONE:

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND

1.2 AIM & OBJECTIVES

1.3 METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER TWO: 2.0 1INTRODUCTION

2.1 MEANS OF SOCIAL MEDIA USED BY CONSUMERS

2.2 THE RISE OF TECHNOLOGY

2.3 WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA

2.4 FACEBOOK

2.5 TWITTER

2.6 CONCLUSION

CHAPTER THREE:

3.0 INTRODUCTION

3.1 SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION USED IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY

3.2 FASHION’S SUCCESS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

3.3 ANALYSING PRIMARY RESEARCH

3.31 SOURCE ONE

3.32 SOURCE TWO

CHAPTER FOUR: 4.0 INTRODUCTION

4.1 THE FUTURE OF FASHION CONSUMERISM

4.2 TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS

4.3 BURBERRY DIGITAL INNOVATION

4.4 ASOS DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

4.5 JOHN LEWIS VIRTUAL DRESSING ROOMS

4.6 ADDITIONAL ADOPTIONS OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

CHAPTER FIVE: 5.0 CONCLUSION

5.1 FURTHER RESEARCH AND LIMITATIONS

6.0 REFERENCES

7.0 APPENDICES

LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1. Graph to show internet usage in the UK

FIGURE 2. Pie chart to show social networking interaction

FIGURE 3. Pie chart to show age of survey participants

23 FIGURE 4. Pie chart to show the influence of social media on fashion consumerism FIGURE 5. Burberry London flagship, Regent Street

FIGURE 6. Asos Urban Tour campaign, 2011

FIGURE 7. John Lewis virtual dressing room

INTRODUCTION

Today social media is used as a powerful marketing tool by a great deal of front running brands within the fashion industry. Over the past few years brands have succeeded in attracting their consumers through social networking sites Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Social media marketing has impacted the industry and achieved such phenomenal success for a number of reputable brands. The purpose of this study is to discuss the benefits the fashion industry reaps from integrating social media and digital technologies within their marketing strategy, and more importantly, how does social media affect consumer purchasing decisions and consequently the future of fashion consumerism.

(1.1) BACKGROUND Digital technology in society advances at an incredible pace. As these advancements progress, so do a consumerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reliance on technology within their day to day lives. Consumers interact with the internet daily and intelligent retailers are beginning to understand the importance of the web as a communication tool with their consumers.An evident decrease in sales due to global economic turndown has resulted in fashion brands reevaluating their marketing strategy. Now they can no longer solely focus on print and television advertising, but instead must focus on integrating digital advancements to accommodate the demands of the modern day consumer and ensure communication through a medium that is directly able to reach the consumer. As a means of successful and effective communication with consumers, brands are now turning toward social media sites. Marketing communications through social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have already contributed significantly towards the success of a number of fashion brands including British heritage brand Burberry. Social media marketing is a two way communication between brand and consumer, allowing consumers to play an active role in giving feedback to which brands are able to improve on to ensure consumers are truly satisfied with their experience with the brand. In addition, social media activities of fashion brands provide an opportunity to reduce any misinterpretation and prejudgment toward brands, and to elevate consumer trust in a brand by creating a platform to exchange opinions and information between one another with people online. With the increased use of social media and digital technologies within fashion brands marketing strategies it is seemingly necessary to analyse the effects these social networking sites have on consumer purchasing decisions, and how fashion will be consumed in the future due to digital advancements in society, thus the purpose of the study. This study will offer an insight for brands to further understand the importance of social media within the lives of the consumer, and to understand what encourages consumers to make fashion purchases.

(1.2) AIM AND OBJECTIVES

AIM To explore the role of social media, its impact on the fashion industry and its future role in fashion promotion.

OBJECTIVES -To identify the means of social media promotion used in the fashion industry. - To understand the fashion consumer behaviour of contemporary social media users. -To predict the future of fashion consumerism.

(1.3) METHODOLOGY

SECONDARY Secondary research was reviewed through the University library using a range of sources including

academic

literature

and

Summon

resources

abstracts,

reports

and

journals.

Further secondary research was conducted through the use of Google Scholar and Mintel Research Reports; this ensured a wide range of sources were used throughout the study.

PRIMARY Primary sourced data was gathered through two methods of research collection both quantitative and qualitative. A survey was produced and distributed via social media sites Facebook and Twitter to measure the effects social media has on consumer purchasing decisions. The survey contributed to the quantitative data collection and was distributed via popular social media sites to ensure all participants were social media users and therefore apply to the purpose of the research. Participants aged from 18 to 55 to ensure results represented a wide bracket of age groups, however 72% of participants were 18-24 years of age and 88% were female, representing a specific consumer rather than fashion consumers as a whole. Qualitative data was collected through a short interview with an independent fashion brand owner. Interview questions were sent via email and aimed to discover the impact of social media from the perspective of the brand rather than the consumer.

DATA ANALYSIS Data from the survey was interpreted through the use of graphs. The research holds limitations as participants of the survey used to conduct research on how consumers are affected by social media sites used by fashion brands, were of a specific age and gender. The average participant that answered the survey was female and between the ages of 18-24, therefore a likely online shopper and a daily social media user. Therefore unfortunately results of the survey only reflect the behaviours of this specific consumer base. However, according to Mintel Research under-25s are now more likely to have bought more clothes online than in-store, with three in ten doing this compared with one fifth who bought clothes online, but purchased more in-store. Therefore the results of the survey reflect the age group of consumers who most frequently buy fashion online.

INTRODUCTION

As technology advances, so do the means of communication used between consumers. The internetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in connecting one another has significantly grown in recent times through the development of social media. The following chapter defines social media and discusses two leading social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter.

