Kumaun university

Department of Management Studies, Bhimtal

DISSERTATION PROJECT REPORT

ON
A STUDY ON IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER BUYING
BEHAVIOR : A CASE OF FASHION AND APPREAL GOODS ON YOUTH

Submitted for
PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE
OF

MASTERS OF BUISNESS ADMINISTRATION

(BATCH 2017-2019)

Submitted By :-

PAYAL PALIWAL

. ROLL NO: 170640960008

Under the Guidance of

. Mr.Asheesh bisht

1
 DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES , KUMAUN UNIVERSITY

. Dissertation Report

MBA Specialization Batch 2017-19

Certificate by Faculty Guide

This is to certify that the Dissertation Project, titled “A STUDY ON IMPACT OF SOCIAL
MEDIA ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR : A CASE OF FASHION AND APPREAL
GOODS ON YOUTH” submitted by PAYAL PALIWAL, ROLL NO: 170640960008 carried
out under my guidance and supervision.

To the best of my knowledge and belief, the information presented by her has not been submitted
elsewhere.

Signature:

Name of Faculty Guide:

Designation of Faculty Guide:

Date:

1
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I owe my gratitude to many people who helped and supported me during the
entire research work.

First and foremost I would like to express my deep gratitude to my college

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES , KUMAUN UNIVERSITY for
giving me this opportunity of working on project of such an importance. I am
sincerely thankful to our Head Of Department Dr. L.K Singh for his guidance and
support throughout the project.

I am very much thankful to Mr. Asheesh Bisht (Faculty Mentor) for initiating and
guiding me for the completion of this project. He has always been available for me to
put me on track from time to time to bring the project at its best form.

I also thank my Institution and my faculty members without whom the project would
have been a distant reality.
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Over the past few years, social media and digital media have drastically changed
how people consume content, especially in the fashion industry. People are no
longer picking up magazines as often as they have in the past. Today, content is
consumed online and people are not only reading content, but they are offering
their feedback through comments and social media. Multiple types of fashion
blogs managed by everyday people are giving consumers an inside look into
what used to be an exclusive, fashion-experts-only industry. This is an
exploratory research, mainly focused on Finding out the relationship of Social
Media with Fashion Consciousness & preferences
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.
It also provides necessary recommendations in the industry and the areas which
require improvements. The whole report has been based on customer survey
therefore it also projects the consumer awareness and customer satisfaction level
related to the social media sites that help the companies directly connect to the
consumers.
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.
 ABSTRACT
The enormous infusion of social media, in terms of bloggers, internet celebrities,
and ecommerce websites, especially targeting the younger generation, influences
the way we dress and what we feel is ‘fashionable’. Fashion and lifestyle
bloggers today are highly reputable and influential individuals and those
extremely committed to their craft have, earned industry recognition.
We are constantly being introduced to ‘what is trendy’, on a global scale!
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, popular Blogs and Pinterest are incessantly
demonstrating; exotic travel destinations, the latest trends, in terms of food,
fancy recipes, beauty products and gorgeous fashion and accessory pieces
further this has transformed society the way they used to buy products from
traditional means.
‘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.
Since everyone is going digital today, it allows you to stay connected to your
friends , various celebrities & sellers by simply scrolling through your iPhones ,
Blackberrys & android and finding out about all the seasons latest trends with
the click of a button that to with competitive prices
INTRODUCTION
Ignoring the Internet is total madness,” said Diane von Furstenberg, who didn’t live
stream her show but did update her Facebook page with backstage photos and tweeted
from the event. “Being active on the Internet is indispensable to growth and for being
relevant. It helps your business to be truly global and truly multi-generational.”
The reign of traditional media is soon becoming obsolete and is no longer encouraging
effective two-way communication between fashion brands and consumers. The fashion
industry has been known for being extremely exclusive to everyone but the insiders. It was
difficult for every day consumers to understand what really goes on within the fashion
industry. Traditional media further reiterated this exclusivity. Today, focus in the fashion
industry has drifted toward digital media, specifically fashion blogs and social media. Both
fashion blogs and social media have recently made an elitist industry more accessible and
relatable to every day consumers. Fashion bloggers are encouraging a two-way symmetrical
approach by opening up communication between those in the fashion industry and citizens.
Fashion blogger are now using their influence to drive trends, inform the public about the
latest fashion news and more.

Fashion
Fashion is a popular style or practice, especially in clothing, footwear, accessories, makeup,
body piercing, or furniture. Fashion is a distinctive and often habitual trend in the style in
which a person dresses. It is the prevailing styles in behaviour and the newest creations of
textile designers.[1] Because the more technical term costume is regularly linked to the term
"fashion", the use of the former has been relegated to special senses like fancy dress or
masquerade wear, while "fashion" generally means clothing, including the study of it.

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.
Although the fashion industry developed first in Europe and America, as of 2014, it is an
international and highly globalized industry, with clothing often designed in one country,
manufactured in another, and sold world-wide. The clothing industry accounts for a
significant share of world economic output. The fashion industry consists of four levels:
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
Social media refers to a combination of three elements: content, user communities and Web
2.0 technologies. Social media denotes to the means of communications among people in
which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and
networks (Halonen & Heinonen, 2008). According to Andreas Kaplan and Michael
Haenlein, who define social media as "a group of
Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of
Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content” Furthermore,
social media depends on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive
platforms through which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify
user-generated content.

Social Media and Fashion

“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.
Of all social networks, designers favoured Instagram the most because of consumers’
overall activity on the network. Analysis from Forrester Research confirms that overall
engagement on Instagram is significantly higher than other social sites — even Facebook.
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.
Most surprisingly, total engagement — which includes image “likes” and comments —
swelled by 101%, from 5.4 million to 10.8 million.
“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
Fashion consciousness is the knowledge about the latest fashion, knowledge about what is
in the trend and following the fashion. A person who is fashion conscious knows the
details of the trends, its evolution and changes himself/herself as the fashion dissolves.
LITERATURE REVIEW
E-Commerce in India – Past, Present & Future
There is no denying the fact that e-commerce has re-entered India and is here to stay. Even the small and
medium retailers of the country want to ride the wave and are ready to make a fortune out of the market
place concept. It may be now that online shopping has become popular but the concept of e-Commerce was
introduced long back in the 20th century.

Circa 1991: Introduction of E-Commerce

The year 1991 noted a new chapter in the history of the online world where e-commerce became a hot
choice amongst the commercial use of the internet. At that time nobody would have even thought that the
buying and selling online or say the online trading will become a trend in the world and India will also
share a good proportion of this success.

Circa 2002: IRCTC teaches India to Book ticket online

India first came into interaction with the online E-Commerce via the IRCTC. The government of India
experimented this online strategy to make it convenient for its public to book the train tickets. Hence, the
government came forward with the IRCTC Online Passenger Reservation System, which for the first time
encountered the online ticket booking from anywhere at any time. This was a boon to the common man as
now they don’t have to wait for long in line, no issues for wastage of time during unavailability of the
trains, no burden on the ticket bookers and many more. The advancements in the technology as the years
passed on have been also seen in the IRCTC Online system as now one can book tickets (tatkal, normal,
etc.) on one go, easy payments, can check the status of the ticket and availability of the train as well. This is
a big achievement in the history of India in the field of online E-Commerce.

Circa 2003: Introduction of Low Cost Airline with AirDeccan

After the unpredicted success of the IRCTC, the online ticket booking system was followed by the
airlines (like AirDeccan, Indian Airlines, Spicejet, etc.). Airline agency encouraged, web booking to save
the commission given to agents and thus in a way made a major population of the country to try E-
Commerce for the first time. Today, the booking system is not just limited to the transportation rather hotel
bookings, bus booking etc. are being done using the websites like Makemytrip and Yatra.