(2.1) MEANS OF SOCIAL MEDIA USED BY CONSUMERS (2.2) THE RISE OF TECHNOLOGY Technological advances in society grow in conjunction with the demands of the digital savvy consumers of the time. Society expects great things of technology; it is becoming increasingly apparent that consumers are now reliant on these technological advancements in order to navigate their way from one day to the next. For example mobile phones are now relied upon for storing memos and phone numbers that may not be otherwise remembered, in addition to directing users from one location to another through GPS installed into these devices. Times have changed since the 70’s, when people partook in face to face communications, as mobile phones did not exist and computers were few and far between. Evidently communication is not as personal as it once was pre internet days. Technology has enabled people to communicate through the mere push of a button; be it email, text message or social media chat messaging, leaving voice chat minimal. The internet that only became of access to the general public in the 1990’s, is now responsible for connecting people from all sides of the globe instantaneously and cost free, as appose to previous delivery times of hand written letters or costly international telephone calls. The cost of communicating ideas and information between one another is now free and virtually limitless with advancements of the world wide web. This technology has begun to show its power to drive both a social and physical change on society, although each factor of technology takes place long before its full consequences on society begin to unveil. Technological advances not only grow to accommodate consumers, but consumers also adapt to accommodate these changes within their lifestyle. This is exemplified by the popularity of mobile android telephones with web communication facilities which consumers interact with almost continuously whilst on the move. Likewise, the existence of Ipads and home computers further extends the time spent interacting with digital media, consequently strengthening the relationship between the web and consumers. The most significant lifestyle change that these consumers can make is to order goods and services from the comfort of their own homes to then be delivered directly to their door, thus avoiding the need to travel through congested traffic to busy town centres, igniting a rise in online shopping. As digital innovation weaves deeper into the consumer’s lifestyle, intelligent retailers are starting to integrate these well used technologies into their marketing strategy. Forward thinking businesses are entwining the use of mobile, web and video marketing to adapt to the contemporary consumer. Consequently, when used successfully, the tactful strategy behind the technology becomes unseen, and instead consumers are fulfilled, believing that these retailers are giving them exactly what they need. When retailers integrate the use of technology consumers that are frequent digital users are both entertained and informed directly, satisfying both the consumer’s wants and needs. The most successful medium for this communication is ‘Social Media’.

(2.3) WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA? ‘Social who media.

media gather

refers online

Conversational

activities,

media

are

practices,

information, web based

and

behaviours

knowledge

and

applications

among

communities

opinions

that make

using

people

conversational

it possible

to create

and easily transmit content in the form of words, pictures, videos and audio.’ (Brake,2009) Today, ‘social media’ has become one of the leading ways in which people exchange information between one another. According to Mintel Research, only two in ten internet users in the UK are not signed up to at least one of the biggest four social networking sites defined by Mintel as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. Furthermore research shows that over 50% of all internet users in the UK visit at least one of these networks at least once every day. (Mintel,2013) Additionally, a Mintel report on Digital Trends in the UK from July 2012 highlights that more than three quarters (77%) of internet users have accessed social networks in the past three months via a computer, tablet or smartphone. At the same time, almost nine in ten (89%) internet users shopped online, showing the potential for growth for clothing and footwear e-commerce (See figure 1). Evidently this research shows that 80% of consumers are able to be targeted by fashion brands via social media, encouraging online consumerism.

(Figure 1.)

But why is social media so important in the lives of modern day consumers? The ever changing nature of social media is thought-provoking, challenging and addictive to users. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram increasingly stimulate so many aspects of our day to day lives- as friends, colleagues, students, family members and professionals. What originated as a method of connecting people across the world has developed into a strategic global marketing platform. Even in its short-lived history, social media sites have assisted in the connection of journalists to breaking news, customers to businesses, consumers to promoters, students to teachers and most importantly the international to the local. (Albarran, 2013) 13

Furthermore, social media forms a bridge between brand and consumer. These media channels have become one of the most significant tools used by companies to interact with their customers, allowing the use of a ‘pull strategy’. In traditional marketing, the interaction between brand and consumer is generally one way; the marketer dictates the delivered message, disallowing consumers to partake in expressing their thoughts of the promoted product, this is entitled a ‘push strategy’. Social media enables users to freely participate in forming or sharing content. As well as content readers, this allows consumers to be content publishers, enabling direct engagement with the broadcasted content. (Nguyen,2010) ‘Social networks have turned the world upside down: consumers are now brands, constantly honing and tampering with their image to present an idealised version of themselves to their digital audience’. (Tungate,2012)

(2.4) FACEBOOK Since its debut in 2004, Facebook has become one of the leading social networking sites of the 21st century. With a global audience of over 800 million active users, Facebook is positioned third in size only to Google and Yahoo. According to Facebook, on average people spend over 700 billion minutes on the site per month collectively, disputably awarding Facebook the title of the world’s largest online social network. (Laudon,Traver,2012) Like other social networking sites Facebook was originally devised as a platform for teens to get to know one another. However, among adult profile owners, Facebook is currently the social media platform of choice, with 73% of adult profile owners maintaining a Facebook account as of 2009. (Lenhart,2010) Founded by Mark Zuckerberg, the site’s popularity has rapidly grown over recent years, from 5.5 million active users in 2005 to over 500 million active users in 2011 (Facebook, 2011). Facebook enables its users to build a profile where they can post personal information ranging from their current and previous occupations and education, to their favourite bands and films to their religious and political views. With their profile, both the user and their accepted ‘friends’ are able to post website URLs, images and videos of interest. In addition to this Facebook further allows users to send private and public messages to other users and even enables the use of real time instant messaging between one another for fast and effective contact. All of these features together with the creation of applications, custom made groups and fan pages brand Facebook one of the leading social networking platforms in existence. (Hughes,2012) The marketable future of Facebook relies on users voluntarily giving up their personal information, in return for the advantages of using the site. Facebook is the largest online content network and the largest social online advertising network. It is placing itself as the epitome of a fresh method of e-commerce named social e-commerce. This is more than just presenting ads for products and allowing users to click their way off site to find and purchase goods. It is even more than a search engine exposing adverts. It is all of the above combined and more.

Facebook is growing into an e-commerce platform like EBay. According to Mintel research reports, Facebook remains the number one social media site for fashion, with almost a quarter of internet users having used the social networking site to make contact with or share their thoughts about new clothing products, brands and designers. Of these respondents, seven in ten have become a fan or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;liked itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, while over half (55%) have looked it up and over a third (36%) have posted a status update, demonstrating how engaged these consumers are. (See figure 2)

(Figure 2.)

When a consumer is asked to envision how they hear about new products the answer is often from word of mouth usually on social networking sites. When a friend purchases a new product they share it on social networking sites. Instead of searching the web aimlessly to find this same product, it is evidently much more efficient to receive a specific website link off that friend to direct you straight to the product. This is the powerful future Facebook foresees. (Laudon,2012) Although Facebook quite obviously stands in position as the largest SNS, other popular platforms closely follow. All social networking sites are primarily situated online and offer social interaction, however they do not all offer the exact same facilities as one another. Other than the recent addition of primarily visual SNS Instagram, the newest and disputably most interesting of the social networking world is Twitter, where content seems to take focus on userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thoughts and personal opinions, rather than purely devoted to social interaction.

(2.5) TWITTER Based on 140 character messages, Twitter is one of the latest developments of social networking. This SNS provides a platform for users to express themselves through creating and sharing personal content to their ‘followers’, who send a request to receive their tweets. Twitter began back in 2006 with the concept of a web based version of the ever popular text messaging services provided by mobile networks. It is estimated that there are over 5 billion mobile phones in use worldwide, and after voice calling, text messaging shortly follows as a leading communication medium used through mobile phones. Therefore, it is unsurprising that statistics from January 2010 alone suggest that Twitter attracted 73.5 million unique viewers to the site. ‘The basic idea was to marry short text messaging on mobile phones with the web and its ability to create social groups.’ (Laudon,2012) In 2011 it was estimated that Twitter reached 200 million registered users across the globe, with a said 460,000 new users still continuing to register daily. What had begun as a concept in 2006 with only 5000 tweets has since developed into a mass of 155 million tweets every day worldwide. The site is a dominant alternative media platform for the distribution of news, images and videos. Twitter joined the big time advertising marketplace in 2010 when it introduced ‘Promoted Tweets’ to the site, which are said to be Twitters equivalent to Google’s text advertisements. Twitter claim that their promoted tweets cannot be characterised as standard advertisements as they look like every other tweet, tactfully blending in with the other messages on a user’s tweet feed. In terms of fashion consumerism, Twitter differs from leading SNS Facebook in many ways. With Twitter, users have to make a conscious decision to click on a brand’s ‘tweet’ to open any visuals attached, whereas on Facebook any posts involving visual content are already open on the user’s news feed, instantly capturing a consumers attention, directing them to the brand website. Further, ‘Trends’ is a section of Twitter’s homepage that enables users to view what many other Twitter users are talking about, often described as ‘what’s hot’. This section allows companies to place a promoted trends banner at the top of the trend section, which enables users to be taken to the follower page for that product through the simple click of a button. These promoted trends are said to be Twitters greatest and most consistent revenue source, costing advertisers anything up to $120,000 per day. However, if there is anything that distinguishes Twitter from the rest it’s the site’s access to real time information. In 2010, Twitter partnered with search engines Google and Yahoo to permit these sites to index tweets that are made accessible to the entire Internet. This gave search engines the opportunity to retrieve free real time content as opposed to archival content. (Traver,2012) According to (Burton and Soboleva,2011) Twitter clearly increases the scope for interactive communication by companies with their consumers, with its potential for personalised communication with individuals that have voluntarily requested to follow a company’s Twitter feed. Therefore it is greatly unsurprising that more companies are producing Twitter accounts as a further method of interaction with their consumers. Research shows that 60% of ‘Fortune 500’ organisations had created a Twitter account by the end of 2010, compared to only 56% having a Facebook account.

(2.6) CONCLUSION Today, the standard question asked when meeting for the first time is most often ‘Are you on Facebook?’ Similarly to using Google as the verb ‘Google it’ modern day social media users begin to say, ‘Facebook it’ or ‘tweet it ’. Instead of exchanging email addresses users are more likely to exchange one another’s social networking information. In most scenarios, people virtually never give out their email addresses, and even if they require a messaging service, social networks have inboxes that are able to substitute email. Social media messaging allows a greater level of interaction among participants of the conversation. Open conversations are easier and convenient, and users are able to view when the recipient has read their message. Users just merely update their status in order to remain in contact with their friends. The emergence of Internet-based social media has made it possible for one person to communicate with hundreds or even thousands of other people about products and the companies that provide them. Companies are able to connect with their consumers on a personal basis, enabling further brand promotion opportunities in addition to the chance to recruit a greater consumer base. Advertising opportunities are endless with social networking sites. The ability to communicate with masses of consumers through one message that can reach all corners of the globe is invaluable to companies. (Mangold,2009) With significant amounts of consumers relying heavily on the web, the internet has become a vital marketing medium for businesses, particularly those of the fashion sector. Many marketers are replacing their traditional radio and print advertising with digital internet versions. Youth, teenagers and adults all access the web on a daily basis, whether it is for school, work or studying. While online, the consumer is then able to view advertisements in full colour and interaction, perhaps even sound, which may then prompt consumers to click and be directed to the site selling the advertised product. (Bickle,2011) According to Mintel research, nearly a quarter of clothes buyers that are linked to social networking sites have ‘liked’ a clothing brand or retailer on Facebook, rising to almost two fifths of 16-24 year olds and three in ten 25-34 year olds.