Circa 2007: The Deep Discounted model of Flipkart

The acceptance of the ecommerce on a large scale by the Indian people influenced other business players
also to try this technique for their E-businesses and gain high profits. Though online shopping has been
present since the 2000 but it gained popularity only with deep discount model of Flipkart. In a way it re-
launched online shopping in India.  Soon other portals like Amazon, Flipkart, Jabong, etc. started hunting
India for their businesses.

Circa 2014: Current Scenario

 Online shopping in its early stage was a simple medium for shopping with fewer options. The users can just
place an order and pay cash on delivery. But, in last few years this field has been renovated to a high extent
and hence fascinated many customers. Today, the online shopping has become a trend in India and the
reason behind the adoption of this technique lies in the attractive online websites, user friendly interface,
bulky online stores with new fashion, easy payment methods (i.e. secure pay online via gateways like
paypal or cash-on-delivery), no bound on quantity & quality, one can choose the items based on size, color,
price, etc.

Despite being a developing country, India has shown a commendable increase in the ecommerce industry
in the last couple of years, thereby hitting the market with a boom. Though the Indian online market is far
behind the US and the UK, it has been growing at a fast page.

Further, the addition of discounts, coupons, offers, referral systems, 30days return guarantee, 1-7 days
delivery time, etc. to the online shopping and the E-Market have added new flavors to the industry.

The Key drivers of in Indian ecommerce have been:

 Increasing broadband Internet and 3G penetration.

 Growing Living standards
 Availability of much wider product range
 Busy lifestyles and lack of time for offline shopping
 Increased usage of online categorized sites
 Evolution of the online marketplace model with websites like eBay, Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc.

The Way Forward:

Social Media as a Lead Generation tool
Social media has now become the hub for the merchants which enables them to analyze the customer
choice based on their purchase activities. Social network like LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Facebook and
others have become a medium for easy log-in and purchase. Moreover, the clients can stay updated via the
posts published on this media. Further, the advertising & promotions on these social sites has increased the
chances of success of generating transactions to many folds.

Mobile Commerce:
The latest trend in e-commerce it to focus on mobile based shopping. Snapdeal now getting half of its
traffic from mobile, up from 5% around a year back and flipkart gets 40% traffic from mobile up from
15%. As price of smart phone reduce, these figures will only increase. For this reason, the larger
ecommerce firm has started focusing on mobile commerce. It is speculated that the next wave of digital
commerce consumer will come thru the mobile.

Price comparison engine:

In the race to acquire customer, e-commerce sites offer deep discount and these discount vary from site to
site depending upon its capacity to negotiate with the supplier. To get the best discounts, buyer need to
search a plethora of sites. Here, Price comparison sites come in like mysmartprice.com, Pricedekho.com,
freekamal.com and Junglee, etc. . The website compare prices over the entire web and provide users with
the best available price. E-Commerce sale through these website are increasing and will further increase as
consumers get more and more discount savvy.

Online Grocery Store:

Online grocery stores are gaining popularity in India due to absolute convenience, ease of shopping and a
fast-growing market. Punexpress.com, Milestore.com, Atadaal.com have already entered the market and
are gaining popularity. They provide discounted product and free home delivery. All of these stores are
targeting the Indian housewife, who are yet to move to e-commerce way of shopping.

Innovation in logistics:
The addition of the new concept in the ecommerce industry had been recently observed when Amazon
patented its new delivery model called the Prime Air which is expected to be launched in the upcoming
years. This model will use the highly technically embedded drones or helicopters for the instant delivery of
the items. These will be programmed in such a way that using a GPS system they will identify the exact
address for delivery and drop the item right in front of the doors of the customers. These aerial vehicles will
prioritize the public safety and are designed as per the commercial aviation standards.
Retail Industry in India
Introduction
The Indian retail industry has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast-paced industries due to the
entry of several new players. Total consumption expenditure is expected to reach nearly US$ 3,600 billion
by 2020 from US$ 1,824 billion in 2017. It accounts for over 10 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) and around 8 per cent of the employment. India is the world’s fifth-largest global
destination in the retail space.

Market Size
India’s retail market is expected to increase by 60 per cent to reach US$ 1.1 trillion by 2020, on the back of
factors like rising incomes and lifestyle changes by middle class and increased digital connectivity. Online
retail sales are forecasted to grow at the rate of 31 per cent year-on-year to reach US$ 32.70 billion in 2018.

India is expected to become the world’s fastest growing e-commerce market, driven by robust investment
in the sector and rapid increase in the number of internet users. Various agencies have high expectations
about growth of Indian e-commerce markets.

Luxury market of India is expected to grow to US$ 30 billion by the end of 2018 from US$ 23.8 billion
2017 supported by growing exposure of international brands amongst Indian youth and higher purchasing
power of the upper class in tier 2 and 3 cities, according to Assocham.

Investment Scenario
The Indian retail trading has received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflows totalling US$ 1.42
billion during April 2000–June 2018, according to the Department of Industrial Policies and Promotion
(DIPP).
With the rising need for consumer goods in different sectors including consumer electronics and home
appliances, many companies have invested in the Indian retail space in the past few months.

 Beccos, a South Korean designer brand is set to enter the Indian market with an investment of about
Rs 1.00 billion (US$ 14.25 million) and open 50 stores by June 2019.

 Walmart Investments Cooperative U.A has invested Rs 2.75 billion (US$ 37.68 million) in Wal-
Mart India Pvt Ltd.

Government Initiatives
The Government of India has taken various initiatives to improve the retail industry in India. Some of them
are listed below:

 The Government of India may change the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules in food processing,
in a bid to permit e-commerce companies and foreign retailers to sell Made in India consumer
products.

 Government of India has allowed 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in online retail of
goods and services through the automatic route, thereby providing clarity on the existing businesses
of e-commerce companies operating in India.

Road Ahead
E-commerce is expanding steadily in the country. Customers have the ever increasing choice of products at
the lowest rates. E-commerce is probably creating the biggest revolution in the retail industry, and this
trend would continue in the years to come. India's e-commerce industry is forecasted to reach US$ 53
billion by 2018. Retailers should leverage the digital retail channels (e-commerce), which would enable
them to spend less money on real estate while reaching out to more customers in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

It is projected that by 2021 traditional retail will hold a major share of 75 per cent, organised retail share
will reach 18 per cent and e-commerce retail share will reach 7 per cent of the total retail market.
Exchange Rate Used: INR 1 = US$ 0.0142 as on Q2 FY19.

Nevertheless, the long-term outlook for the industry is positive, supported by rising incomes, favourable
demographics, entry of foreign players, and increasing urbanisation.
The Indian fashion apparel market – 2017 &
beyond
1. Market Overview
Indian economy, one of the fastest growing economies of the world, is witnessing major shifts in consumer
preferences. Increasing disposable income, brand awareness and increasing tech-savvy millennial
population are the driving factors of corporatized retail within the country. Overall, Indian retail scenario
has shown sustainable long-term growth compared to other developing economies.

The Indian retail market was worth Rs 41,66,500 crore (US $641 billion) in 2016 and is expected to reach
Rs 1,02,50,500 crore (US $1,576 billion) by 2026, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
of 10 per cent. It is envisaged that the current fashion retail market worth Rs 2,97,091 crore (US $46
billion) will grow at a promising CAGR of 9.7 per cent to reach Rs 7,48,398 crore (US $115 billion) by
2026.