In addition to this research also shows that youth aged

16-24 are also inclined to use social media sites to locate clothing brand discounts or limited time promotions that require the consumer to enter a one off code to redeem their discount. Evidently users that interact with fashion brands on social media are more exposed to products that may direct them to the brand website to make purchases. Consumers that do not interact with social media are not directly presented with the temptations of making purchases online, therefore must actively search for fashion brand websites through search engines. Given that almost 50% of all users access Facebook on a daily basis this therefore highlights the influence and importance of social networking on the clothing market.

INTRODUCTION

Social mediaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship with the fashion industry was an inevitable development, and the benefits a brand is able to gain from the use of this networking prove to be virtually limitless. This chapter explores the effects social media has on both brand and consumer when integrated successfully into a brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marketing strategy.

(3.1) SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION USED IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY The fashion industry is fast paced, exhilarating and often glamorous. However despite the industry’s undeniable exclusivity, leading fashion brands are faced with the immense pressure to excel above and beyond their rivals. The fashion marketing industry strives toward selling more product than the prior year, building loyal customer bases, and consequently increasing the economy along the way. In order to do so brands must surround consumers with their product through engaging, interactive mediums which encourage the consumer to visit their transactional site to further browse product range or make purchases. With a substantial amount of consumers accessing websites daily, the Internet has grown into an important marketing tool for leading fashion brands to stay ahead of the rest. Many brands communicate their every move directly to millions of current and potential consumers, often showing behind the scenes imagery at brand promotional photo shoots or press days to allow consumers to have a stronger understanding of their brand as a whole. As a result of this, today many marketers within the industry are investing more money into their use of digital mediums rather than radio and print advertising. The diffusion of digital and social media is driving personality driven lifestyle brands ahead of the rest. For example luxury brands including Burberry and Gucci have invested large amounts of their marketing budgets into creating an immersing and innovative environment online through ‘Digital Flagship Stores’. These enable the consumer to experience the luxury of the brand not only in physical stores but through their online websites, through state of the art technology that brings their flagship store to the consumer. Internet advertising is advantageous to fashion marketers and ensures to capture the attention of a wide bracket of target markets. Young girls and boys, teens and adults all access the web for various purposes. Online through social media pages including Facebook, the consumer is able to view fashion advertisements in full interactivity, with colour and even sound, which often have the power to prompt immediate purchase through a series of clicks. Furthermore as a consumer clicks onto the fashion advertising icon, the marketer is able to measure the volume of consumers accessing the site from this specific advert link, further benefiting the company. This allows the company to view where high numbers of website traffic are directed from, enabling insight into what methods drive the most traffic to their transactional site to take into consideration when devising new strategic marketing activity. (Bickle, 2011) ‘The long love affair between fashion brands and culture will not only continue, but grow in intensity, partly with thanks to social media.’(Tungate,2012) Social networking is seemingly becoming less ‘look at me’ and more ‘look at this’; sharing images and videos of new ‘buys’ with friends and followers directly to their news feeds. Even when users do post images of themselves they often include ‘hashtags’ of where their outfit can be purchased from, often further tagging the brand’s social media page. Social media users like bloggers often share style related content with their friends, with the intent of receiving feedback on their fashion choices. (Lin,Lu & Wu, 2012). If a consumer sees a desirable product worn by these bloggers they are likely to follow navigations to locate the product for themselves.

This

form

powerful

advertising,

unintentionally

yet

helpfully

carried

out

consumers. Brands however, are very much so aware of this, but are also aware that their task is to create products that consumers feel are worthy of sharing with their friends. The joining of social media and fashion was inevitable and its impact can be seen flowing through the industry as fashion is reborn through the internet. Fashion brands, especially those of the high street sector, have been engaging with viral marketing content, specifically brand sponsored videos, with the expectations of attracting visual influencers. Visually dominant platforms like Pinterest and Instagram have also become important marketing channels for brands, as they benefit from the network effects of innovative users. Not only is this a powerful form of advertising, but also a strong method of conveying a brand’s desired image. ‘Even though social media has changed the tactics of marketing, its primary goals remain the same – ultimately attracting and retaining customers.’ (Weber,2009) With the rise of the social web, fashion brands are now also faced with an additional challenge. This is to find the right balance between allowing consumers to spread the word about their brand through online networks, whilst still maintaining core brand values and succeeding to achieve their own marketing goals. The constant flow of new fashion trends and products means there is always a potential element of surprise when social media users share fashion related messages with their friends. Evidently, elements of surprise and newness have been named as essential message characteristics for maintaining the interest of a social audience. Elements of surprise ignite a degree of excitement, when a consumer is faced with a new seasonal trend found through social media this excitement turns into desire to adopt this trend within their own closets, so these consumers then hunt down brands that are offering products relating to this trend. (Wolny & Mueller, 2013) According to research exclusively carried out for Marketing Magazine, fashion retailers Burberry, Asos and Topshop are among the high street brands with the biggest social media following in the UK. Arcadia owned Topshop began using social media in 2008 and was named second most popular retailer in 2010 according to the index. Today Topshop succeeds to dominate the social media scene with over 3 million Facebook followers, 765,045 Twitter followers and approximately 1.7 Instagram followers. Leading online retailer Asos follows closely behind with an equally colossal online following. The brand has succeeded in attracting over 3 million Facebook followers, 1.3 million Instagram users and 614,004 Twitter followers worldwide. These brands evidently have the highest number of social media following as they interact daily with their consumers via social media; promoting ‘new in’ products, inspirational imagery and often competitions where participants have the chance to win store vouchers or products.

(3.2) FASHION’S SUCCESS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA Famecount is an independent web application that uses social networking sites including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to measure a brand’s social media efforts and success. As the best ranked luxury brand in Famecount’s top social network ranking, Burberry is more than worthy of its title as they have successfully integrated social media into their marketing strategy with a reported 18% sales increase through online channels.

Burberry has succeeded in attracting almost 17million Facebook

users, 2.5 million Twitter followers and 1.2 million Instagram users. In the overall brand category Burberry still reached a fairly impressive 22nd position in 2011, only falling behind brands such as Coca-Cola, Starbucks and H&M, yet still succeeded to beat existing luxury brands BMW and Chanel. Burberry’s key to success was undeniably its decision to be the first luxury brand to invest in digital innovation, social media specifically to ditch the brands previous association with British hooligans and reposition it as more fashionable and aspirational than ever. This British heritage brand additionally takes the title as first to broadcast their fashion shows live and 3D from London to five international cities in 2010. Furthermore in April 2011, Burberry presented a catwalk show in Bejing were live models were mixed with holograms, producing a new and exclusive experience for its spectators. The videos from the show were directly posted onto YouTube for eager fans that had missed the show to view from the comfort of their own homes. Through their social media marketing strategy Burberry was able to attract a variety of younger consumers. However, to ensure the preservation of their core customer base, the company continues to invest in mainstream promotional activities such as print media advertising and public relations. The minds behind Burberry understand that younger consumers are the future of all fashion brands, and that social media is the best method of communication with consumers that are increasingly difficult to address via print or television advertising. (Phan,Thomas & Heine, 2011) The figures for followers of fashion brand social networks are particularly interesting; as the above numbers show the social networking sites that obtain the most visual content, in this case Instagram, succeed in attracting the most followers, in the case of the high street brands. This shows that modern day high street consumers seek visually stimulating content through fashion brands, rather than predominantly text based pages on Twitter. However, Burberry consumers are most attracted to the company’s Facebook page, suggesting that these consumers are interested in more than primarily visual content, as Facebook offers a balanced medium of both interactive visuals and text based information that both show and inform the consumer of their products. Malcolm Pinkerton of Verdict Research suggested that due to the increasingly important influence social networking sites have on a consumer’s online shopping decisions, it is significantly important for brands to interact with their consumers on Facebook and Twitter. Further research from Verdict shows that 50% of consumers regularly read product reviews online, with 16% of consumers who are in fact influenced by these reviews when making a purchase. Pinkerton added that targeted email operations are no longer the most efficient method of communicating with an audience below the age of 35, and that the key to success is to gain loyalty through social media sites, stressing that personalisation is becoming more important. Consumers understand that brands are inevitably going to promote themselves therefore they trust the opinions of other unbiased consumers.

‘Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, YouTube and blogs have made it easy for fashion aficionados to get their fashion fix without having to rely solely on magazines and TV.’ (Trisha,2013) It is apparent that social media have made fashion more accessible to users by presenting brand content in a language that consumers are able to clearly interpret and share. High street brands, online retail websites and luxury fashion houses have all strove to make fashion consumerism personal. Through these sites brands don’t just market goods but attempt to sell the consumer on a story or in most cases lifestyle associated with their label. Social media appears to allow brands to do just this with ease and so much more. Lucrative fashion brands are now beginning to provide current updates and even live video streaming during fashion weeks, thus bringing the masses to their shows via the web.

(3.3) ANALYSING PRIMARY RESEARCH (3.31) SOURCE 1 The first source of primary research to support the study was collected through a survey distributed through social media sites Facebook and Twitter. 44 social media users participated in the survey which aimed to find out what effects social media has on consumer purchasing decisions.At 72%, the most popular age of participants fit between the age bracket of 18-24 years, furthermore, 88% of participants were female. The age and gender of participants perhaps suggests that online shoppers are predominantly female between the ages of 18-24. (See figure 3)

(Figure 3.) When asked how often users interact with social media sites 95% of participants answered ‘daily’. These results show the significance of social media within the lives of the modern day fashion consumer. 72% of participants answered yes to following fashion brands on social media sites, meaning 72% of participants are able to be targeted by fashion brands that use social media within their promotional strategy, further indicating the importance of integrating social media into the marketing strategy of popular fashion brands

Fashion brands followed on social media by participants consisted of a fairly even divide between high street and high end. Unsurprisingly, the most popular high street brands according to participants were Topshop, Asos, Urban Outfitters, Missguided, River Island and H&M, all of which who post on their social networking pages numerous times each day. On the other hand the most popular high end brands followed by consumers included leading social media brand Burberry, Alexander McQueen, Chanel and Mulberry. Evidently participants follow different brands for different purposes as high street social media pages and high end social media pages slightly differ in what they offer consumers. High street brands are perhaps followed for purchasing reasons; these brands are accessible and affordable to consumers, so these SNS are most likely to influence quick and easy purchasing decisions. On the other hand high end brands are most likely followed by consumers for aspirational purposes. These brands are desirable yet not always affordable for consumers. However, social media users may follow these brands to get insight into the designer lifestyle, or to inspire their fashion choices. When asked if fashion brand social media sites influence consumers to visit their online site and potentially make purchases 72% of participants answered yes. (See figure 4) The most common reason of influence participants stated they felt was that these SNS showed products they may not otherwise find, encouraging these consumers to click on the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website link to locate further details or potentially purchase items shown on SNS. Additionally, participants answered that trend and styling posts, advertisements and sales promotions found on these sites further influence purchasing decisions. With figures this significant it is unsurprising that fashion brands are adopting the use of social media within their strategy.

(Figure 4.) Secondary

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29% of participants answered Facebook, disputably the second most visual SNS, with only 11% answering Twitter which is unmistakably the most text based of the three. A further influence shown through survey results was the sharing of fashion purchases among peers on SNS. 63% of consumers answered yes when asked if peer posts on social media sites influence their future fashion purchases. This could perhaps influence consumers as they may value the opinions of their peers, thus buy into similar looks that their peers may give positive feedback towards. Consumers may also be inspired by their peers, offering them a source of style inspiration to which they trust and may not have considered previously.