Indian apparel industry which is the second largest contributor in the retail industry after food and grocery
is seeing some major shifts. Entry of international brands, changes in preferences from non-branded to
branded, the fast growing economy, large young consuming population in the country has made India a
highly lucrative market. India has the world’s largest youth population, which is becoming fashion
conscious owing to mass media and social media penetration. This has opened unprecedented retail market
opportunities. The promising growth rate of 9.7 per cent makes the Indian fashion industry prominent in the
retail sector. With a GDP growth rate of 7 per cent, India has an edge over developed markets of the US,
Europe and Japan which are expected to grow at a rate of 2-3 per cent. Favourable trade policies and
increased penetration of organised retail among other factors contribute in making Indian fashion industry
attractive for investors.

Within the retail categories, apparel retail has demonstrated comparatively high receptivity towards
corporatized retail. High penetration of corporatized retail in apparel has also paved the way to introduce
more formal and systematic processes and procedures in operations, procurement and distribution. As a
consequence, apparel retail market has managed to harness the advantages offered by modern management
concepts leading to improved product offering, better customer management and scientific supply chain
management techniques. It is expected that apparel retail will continue to witness deeper penetration of
corporatized retail beyond the major urban clusters and the increase in the demand of branded products.

Intersegment Analysis
The Indian apparel market can be broadly classified into men’s wear, women’s wear and kidswear.
Currently, men’s wear holds major share in the apparel market. It accounts for 41 per cent of the total
market. Women’s wear contributes almost 38 per cent, while kidswear contributes 21 per cent of the
market. It is estimated that over the next decade women’s wear and kids wear will demonstrate high CAGR
of 9.9 and 10.5 per cent respectively, resulting in rise in market share of these categories. Both, men’s wear
and women’s wear is expected to contribute 39 per cent each to the total market in 2026, with kidswear
accounting for the rest 22 per cent.

2.1 Men’s wear

With the market size of Rs 1,24,423 crore (US $19 billion), men’s wear is the largest segment in apparel
market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9 per cent for next 10 years to reach Rs 2,95,795 crore (US
$45.5 billion) by 2026. The various product categories of men’s wear segment include shirts, trousers,
suits, winter wear, t-shirts, denim, daily wear, active wear, ethnic, innerwear, etc. Shirts are the single
largest category in men’s wear, followed by trousers and denim.

In recent years, denim, activewear and t-shirts have shown promising growth and are expected to grow at
high CAGRs of 14 per cent, 14 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, owing to changing preference of the
consumers. While denim and t-shirts have matured as categories and have shown a consistent growth over
a considerable period of time, activewear has recently evolved and has high growth potential. This is due to
the boom in fitness and healthcare. In addition, the consumers in India have evolved and now understand
that clothing for fitness is different from everyday clothing. These factors contribute to high growth
projections of 14 per cent over the next decade. The growth in this category is not just restricted to metros
and Tier -I cities and has shown growth in Tier –II and –III cities as well.

The acceptance of smart casuals in corporate has boosted growth of western wear among working
professionals. Formal wear is not restricted only to shirts and trousers but has a wide range of other options
such as smart jackets, brightly coloured or patterned shirts complemented with loafers, etc.

Men’s denim wear is expected to grow at a rate of 14 per cent per year. The young population of the
country is the key demand driver of this segment. Due to rise in media penetration in the country and global
fashion awareness among youth, a shift in consumer’s choice of denim wear has been witnessed in the
country. Penetration of international brands in denim has provided consumers with ample product options.

2.2 Women’s wear

The women’s wear market in India contributes 38 per cent of the total apparel industry. It is estimated to be
worth Rs 1,11,467 crore (US $17.5 billion in 2016) and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.9 per cent to
reach Rs 2,86,456 crore (US $44 billion in 2026). Globalization coupled with fast fashion has resulted in
awareness on fashion trends and styling. Further, the increase in number of working women has fuelled the
women’s wear market. The demand is expected for western wear, fusion wear and occasion specific ethnic
wear. Women’s wear in India comprises of ethnic wear, western wear, Indo-western, innerwear, etc. Ethnic
wear is the single biggest category in women’s wear segment with a share of 66 per cent. In ethnic wear,
the saree is perhaps the most common traditional Indian dress for women and has a market of Rs 37,837
crore. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5 per cent and reach Rs 61,632 crore by 2026. Though a market
shift is expected from saree to salwar kameez and western wear in urban and semi-urban markets, saree
will still remain as the predominant category among elderly and middle aged women across urban and rural
India.

Salwar kameez is another dominating category in ethnic wear, especially among the working women
because of its comfort level. With a market share of Rs 35,804 crore, it is expected to grow at a CAGR of
12 per cent to reach Rs 1,11,203 crore by 2026. But, it has started facing stiff competition from the western
wear owing to increased number of working women in the country, especially in urban areas. The increased
competition from western wear has resulted in a new category — Indo-western (fusion-wear).

The innerwear category is another promising category in the women’s wear market. It is growing at a
CAGR of 14 per cent and is expected to reach Rs 60,277 crore in 2026 from the current market size of Rs
16,259 crore. Branded innerwear presently contributes about 35- 40 per cent of the total women’s
innerwear market and is expected to reach to 40-45 per cent in 2020.

Denim is another high growth category among women’s wear and is expected to grow by a promising rate
of 17.5 per cent for the next ten years to become a market of Rs 10,209 crore from Rs 2,035 crore
currently. Initially, the denim brands used to focus primarily on men, but with the change in the demand
and preferences of women, they started catering to women consumers as well. Stretch denims have seen a
huge demand among women.

Women’s t-shirts and tops categories are also growing fast owing to generic inclination for western wear
categories. The women tops and shirts market is of Rs 2,236 crore and is expected to grow at a CAGR of
14 per cent to reach Rs 8,291 crore by 2026. The women’s t-shirts market of Rs 933 crore is growing in
tandem with the growth of other casual wear categories and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17 per cent
to reach Rs 4,484 crore by 2026.

2.3 Kidswear
The kidswear segment is one of the fastest growing segments in the Indian apparel market. The Indian kids
wear market in 2016 was estimated to be worth Rs 61,201 crore and accounted for 21 per cent of the total
apparel market of the country. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.5 per cent to reach Rs 1,66,147 crore
by 2026. With such market potential, a number of national and international players have entered this
segment. India, being one of the youngest nations in the world with 29 per cent of its population less than
14 years is a lucrative market. The competition between the new entrants and existing players has
ultimately benefited the Indian consumers as the firms have shifted their focus to improve the quality while
reducing costs at the same time.
Awareness about latest kidswear is not only limited to metro cities but it is widespread among Tier -II and
-III cities also due to access to various media such as televisions, smart phones, movies etc. With growing
disposable income, exposure to global fashion trends and entrance of foreign brands in the country –
spending on kidswear by Indian populace has increased.

The kids wear market can be categorised into boy’s wear and girl’s wear.

Boy’s wear
The Indian kidswear market is slightly skewed towards boy’s wear which accounts for 51 per cent of the
total kidswear market. In 2016, boy’s wear was estimated to be worth Rs 31,552 crore and is expected to
grow at a CAGR of 10.3 per cent and reach Rs 84,678 crore by 2026.

The various categories among boy’s wear are t-shirts, denims, bottom wear, ethnic, winter wear and
uniforms. Uniforms, t-shirts and bottom wear are the dominating categories among boy’s wear. They
together contribute around 78 per cent of the total boy’s wear market. However, t-shirts and denims are
considered high growth potential categories in the segment with a CAGR of 12 per cent and 15 per cent
respectively. The increased fashion awareness among kids has made western wear such as denims and t-
shirts popular.