(3.32) SOURCE 2 A second primary source of research was collected through a short interview via email with the founder of vintage and handmade clothing brand Aphrodite and Ares. Clothing of A&A is solely sold online, meaning social media use is crucial to the survival of the business. The Aphrodite and Ares brand interact with a number of social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Blogger. When asked how these sites contribute to the success of the brand, A&A answered that they are able to build their brand, form a relationship with loyal consumers and direct traffic to their transactional site free of expensive marketing costs that come with standard paid advertising campaigns. Twitter and Instagram were said to be the brand’s leading social media pages. A&A state that consumers do not wish to read masses of information, and Twitter communicates concise messages within 150 characters. The brand attaches product pictures and site links to their tweets. Their aim is to generate awareness of the Aphrodite and Ares brand and followers are able to contribute towards this by retweeting or favouring brand tweets and sharing them with their followers.A&Aanswered that with Instagram, a single picture is able to represent a thousand words. The brand claimed that consumers are in favour of visual content. Through Instagram the brand are able to showcase all aspects of A&A to a global audience; from their buying process to their final campaign imagery. When asked what effects social media pages have on consumers the brand’s answers supported previous secondary findings. The brand stated that SNS does in fact influence consumer purchasing decisions; if consumers like what they see they are likely to follow given links directing them to the company’s transactional site. Furthermore Aphrodite and Ares added that the brand shares consumer posts via SNS, which further encourage consumer trust with the brand; when consumers see others satisfied with their A&A experience they are more likely to make purchases from the brand themselves. Clearly social media is a powerful marketing tool for fashion brands to integrate into their marketing strategy, but what does the consumer seek from these sites? Aphrodite and Ares answered that their consumers are inspired through their use of quotes and visual inspiration from fashion weeks. Furthermore the brand added that their consumers seek new in products, current trends and discount codes through their social media pages. Evidently the benefits a brand is offered through the use of social networking are proving to be endless. In order to keep up to date with the next wave of digital technology within society, brands must interact with their consumers through the most current ‘in trend’ medium to ensure to keep the consumer interested in their brand.

INTRODUCTION

The digital tide is forcing retailers to make difficult strategic choices in order to accommodate the modern day digital savvy consumer. This chapter of the study focuses on the future of fashion consumerism, and illustrates the digital channels that forerunning retailers are using in a bid to make their brand fit for the future.

(4.1) THE FUTURE OF FASHION CONSUMERISM (4.2) TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS The development of digital technologies and the pervasive nature of the internet have significantly transformed the ways in which consumers shop, instead of heavily relying on allocated shopping trip days consumers are turning to buying their fashion online. By retrieving information and purchasing facilities available on the web, consumers are now able to shop online whenever and wherever they may desire to do so through their laptops, mobile phones or tablet devices. Over the last decade, digital technology advancements and innovative ways of using new web applications and platforms have paved the way for a new birth of consumerism, particularly in the fashion sector, where the consumer shopping experience often goes beyond mere browsing. (Batista,2013) Technology advancements benefit the world of fashion by attracting consumers to engage with brands through interactive brand websites or social networking sites. Initially many brands were somewhat reluctant to adopt the technology trend; however, the industry has come to consider viewing technology as an opportunity rather than a threat. (Kim & Ko, 2012) Indeed many brands have been slow to embrace the digital age, specifically high end names, however nowadays executives have come to realise the success reaped by brands that have gone aggressively online within their strategy.

The

wide variety of technical applications, combined with increasingly demanding, information hungry and globally networked users, provides a new world in which brands can embrace digital innovation. ‘Since the world in which consumers shop, communicate and entertain themselves is increasingly online, any brand seeking to lead the design agenda in the real world, arguably needs to do so in the online one too.’ (Jackson,2011) Internet brand engagement has been evolving and creating new opportunities for at least the last five years with innovation tending to be driven through social media since its debut in the early to mid 2000’s. The majority of fashion brands have now established mobile shopping applications known as ‘apps’ which allow consumers to shop with ease through their mobile phones. In the new digital marketplace, consumers are using these interactive mobile tools to gain instant knowledge on product and services as they decide which brands to trust, where is best to make their purchases and what to buy. Meanwhile businesses are undertaking their own digital conversions, reconsidering what consumers value most and creating strategic operations which take advantage of what is newly available to enable differentiation from their rivals and allow convenience to the consumer. (Berman, 2012) The increase in digital commerce reflects a fundamental change in the behaviour of shoppers. Consumers are now moving seamlessly among digital and physical shopping channels, often during a single shopping trip, blurring the lines between online and in store shopping by browsing mobile fashion brand applications whilst shopping in store. As a result of this, some retailers are not only improving their online experience, but also equipping their physical stores with the latest digital technology including digital screens and the use of IPads to showcase their products and inspire their consumers. Many retailers are taking steps toward digital fashion consumerism but whether they are moving fast enough to survive the demands of the digital consumer is worth raising concern, as few consumers are likely to be impressed by something ‘new’ that other retailers have been providing for a number of years. 26

When retailers are forced to play catch up with a modernisation that is no longer brand new, they fall even further behind their competition on meeting the latest digital advancement, all while their rivals are progressing on to new methods of winning market shares. (Rigby et al, 2013) Even established fashion brands are struggling to rethink their traditional marketing strategy to include digital innovation for consumers that ensures their brand is fit for the future. According to previous research, online shopping consumers want a website experience that has three main characteristics; engaging, memorable and interactive. They desire a website which offers them the opportunity to partake in a two way communication between consumer and brand and consequently form a personalised relationship with the brand. This is something retailers are beginning to take into consideration when adapting their transactional websites to include features such as ‘most popular this week news’ or ‘the best of new in’ as demonstrated by ASOS to provide consumers with entertainment as well as products to shop. (Siddiqui et al, 2003) ‘While many companies are attempting to create a social aspect of their business, others are breaking the barriers of social expectations, of whom Burberry is the forerunner.’(Lenhart,2013)