Girl’s wear
Girl’s wear market, which accounts for remaining 49 per cent of the kidswear market, comprises of bottom
wear, ethnics, t-shirts, denims, dresses, winter wear and uniforms. Like boy’s wear, uniforms are the
dominating category among girl’s wear as well. It is worth Rs 9,013 crore and is expected to grow at a
CAGR of 11 per cent to reach Rs 25,591 crore by 2026. Another dominant category in this segment is
ethnic wear, which comprises 23 per cent of the girl’s wear market. But, a major shift has been seen in
trend among girls wear in recent years. Western wear categories such as denims and t-shirts are growing
faster than traditional categories. These categories are expected to register CAGRs of 16 per cent and 14
per cent respectively.

3. Region-Wise Distribution of Apparel Market

Demand for various apparel categories varies substantially across the country. The urban market that
mainly comprises of metro cities such as Delhi/ NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, etc., are the biggest
markets for apparel in India and contribute 23 per cent to the Indian apparel market. Considering the fact
that almost 70 per cent of the population resides in villages, the major contribution of urban cities to the
apparel market indicates the higher purchasing power of the people in urban cities, their frequency of
purchases and tendency to purchase premium and quality products. The metro cities house almost all the
big national and international brands, driven by the well informed and employed population. The metros
also witness huge penetration of women’s western wear as compared to Tier -I or Tier -II cities of the
country. The well informed and trend conscious female customer base has led to deeper penetration of
brands and private labels in the metros.

But lately, many global brands have started penetrating into Tier -I and -II cities, while domestic brands are
also strengthening their position in these markets. Many fashion retailers and apparel brands have already
established themselves in smaller cities. High real estate costs, competition among branded players and
saturation in metro cities of the country have made big brands to move towards the smaller cities of the
country. The increasing purchasing capacity and awareness of fashion and trend in small cities has resulted
in providing a huge market to the organised players of the country.

The rural apparel market in India is still primarily catered by unbranded and unorganised local players.
Need based clothing and price sensitivity among people of rural India does not make it a lucrative market
for branded players.

4. Price Segmentation of Apparel Market

The apparel market can be broadly divided into super premium, premium, medium, economy and low price
segments. The medium price segment holds majority of the share among apparel segment by holding 29
per cent followed by economy which holds 28 per cent of the share of the apparel market of the country.
The price sensitive rural population forms a major chunk of 54 per cent of the low and economy price
segments of apparel market.

Customers across income groups purchase medium priced apparel at varying frequencies. Sometimes the
customers of the premium and super premium segment wish to trade down to medium segment while in
some other cases the low income customer prefers to trade up to medium segment depending on the
requirement of the attire and look. Many Indian consumers of the medium income level prefer medium
price segments as it offers the assurance of certain minimum quality standards at a reasonable and
affordable price.

The super-premium and premium price categories are value driven categories and the product offerings of
these segments come from established brands.

5. Select Trends of Indian Apparel Market

In India’s high-growth, fast-changing retail apparel market, with significant new growth opportunities for
both foreign and domestic players. As a result of it, Indian apparel industry is witnessing some specific
trends.

5.1 Sustainable and eco-friendly manufacturing

As the country is confronted with pollution issues, it has become adopt eco-friendly strategies. The industry
is focusing on reducing water consumption and techniques to avoid usage of organic colours in apparel
manufacturing. Consumers are sensitive and are increasingly getting aware about environmental issues,
resulting
in growing inclination towards eco-friendly and organic apparels. Brands/ private labels have started
catering to this market especially in babies, kidswear and premium adult wear category segments.

5.2 Increased inclination towards smart garments

With technological penetration in everyone’s lives, garments too are witnessing some major up-gradation
in technology. After smart phones, smart televisions, smart watches, etc., ‘smart shirts’ have emerged as a
new trend in apparel industry. Companies are trying to woo the customers by providing smart shirts to the
growing tech freak population of the country.

Right now, the wearable technology market mainly consists of wearable devices such as fitness bands,
smart watches etc. But, recently there has been a shift towards smart garments among premium and luxury
customers.

5.3 Smart casuals

Corporate dressing these days is not restricted to strict formal wears in pastel colours and minimal designs
but has gone under a transition. In women’s wear the concept of smart casuals has carefully replaced
traditional formal wear such as sarees, western formals and salwar-kameez. Increasing inclusion of smart
casuals or semi-formals has resulted in acceptance of chinos and other relaxed trousers along with half
sleeved shirts or t-shirts.

5.4 Continued rise of ‘organised retail’

The Indian fashion retail industry is transforming rapidly and is seeing shift from unorganised to organised
retail. The transformation is due to increase in income, increased penetration of branded wear in country
and awareness of fashion trends among consumers But, nowadays couture is not limited to metros only.
Tier -II cities and semi-urban cities have emerged as huge potential markets for these organised players.
Penetration of organised retail chains has contributed to the growth of apparel market in these markets.
Market expansion in non-metros seems an lucrative opportunity for domestic and international brands.
Once considered value conscious consumers of Tier -II cities are now open to spend more on fashion and
look good. Apparel retail in non-metros is growing exponentially due to which more brands are entering
hinterlands.

5.5 Apparel sales in e-commerce

Online shopping in India is not a new phenomenon anymore, although it is in nascent stage but blooming
very rapidly. E-commerce has grown in recent years and has touched every person’s life. It has played a
very vital role in bridging the gap between consumers residing in Tier -II and Tier -II cities and premium
wear sellers. It has made availability of premium brands in semi urban areas where these brands have no
retail outlets.

In India, e-commerce portals and marketplaces have established themselves by providing huge discounts to
lure customers thus changing the consumers’ mindset and providing wider range of products to choose
from. According to Technopak Analysis, currently there are 431 million Internet users which is expected to
reach 750 million by 2026. Cash crunch due to demonetisation along with improvement in net banking
facilities will fuel the growth of e-commerce in the country. The government’s initiatives to develop cash
less, inclusive and digital citizens has provided further boost to e-commerce industry. The e-tailers have
started launching their private fashion labels to increase their profit margins.

6. Challenges for Fashion Retail in India

Despite of growing at a promising rate, Indian fashion retail is facing its own challenges. Some of the
major challenges faced by fashion industry in the country are as follows:

6.1 Infrastructural bottlenecks and efficiency

Indian fashion retail industry faces challenge of inadequate infrastructure such as poor conditions of roads,
highways etc., which results in becoming roadblock in growth of apparel fashion industry. India, to grow to
its fullest potential, would have to invest heavily in infrastructure such as proper connectivity of roads,
inland waterways, etc.

According to World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index 2016, India ranks at 35 when compared to 160
countries. It scored 3.42 on a scale of 5, thus showing a huge scope of improvement in infrastructure which
is a major hurdle in logistics of the apparel industry.

6.2 Poor Internet penetration in the country

Despite e-commerce blooming in the country, India has poor Internet connectivity as compared to other
growing economies. In India, e-commerce is in its nascent stage but has grown significantly in the last
fifteen years and is set to grow at a high rate in the next decade. However , the quality of Internet services
provided is poor due to lack of infrastructure. To ensure long term growth of e-commerce in India, it is
essential to upgrade the Internet services. Unless, the government takes initiatives in this direction, e-
commerce industry would not be able to reach its fullest potential. In addition, Cyber security is another
major threat in e-tail industry.

6.3 Changing consumer behaviour

In today’s business environment, consumer is the king. It has become imperative for the manufacturers
tocater to the consumers according to their taste and preference. With mass media penetration and growing
disposable income, Indian consumers have become more demanding and adaptable to change in fashion.
With the rapidly changing profile of consumers, it has become challenging for retailers to keep up with
shifting shopping demands. Shoppers today are well informed about fashion trends and demand
accordingly. Thus, it becomes challenging for retailers to cater their customers with constant change in
preferences.

Textile and clothing industry

Textile and clothing sector is one of the oldest industries in India. According to the Indian Brand Equity
Foundation (IBEF), “The close linkage of the textile industry to agriculture (for raw materials such as
cotton) and the ancient culture and traditions of the country in terms of textiles make the Indian textiles
sector unique in comparison to the industries of other countries”.

The Indian textile industry is estimated around 108 billion dollar and expected to reach 223 billion dollar
by 2021. The industry also employs over 45 million people directly to 60 million people indirectly. The
Indian Textile Industry contributes approximately 5 per cent to India’s gross domestic product (GDP), and
14 per cent to overall Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The textile industry is also one of the largest
contributor to India’s export with approximately 13.5 percent of total export amounting 42.24 billion
dollars.

Fashion Companies

Brands like Benetton, Zodiac, Z3, Zara, Vero Moda, Calvin Klein, Diesel and Tommy Hilfiger have
experienced good sales growth in the country, while names like Zara, Armani, Forever21 or Uniqlo appeal
to the Indian audiences, attracting higher per square foot sales compared to the departmental or
hypermarket stores.

Company name: Market value Annual revenue Company type

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail 3 billion dollar 400 million dollars Public

Vardhman Group 1.7 billion dollar 1.1 billion dollars Public

Arvind Limited 1.6 billion dollar 850 million dollars Public

Raymond Limited 1 billion dollar 800 million dollars Public

On the other hand, Indian companies like the Arvind group, Madura Fashion and Lifestyle, Raymond
Apparel, Trent Retail, Reliance Retail and Future Group has launched their own fashion labels.
Consumer Expenditure

Annual consumer expenditure on footwear and clothing: 68 billion dollars

CONSUMER BUYING DECISION MAKING
PROCESS

CONSUMER
Consumers are actors on the marketplace stage. Consumers, in general, can be referred as individuals
who purchase or consume products and services; however, in terms of buyer and consumer, there is a
slight difference. Buyers are the people who are acting either as ultimate, industrial, or institutional
purchasers. The latter one, consumer, refers to individuals who purchase for merely ultimate use,
which is more restrictive in terms of meaning (Sternthal and Craig 1982); that is, the end-users for
whom the products or services are ultimately designed for.

CONSUMER DECISION PROCESS

Inevitably, businesses encounter bottlenecks where the message is not reaching their consumers and
prospects, with the fact that, at times, consumers and prospects are facing significant blocks in their
decision process. If not, each of them should be fully committed, loyal, enthusiastic, repeated consumers;
however, this is not the case. Today the accessibility and transparency of information has profoundly
influenced the decision making process; therefore, it is important to examine what are the hurdles a nd
fiction points that hold prospects becoming consumers, or keeps consumers hesitating from
repurchasing. (Silverman 2001.)

The 5-Stage Decision Making Model (Silverman 2001

Engel, Kollat, and Blackwell (EKB) have presents a comprehensive model dealing with ultimate
consumer’s behavior in 1978, which attempts to capture the critical aspects of individuals’ consumption
behavior. As the figure (Figure 1) shows, the model has interpreted consumer behavior into five stages –
1) Problem recognition, 2) search of information, 3) evaluation of alternatives, 4) final decision, and 5)
post purchase decisions. (Sternthal and Craig 1982).
PROBLEM RECOGNITION
Problem recognition takes place whenever a consumer recognizes a significant difference between the
desired and the actual state of affairs, which is in sufficient magnitude to arouse and activate the decision
process (Solomon, Bamossy and Askegaard 2002), or need triggered by internal or external stimuli. After
the realization of a problem, it initiates the search for information before any typical buying action.

When an individual is triggered externally, for instance, a person may see a television advertisement for a
vacation, the stimuli triggers thoughts or ideas about the possibility of making a purchase (Kotler and
Keller 2009). Nowadays, the mass media is no longer the only source of information, which may serve as a
trigger of a purchase to individuals. As a result, consumers are exposed to vast amount of information, in
order to get through the consumer’s filter , marketers have to identify a claim or promise about their
services or products, which are strongly penetrative. Filter, in this case, is a fact of being overlooked
because of too much information competing in the marketplace (Silverman 2001).
2.2.2 Search of Infomation
The final purchase decision will not be made at once, even when individuals acknowledge, recognize their
problems, and pay attention to the available products; likewise, when prospects have a certain interest in a
product or service, they tend to go through the following steps before carrying out any action – identifying
available options, studying information of selected options, and eventually judging which of these options
can most likely deliver the best outcome (Silverman 2001).
The information sources can be divided into two types: internal and external. Internal search indicates
former information and experience of an individual will result in future behavior that the consumers will be
likely to take (Solomon, Bamossy and Askegaard 2002). Even when a consumer is attentive towards a
marketing offer, it does not imply that the offer will be comprehended as intended; therefore, aside
from the accumulated information, any information or message that is generally analyzed and stored in the
consumers’ memory in forms of certain meaning will be used to evaluate alternatives. Essentially,
competitive brands provide alternatives for consumers who are willing to find the best solution to their
problems or needs, even they may offer same products or services.
EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES
Once an option is identified as the best/suitable solution according to the individual’s needs after
accumulating sufficient information, they undertake alternative evaluation (Sternthal and Craig 1982, 46).
Depending on their motives or goals, consumers establish a criteria for evaluating choice alternatives
(Sternthal and Craig 1982, 46), for instance which alternative is the simplest to use or to arrange, or what
are other users’ experiences, because there is a need to confirm whether or not the information is reliable
and to verify that the product will work out as anticipated. (Silverman 2001.)

In order to ensure the outcome within the expectation, individuals require relevance of experience. Direct
and indirect experience, which individuals, serve as indicators during the buying process. Direct experience
is not always preferred since individuals are inexperienced towards specific products, which may result
using it in an unskilled manner and have negative experience with it. Most often, if negative experiences
take place, they are most likely to be costly (both financially and time), risky, or even damaging to
reputation. (Silverman 2001.)
After the assessment of the choice alternatives, consumers formulate beliefs regarding the alternatives,
which guide their attitudes, intentions, and ultimately their choice among alternatives (Sternthal and Craig
1982, 46). Besides, several studies have provided evident findings that the decision maker will increasingly
seek ways to simplify the evaluation process when a decision becomes more complex (Bruner, Goodnow
and Austin 1956; Association for Psychological Science 2008).
Final Decision
Steps between evaluation of alternatives and a purchase decision

Kotler and Keller (2009) have suggested that during the course of evaluation, consumer eventually forms
preferences among the brands in the choice desk, however, there are two factors, which can interfere
between the purchase intension and purchase decisio n – attitude of the others and unanticipated situational
factors (172).

Attitudes of others is the extent to which another person’s negative attitude towards the preferred
alternatives or reluctance to meet the terms of supporting the purchase intention, this may result in a
readjustment of the consumer’s purchase intention (Kotler and Kel er 2009,172).

Likewise, Kotler (2009) has also stated that consumers are undoubtedly influenced by the infomediaries
who publish their evaluations (e.g. customer reviews on Amazon.com, blogs, bulletin boards, and so on).
Unanticipated situational factors refer to those may erupt to alter the purchase intention, for instance, there
might come an unexpected purchase that is more urgent compared to the purchase the consumer was firstly
stimulated to buy. in other words, preferences and purchase intentions cannot be served as completely
reliable predictors of purchase behavior. (Kotler and Keller 2009.)