(4.3) BURBERRY DIGITAL INNOVATION British label Burberry is undoubtedly positioned as leader in terms of incorporating technological innovation into its luxury brand. Understanding the future importance of obtaining an online presence, Burberry now assigns at least 40% of its marketing budget to digital media. In June 2009, CEO of Burberry, Angela Arendts, stated that advances in digital technology and its absorption by consumers are bringing fundamental changes to the ways in which fashion brands operate. In other words it is becoming evident that opportunities for brands to succeed are moving online. Burberry is regularly in the media for its eager adoption of digital advancements and the exceptional accessibility it gives consumers to the product offered and the brand itself. The success of Burberry’s incorporation of digital strategy is evident in its rising profits. When Burberry and Salesforce.com teamed together in 2011, they aimed to entirely integrate social into their brand experience across every instance that the consumer comes into contact with. With the launch of ‘Burberry World’ along with other technology applications throughout their stores, the company has seamlessly integrated their in store and online experience, achieving a more personal and memorable customer experience. Few stores around the globe are entirely integrated technologically like Burberry’s London flagship, however, as stores are increasingly becoming digitally equipped, the very idea of in store shopping will be radically different than the standard purchasing processes of the past; were consumers aimlessly browse entire stores to find what they are looking for then stand in line at the checkout to make their purchases. At Burberry’s Regent Street store guests have the chance to view how their product was made instantly, when mirrors become video screens showing craftsmanship and heritage of the product. Furthermore many products are fitted with radio frequency identification microchips, meaning that when a customer looks into a mirror in store whilst wearing the micro chipped clothing, the mirror transforms into a digital screen showcasing how the product looked on the Burberry catwalk. Burberry World live is a physical expression of the brands most innovative digital launch to date. The flagship brings Burberry’s digital world to life in a physical space for the first time, enabling customers to experience every aspect of the brand through futuristic multimedia content, like their online site. When a customer walks through the doors of Burberry World Live they are able to feel like they are walking into the brand’s website (see figure 5). 27

(Figure 5.) Burberry

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experience the luxury of Burberry events and even buy product directly from the runway. ‘You have to create a social enterprise today. You have to be totally connected to everyone who touches your brand. If you don’t, I don’t know what your business model is in 5 years.’ (Ahrendts, 2013) By focusing on heritage, craftsmanship, music and lore of the iconic British brand, Burberry visitors have the chance to delve into what makes Burberry, Burberry. The experience provided by Burberry World gives the website consumer a taste of so much more than merely online shopping provided by other retailers. Offering a chance to see the full product range whilst navigating with ease through runway clips of a chosen product makes a personal online experience, leaving the consumer understanding the extravagance the brand aims to represent; most often leaving the consumer with burning desire to own Burberry goods. The brand’s other specifically online interactive experiences including The Art of the Trench take the consumer deep into the production detail of certain products, giving the consumer a greater appreciation the brand’s craftsmanship and for any purchases they may have made . In addition to this when online consumers at any time are able to communicate with customer service representatives to give advice on product purchases wherever necessary, ensuring the customer is always at the forefront of Burberry’s priorities.

(4.4) ASOS DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES In regard to high street fashion, ASOS in the high street sector takes an equally prominent position as Burberry in the luxury market sector for the incorporation of digital advancements to enhance their consumer shopping experience. According to Lindsay Nuttall, global head of strategy and communications at ASOS, multiple social media platforms are helping ASOS to become boundless, immersive and interactive. ASOS is seemingly often one step ahead in what the brand offers their consumers. Their online experience shows aspects of what to expect from future fashion consumerism, with a ‘view catwalk’ option which enables the consumer to view a video of a model wearing the garment on a catwalk, showing different angles and the fit of the garment for a more accurate real life perspective. In 2011 ASOS launched ‘The Urban Tour’ campaign as part of their autumn menswear collection. As their most innovative move to date, the campaign consisted of a series of sleek videos embedded into a site made up of maps of the fashion capitals including London, New York, Paris, LA, Berlin, Tokyo and Shanghai. Through this interactive experience consumers were able to explore the maps and view the clothes worn by street dancers, skaters and musicians; all of whom portrayed a cool, carefree desirable lifestyle. ASOS used state of the art technology to enable the entire video to be fully interactive; consumers were able to click to explore editorial content, view additional product details, and catwalk style scenes of the products. Consumers were then able to add garments to their basket within the campaign site before being re directed back to the ASOS website to proceed to the checkout (see figure 6).

(Figure 6.)

The digital activity was designed to enable consumers to shop the looks of the dancers throughout the entire video, and reflected the brand’s determination to become a key player on the fashion digital innovation scene. The videos themselves were entertaining and integrated the shopping experience of ASOS seamlessly. ASOS effectively moved the shopping experience away from their main site and into a space that offers far richer engagement for their targeted audience.

(4.5) JOHN LEWIS VIRTUAL DRESSING ROOMS Like Burberry and ASOS, the UK’s leading retailer John Lewis further shone light on the future of fashion consumerism in 2012 with their ‘Virtual dressing room’ innovation. Augmented reality technology known as ‘AR’, enables virtual try on technology, which offers virtual information about a garment through digital composing. This augmented reality ‘try on’ technology allows digitally composed garments to be combined with the consumer’s real environment. John Lewis piloted two virtual fashion mirrors within their flagship Oxford Street store produced by the ‘Cisco Company’ named ‘Style me’. These virtual try on digital mirrors enabled the consumer to virtually try on different combinations of selected clothing without the hassle of removing their own clothing, by superimposing chosen outfits over the consumer’s reflection. The virtual mirror is able to capture the consumer’s body dimensions and recognise their body movements. According to the consumer’s movements, these mirrors are able to render parallel movements of virtual clothing, which encourage the consumer to engage with the dressing and styling experience. This device is even capable of layering numerous items over a consumer at the same time, to show the consumer how the outfit may look when fully styled as consumers are able to select footwear and accessories to try on (see figure 7).

(Figure 7.)