The stages in the decision process are not followed sequentially, but rather in a cyclically order; that is, in
reality there are loops, for instance between information search and evaluation, consumer learns about new
criteria not previously considered (Bettman 1979).

Post Purchase Decision

After the consumption, the consumer then experiences certain levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction, and
evaluates the wisdom of the choice made in selecting the alternative. Two potential outcomes are derived
from this phase – satisfaction or dissonance. When consumer experiences dissonance towards the purchase,
the choice is ‘devaluated’ and the consumer begins the process of searching, obtaining information and
evaluating other options for future buying decision, in which triggers new behavior. (Sternthal and Craig
1982).
It is a phase when the consumer decides whether or not to move from merely implementing the product to a
full adaption; that is, whether to use the product repeatedly or repurchase or not.
Since consumer always has a choice regarding the products priority, frequency of usage, and new
circumstances of new uses. When individuals are comfortable in using a specific product regularly, they
will recommend it to others from using the product as well. (Silverman 2001).
Stages in decision making involves many psychological factors, which the above five-stages buying model
has failed to explicate; thus, the following discussion focuses on attitude and the psychological components
mentioned in the information processing theory proposed by Bettman (1979).

ATTITUDE
Personal attitude towards products and brands, has been underlined in the buying model, due to the fact that
attitudes are closely related to consumers’ information process in which judgments are presumably based.
There are other factors influencing the consumer buying decisions, yet attitudes regarding the product and
brand are powerful predictors of the process and the patterns of exposure to information (Fennis and
Stroebe, 2010, 112). Attitudes are learned through past associations/experience, through trails, as well as
through information processing. It is composed of three elements – cognitive, affective, and conative.
Cognitive refers to the awareness or knowledge, such as, a brand; affective are the positive and negative
feelings associated with a certain brand; and conative is the intention to purchase (Smith 1993, 82).
In general, individuals, for whom marketers most likely want to persuade, are the most challenging to
reach. Sternthal and Craig (1982) have implied few examples of a common observation such as
Republicans are more likely to be exposed to Republican propaganda than Democrats, or nonsmokers
comprise the majority of the audience for anti-smoking appeals, these evident investigations have provided
the fact that information exposure is selective. In other words, in response to the findings, individuals’
initial opinions (attitudes) are important determinants of the information they will seek out; as people are
prompt to seek informa tion that is consistent to their initial thought, and keenly avoid those that encounters
with it. (Sternthal and Craig 1982, 83)
An attitude is usually learned from the result of a positive or negative experience, which the individual has
with a certain product (Smith 1993, 82). In a review relating to the differences
between attitudes based on direct or indirect experience, Fazio and Zanna (1981) have stated that
attitudes based on indirect experience depends on the expertise and credibility of the source of
information.
Information Process Theory
For the purpose of this research, information processing theory regarding the consumer choice
has denoted how information is preformed, evaluated, and post-evaluated during the course of
the deicison process. The framework is interpreted into six dominant components – processing
capacity, motivation, attention and perceptual encoding, information acquisition and evaluation,
decision processes, and effects of consumption and learning (Bettman 1979).
Exposure
When consumers are exposed to information via mass media, it is considered as a passive
process in respect of information processing. However, since the information is delivered in a
faster rate, it tends to decrease consumers’ attention and disrupt cognitive elaboration (Moore,
Hausknecht, and Thamodaran 1986). Adversely, in situations where consumers typically seek
out information initiatively, the perspective in viewing information is considered as an active
approach (Sternthal and Craig 1982).
Sliverman (2001) has stated “most prospects are unwilling to take in relatively low priority new
knowledge” in other words, information overload makes businesses harder to draw the attention
of potential customers and to encode messages in their memories (Shapiro and Varian 1998).
Also, buying decisions are often made very quickly, such as consumers are likely to reduce the
dimensions they consider during brand choice under the pressure of time (Wright 1974, see
Ratneshwar, Mike and Reitinger 1990). At this stage, it is crucial to outbreak the clutter/ noise.
Individuals’ attention must be drawn to the incoming information (Sliverman 2001, 69), in which
attention serves as an essential "tuning" mechanism in the active selection of information for
additional processing (Bargh and Pietromonaco 1982; Broadbent 1977; Kahneman 1973; Neisser
1976; see Ratneshwar et al. 1990).
The fact that human beings have a limited capacity for processing information is a very
important notion, because it impacts the various components in t he decision process; such
components as motivation, attention, information search and retrieval, and so on are subjected to
the constraints imposed by the processing capacity limitation (Bettman 1979
Motivation
Bettman (1979) has hypothesized that choices are made to accomplish certain goals or purposes;
thus, it is a crucial concept in any theory of consumer behavior (18). Since individuals make
choices continually, therefore motivation impacts not only on the direction (affecting choice of
one behavior over another) but also on the intensity of behavior (the capacity allocations on a
particular activity)
Attention and Perceptual Encoding
Attention and perception are essence elements in explaining, partially, the selection of
information to attend to. Once an individual is physically exposed to the presented information,
the extent of the information reception depends upon the recipient’s attention regarding the
incoming information (Sternthal and Craig 1982, 88). In the perspective of psychology, attention
refers to the amount of mental effort or cognitive capacity allocated by an individual to the
stimulus environment or task at hand (Foxall et al.1998, 80). According to Sliverman (2001), in
order for the information to be processed, the recipient must pay attention to it; in like manner to
selective information exposure, attention is selective. Individuals are highly selective in the kinds
of stimuli that they pay attention to – focal attention, and tend to neglect stimuli that are nonfocal
(Fennis and Stroebe 2010, 51).
Focal attention is typically divided into two types – voluntary and involuntary (Kahneman 1973).
Voluntary allocation of attention is, most often, impelled by the need to attain some goal or is
driven by long-standing involvement with the product area (Foxall et al. 1998), for instance
when individuals are hungry, they tend to pay attention to cues or seek related information in the
environment that signal ”food” (Fennis and Stroebe 2010, 51). Since voluntary attention is
highly selective, thus it is commonly found marketers devoting vast amount of money and time
in reaching involved consumer (Foxall et al. 1998). In contrary, involuntary attention is attracted
by environment stimuli (Foxall et al. 1998), such as salience, vividness, and novelty (Fennis and
Stroebe 2010, 51).
Sternthal and Craig (1982) describes attention can be enhanced by using a stronger signal to
engage focal attention such as, in a consumer marketing perspective, using frequent advertising,
or achieving concentrated distribution (louder noise being generated
Individual tends to look for and see what they have expected, because interpretations of
information are quickly constructed in consistent with concepts in memory, and interpretation of
stimuli requires an actively analysis utilizing information stored in memory (Bettman 1979, 25).
People tend to be drawn towards environment where a disproportionate amount of information is
consistent with their initial opinion. Namely, individual typically live in a community with
individuals who share the similar values and perspectives, and it caters to their lifestyle; hence, it
is not surprising that individuals are unlikely be aware of information that is contradicted to their
lifestyles.
Perceptual interpretation of stimuli will often influence the subsequent direction of attention –
they are continually interacting. Since consumers are likely to respond to a louder noise, such as
a novel stimulus, such events then lead to interruptions of current information processing.
Bettman (1979) has further proposed two types of interrupting events, which seems most
relevant to attention and perceptual encoding – conflicts and learning about the environment.
Individuals can have various responses to conflicts, for instance ignoring it, changing emphasis
on certain criteria, search for new information, and so on. The second major interruption
highlights that individuals may often learn about the purchasing environment even if it may not
be relevant to current purchasing decision. Learning about the environment is aroused when a
certain of external factor happens to attract the consumer’s attention, for instance, consumer may
be attracted by an “interesting” package. (Bettman 1979.)
Many researchers (Krugman 1965; McLaughlin 1965; Posner 1973) have studied about the
phenomenon of learning about the environment (see Bettman 1979), it can be either with
voluntary attention involvement or with little
Many researchers (Krugman 1965; McLaughlin 1965; Posner 1973) have studied about the
phenomenon of learning about the environment (see Bettman 1979), it can be either with
voluntary attention involvement or with little conscious allocation of attention, however all
findings refers to the basic idea that learning about the environment is closely tied to current goal
(Bettman 1979).
Information Acquisition and Evaluation
Howard and Ostlund (1973) have stated that often times the consumers’ media selections of the
information source are determinants of the information to which the consumers will be exposed
(see in Healey 1974); that is, in the situation, consumers may have their preferences regarding
which online communities or blogs or so on whenever they seek for information.
Sternthal and Craig (1982, 83) have also indicated that consumers’ information exposure is
highly selective during the initial stage of information acquistion. When information is sought
externally – for instance from friends, packages, advertising, and so forth, the actual external
information found would significantly influence the future course of the search in which it may
involve changing the goal, and redirecting attention and perceptual encoding.
There are many circumstances that will impact the decision regarding when the information
search should be stopped, such as the perceived costs of obtaining information (e.g. time costs,
effort required, or financial costs), the information availability, and the value of the information
in helping to make a choice (e.g. credibility, experts’ advice). As discussed previously,
individuals may often learn about the environment, in which results in information intake
unconsciously; in other words, individual is not actively searching for the piece of information.
Advertising in this case is considered as an interruption that leads to a goal reordering – for
instance, consumer may purchase a product, which is broadcasted on television.
Organizing the acquired information entails the combination of the bits of information that the
consumer has acquired (Sternthal and Craig 1982, 89). During this stage, consumer relates
incoming information to his or her existing structure of beliefs and values (Bettman 1979). Many
studies (Bettman 1979;
Sternthal and Craig 1982; Fennis and Stroebe 2010) have proposed that the consumers’
responses and reactions to the incoming information can affect the eventual impact of the
information on the existing structure, in which whether t he piece of information will be
integrated, ignored, distorted, and so on.
Howard (1977) postulated (see in Sternthal and Craig 1982) that if the alternative desired is
identified, then the consumer may search for information about prices and stores where that
alternative is available, for instance the price levels, locations, service capabilities, and so on.
Bettman (1979) has suggested that the relative information availability within the particular
choice environment affects the type of information cons umer seeks for. For example, he
mentioned, particular alternatives may be only available at particular stores, or vise versa, which
makes the search for the dealer be extensive (120).
One of the issues that have to be denoted in Bettman’s (1979) findings is in regards of the
influences on the source from which information is sought. In his findings, he has brought up the
temporal patterns of source usage found in innovation search by Rogers (1962). Rogers (1962)
states that mass media sources tend to be used during the earlier awareness and interest stages of
adoption whereas word-of- mouth communication tends to be most used during later evaluation
and trial stage (see in Bettman 1979).