‘Style me’ was adopted by John Lewis for a 6 week trial period, which succeeded in attracting over 1000 consumers to try this new experience. The augmented reality technology used to produce John Lewis’ innovative digital incorporation allowed users to blend the virtual world with the actual world to create an immersing futuristic approach to in store shopping. Consumers were able to try on a variety of chosen outfits without the hassle of juggling all desired garments in their arms. Additionally, whilst in the dressing room consumers were able to share their outfit images with their friends via email or social networking sites to receive instant feedback before making purchases. Consumers were required to register their name and email address onto the tablet provided to allow John Lewis to email any further photos or information on the garments tried on after the session in the virtual dressing rooms. According to John Lewis’ commercial director Andrea O’Donnell, the incorporation of virtual dressing rooms will speed up the process of shopping for those who do not wish to browse 70,000 square feet of womenswear to find what they are looking for. (Lau et al,2013)

(4.6) ADDITIONAL ADOPTIONS OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES Many different digital methods are being tailored by brands to accommodate the demands of their consumers in the near future. Photo scanning like 3D scanning of products is becoming increasingly popular on ecommerce stores when showcasing products. This technology enables the consumer to rotate and alternate positions of the product, as though they had it in their own hand. Additionally customisation technology is also evolving and can offer consumers the opportunity to fully evaluate products before making purchases. Recently H&M adopted the digital trend by offering online shoppers a facility where they can customise a 3D model of themselves, adapting face and body shape to personalise the appearance before selecting virtual clothing to try on. This represents a more refined adaptation of the old ‘drag and drop’ feature where items of clothing are selected to dress a generic male or female avatar. Along with global brands including Adidas, Giorgio Armani absorbed 3D into his brand using the ‘Second life world’. His virtual version of the real world Milan store has been selling simulated Armani products to consumer avatars. Giorgio Armani himself has his own avatar, which closely resembles his real world appearance and can also be seen on YouTube, giving a tour of the store for the editor of Style.com. Presence in such pioneering spaces can arguably form opinions of a brand’s capability for innovation, creativity and design leadership. (Jackson,2011) These various examples of the fashion industry’s growing use of digital innovation may represent a glimpse into the future of fashion consumerism. Looking into digital technologies that have been used so far to enhance the shopping experience, it is evident that many of these innovations provide convenience or entertainment for the user; live fashion show streaming through social media sites allows users to view lucrative events from the comfort of their own homes, Burberry’s live chat options online enable the user to receive immediate advice on hand no matter where the consumer may be, to assist in making the right purchasing decision, and finally John Lewis’ virtual dressing rooms enable the ease of trying on garments without carrying items to the dressing room or removing items of clothing from themselves.

3D and virtual capability provided by digital technologies is advancing rapidly. The incorporation of virtual mannequins or avatars is becomingly seemingly popular among forerunning retailers. What started out as generic unadaptable mannequins have advanced to personalised virtual selves. It is therefore possible to suggest that in years to come this technology will be as nationally standard as the use of self-service checkouts have now become in supermarkets. Digital transformations will vary depending on the fashion brand and their consumer needs. Generally speaking it is apparent that the line between digital and physical fashion consumerism is becoming significantly less clear, bringing digital forms into in store experiences, and 3D aspects into online experiences.

CONCLUSION

The study analysed the role of social media within the fashion industry, its impact on brands and consumers, and its future role in the development of fashion promotion and consumerism. The findings of the study support the following conclusions.

Firstly, it is evident through research that the use of social media within the fashion industry has grown rapidly over the past five years, with the most popular social networking sites used by brands being Facebook and Twitter. The importance of social media was made apparent through research showing that over 50% of all internet users in the UK visit at least one social networking site once every day. This meant that a huge number of consumers are able to be targeted by brands through social media. Secondly, research of the study showed that the internet has become a crucially important marketing tool for leading fashion brands to promote themselves, interact with consumers and consequently stay ahead of those that are falling behind in keeping up with technological advancements in society. This means that fashion brands in particular are increasingly integrating social media into their marketing strategy to ensure their brand is regularly interacting with consumers through a medium that is almost guaranteed to be used daily by the prime age range of online shoppers (18-24yo). The joining of social media and the fashion industry was inevitable and the power that brand’s gain from this relationship can be seen through the study’s primary research into the effects social media pages have on consumer purchasing decisions. The study outlined the significant influence social media has on consumers, and therefore the importance of using online mediums to promote fashion brands. Evidently social media has made fashion more accessible to users by presenting brands directly to their laptops, mobile phones or tablets. Primary research of the study showed the power of social media when 72% of survey participants answered that the activity of fashion brands’ social media sites influence them to visit the company’s transactional site to potentially make purchases, as consumers are exposed to products they may not otherwise come across. Lastly, the study explored the development of digital technologies and how these are beginning to considerably change the ways in which consumers shop. Since consumers now rely on the internet for both communication and entertainment, fashion brands must now adopt the latest digital developments to maintain the attention of the consumer. Digital technologies are bringing new innovative shopping experiences which blur the line between online and in store fashion consumerism. It is seemingly difficult to accurately predict the future of fashion consumerism, however existing technological innovations pave the way for the digital meets physical experiences that are yet to surround the fashion industry.

(5.1) FURTHER RESEARCH AND LIMITATIONS The limitations and potential further research directions are as follows. First, as an initial effort to evaluate the effects of social media marketing on consumers, a survey was conducted and the results of this were used to support the findings of the study. However, limitation follows in generalising the results as the survey failed to get even numbers of each age group and gender of participants. This resulted in the results only portraying the effects social media marketing had on a very specific consumer profile; female and between the ages of 18-24 years old. Due to this limitation of the study, further research could be conducted using an effective method to measure social media marketing effects. A balanced number of consumers aged from 16 to 55+ years of age, including even numbers of both males and females are needed to ensure a more accurate and fair result. Additionally, there is certainly room to further explore the depths of digital technology used within the fashion industry, and what developments retailers may take to adapt the shopping experience to the modern day consumer.

(6.0)

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(7.0) APPENDICES