DECISION PROCESSES
In general, decision process takes place througho ut the course of selecting information and
comparing purchase alternatives. Bettman (1979) has indicated that the decision process does not
follow a sequential flow, but rather a cycling procedure; that is, if conflict arouses, attention and
perceptual encoding may be redirected regarding the solution of the conflict, eventually it may
result in a change of decision choice.

EFFECTS OF CONSUMPTION AND LEARNING

The consumption of the purchased products will most likely serve as a source of information to
the individual on future purchase decisions. Depending upon how consumers interpret the
outcomes they experienced, different inferences may developed accordingly regarding the cause
of the outcome, which can result in differing actions on future purchases (Bettman 1979).
ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN
CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR
SOCIAL MEDIA
Many researchers have come across the interchangeable usage of the terms “social media” and
“Web2.0” (Safko and Brake 2009, 6; Kaplan and Haenlein 2009, 60); however, Safko and Brake
(2009, 6) have stated out that these two terms are closely related yet not exactly synonymous,
and they differ in terms of usage. For the purpose of this research, and in order to avoid any
confusion, the above mentioned terms will be defined, despite the fact that social media is the
central gravity of the research.
In regards of the term Web 2.0, Tim O'Reilly, the founder of O'Reilly media, has coined that
"Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet
as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform." He has
further provided a general business aspect in relations of Web 2.0 as the “harnessing of collective
intelligence”, in which Web 2.0 provides platforms and fills the Web with user-generated content
where all individuals – the former audience are able to take part in instead of important decisions
made by a few people. (O'Reilly 2006.) Alternatively, Web 2.0 is a platform whereby content
and applications are continuously modified and exchanged by all users in participatory and
collaborative manner, and no longer merely created and published by individuals (Kaplan and
Haenlein 2009).
There are still many ongoing debates and discussions regarding social media’s universal
definition; as social media has been transforming and merging into the evolving development of
New Media (Solis 2010). Regardless of what the standardized definition per se would be, many
of the existing studies and articles have stated out the common core purpose of social media.
Social media components (Dann and Dann 2011, 345)

Dann and Dann (2011) have demonstrated how social media is formed based upon the
interconnected elements – social interaction, content, and communication media. Social media
has created a new landscape in supporting the socialization of information (Solis 2007), as a
result it has facilitated and enhanced communication flow by making it easier and to more
people, and to spread useful information with potentially vast online audiences (Smith and Zook
2011, 10), in which the conversation may be taken place on media locally but lead to a global
impact.
Safko and Brake (2009, 6) have supported the concept proposed by Kaplan and Haenlein (2009),
as they have referred social media to “activities, practices, and behaviors among communities of
people who gather online to share information, knowledge, and opinions using conversational
media”. Nonetheless, social media expedites the flow of communication by encouraging
contributions and feedback from everyone who is interested, and it is a two-way conversation
when comparing to the traditional media because social media outlets are open up to feedback
and participation (Mayfield 2008).
At its essence, social media describes the powerful new ways individuals are engaging with
content on the Internet, and vice versa; that is, as many have observed, social media is user-
centric in which it emphasizes and facilitates the process of creating, commenting, editing and
sharing. More importantly, social media is the democratization of content. (Solis 2007.)

TYPES OF SOCIAL MEDIA

In the discussion regarding different cate gories of social media, five distinct types of social
media outlets are focused on – 1) social networking sites, 2) social news, 3) media sharing, 4)
blogs, and 5) microblogging. Each of these social media platforms has provided unique features
and experiences to individuals and entities, for instance marketers and consumers, in the social
media sphere.

SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are platforms where individuals are able to connect with others,
for instance Facebook and MySpace. Social networking sites, as Weinberg (2009, 149) states,
“are generic terms for sites that are used to connect users with similar backgrounds and
interests”. These platforms, generally, have few common elements across most of them – (1)
users are able to create interactive and customized profiles, either a public or a semi-public,
within a bounded system, (2) a list of suggested “friends” with whom they share a connection,
and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system
(Boyd and Ellison 2007, 211).
To consumers, they are the outlets, which present wealth opportunities for establishing a closer
relationship with the brand via several functions – fan pages, plug-in applications, and groups.
Recently, Empathica have conducted a survey about the U.S. consumers’ usage of social media
to make shopping decisions. The survey population is more than 6,500 U.S. consumers, of these
consumers, over half (55 percent) have “Liked” a brand’s Facebook page, and 73 per cent have
claimed that their choice of recent store visit is influenced by a social networking site (Dugan
2012).

Social News and Bookmarking Sites

Social News sites and Social Bookmarking sites, for instance Digg, Reddit, and Scoop.it, are
fairly similar, and are very much in the trend of online community. Social News enables users
not only to be in control of their news streams, but also allows individuals to “submit and vote on
content around the Web” but the core value of the latter one is to allow users “to collect and
interesting links they have discovers and may wish to revisit.” (Zarrel a 2010, 103.)
In other words, individuals get to control and customized their news streams, this special
attribute of social news site facilitates the democracy which creates values to users. These sites
allow individuals to discover websites that a large number of people have already discovered;
some say social news sites have changed the concept of newspaper nowadays and are governed
by the “wisdom of crowds” (Weinberg 2009), due to the fact that the contents personal and
targeted news and they empower users by putting the audience in the center via active
discussions and which reacts on how readers interact (Baekdal 2009).

MEDIA-SHARING SITES
Media-Sharing sites (e.g. Youtube and Flickr) are outlets where individuals can upload, store,
and share their multimedia files, for instance photos, videos, and music, with other users. There
are myriad opportunities through the engagement to these websites, because these certain
platforms within the social media segment has always been a stronghold to online societies, as
they provide users opportunities to create their own podcasts with affordable technology and to
propaganda their identical “channels” via subscriptions. One of the major elements of these
media-sharing sites has to be highlighted is the tag. “A tag is a word assigned to a piece of
content that helps describe it”, which means that businesses have to acknowledge the importance
of the search words on the search engines (Zarrella 2010, 81).
BLOGS
A blog is an online journal which is as refer to a type of content management system (CMS),
typically maintained by individuals or groups, and featured commentary and ideas for a larger
group of audience (Safko and Brake 2009). Blogs create good hubs for other social media
marketing tools (videos, hyperlinks, pictures, and so on), because they can be integrated into the
platforms and posts; besides, blog software provides a variety of social features such as
comments, blogrolls, trackbacks, and subscriptions (Zarrella 2010, 9). On the other hand, Weber
(2009) has pointed due to the fact that blogs allow everyone to publish and to join multithreaded
conversations online, in which some of the bloggers have no editorial res trains and have access
to the entire Web; as a result, their posts can impact personal, products, or brand reputation
harmfully.

MICROBLOGGING
Micro blogging is a real-time information network, which shares similarity to blogging, yet it
limits the size (number of words) of each post and encourages a faster mode of communication.
Micro blogging allows users to spread their short-texted messages via instant messages, mobile
phones, e- mails, or the Web. For instance, Twitter, launched in 2006, is one of the primal and
leading micro blogs that currently has over 140 million users as of 2012 and handles over 1.6
billion search queries per day (Twitter 2011). Obviously, Twitter provides companies wit h
leverage via Internet traffic by creating a buzz on online communities, as users get the essence
and concise information through short-texted posts. Many companies have been using Twitter to
tap into the business prospects, influencers, and customers; by doing so, businesses are able to
take advantage in relationship building, achieving on- line and offline marketing objectives, and
brand building etc. (Weinberg 2009). Re-tweet is one of the most powerful mechanisms to
marketers, in which individuals can copy and paste what others have posted onto their Twitter
stream. Consequently, the certain tweet gets to spread virally in a furious speed (Ingram 2012).

SOCIAL MEDIA AND MARKETING

Social Media Marketing is an umbrella term that can be described as the ut ilization of social
media platforms as marketing tools. According to Weinberg (2009), he refers social media
marketing as leveraging the ‘social’ through the ‘media’ to ‘market’ businesses’ constituents; in
other words, it is a process in empowering individuals to promote their websites, products,
and/or services through online social channels, to interact with and to tap into a much larger
community that may not have been available via traditional advertising channels.
It is no longer a striking fact that most of the advertisements via mass media are not as efficient
as in the past, because by advertising through the mass, the message is generally reaching far
more people than the potential customer intended to reach (Weber 2009; Weinberg 2009). Social
web is where people with a common interest can gather to share thoughts, comments, and ideas;
hence, instead of continuing as broadcasters, marketers should become aggregators of customer
communities; that is, the Web should not be considered as a mere advert ising channel, it is a
place where marketers can listen and respond to communities, review contents, as well as
promote a particular piece of content within the vast social sphere (community building) (Weber
2009).

Understand which type of consumers are influenced mostly by Social Media Nowadays,
consumers are playing a significant role on the marketplace phase. Simply, they can be defined
as actors on the marketplace phase or individuals who purchase or consume products and
services either online or offline. One of the variables that have been reported as significant
variables influencing consumers is demographic variables. For example, the number of male and
female users has dramatically increased during the last years (Park and Jun, 2003). In term of
online segmentation, there is a slight difference. This is because there are two main online
segments we can refer to which are "Online Insiders" and "Social Clickers" (Riegner, 2007).

Consumers who actually buy online (Online Insiders)

Online Insiders are very active users on internet and highly influential online shoppers in
using different Social Media to buy and sell (Pookulangara and Koesler, 2011). Usually,
consumers’ choices are influenced heavily by online brands and consumers can influence each
other. This kind of event usually affects the repurchases process as a result. Therefore,
Consumers are increasingly turning to Social Media in order to get more information on
which to base their decisions (RAMSUNDER, NOVEMBER, 2011). For instance, it can
be noticed that most of the online shoppers tend to be younger, wealthier, better educated,
more computer literate and more likely to spend time on internet, and shop online (Levin et al.,
2005).
Consumers who browse the internet without buying online (Social Clickers)
Social Clickers are daily active people who tend to use the internet for different purposes, such
as, getting news, doing different researchers for different subjects, sharing
information and communicating with other users and from other cultures (Lee, 2013).
They are heavy online communicators, but the most participatory ones tend to be younger and
less affluent. These younger Social Clickers may not be influencing purchase decision today, but
could become strong influencers in the future (Vinerean et al., 2013).
Understand why consumers use Social Media to purchase
The important elements of visiting websites are to help consumers to communicate with other
users in order to accomplish their purposes. Interaction with other users can affect buyers by
many factors which play a critical role in enabling consumers to have clear ideas about
unfamiliar products (Constantinides, 2004). Using SM becomes one of the necessities these days
that affects consumer by several factors. These factors can be classified as, Design Factors,
Information Factors, Product
Factors, Psychological Factors, and Cultural Factors (Constantinides, 2004):

1. Information Factors: consumers will be willing to buy online if variety of products

and information are provided sufficiently. Also, offers, warranties and guarantees that are
provided along with products will encourage consumers to shop online (Limayem et al.,
2000).

2. Design Factors: usually consumers are affected by the design characteristics of a web page.
If the website is well designed and frequently updated, consumers will be more attracted to buy
online. In addition, the way of designing is affected by detailed information provided
about several products and the display of sites' themes (e.g., colours, icons, links, images…)

3. Psychological Factors: these factors affect consumers' attitude towards online buying.
For instance, if consumers build a trust on a website, they will be willing to buy online
comfortably and reduce uncertainty towards a product. Moreover, consumers may be
influenced by their friends and relatives who affect their attitudes to use SM.

4. Cultural Factors: consumers can be affected by other cultures in choosing and

making decisions about certain products. Also, it can affect consumers' lifestyle in
interacting and communicating with new technologies (Pookulangara and Koesler, 2011).

Which products are most suitable for Social Media?

Many studies have made lots of analysis to recognize and predict the relationship among the
product and shopping behavior. Their analysis helped them to make a list of products
which would be suitable to be sold via the internet. The list as following (Miller and Lammas,
2010):

1. Intangible Products (Information) Category: products that provide information

to consumers, such as, online videos, music, computer software, stock market, financial
reports and weather information.
2. Tangible Products (High Differentiation) Category: products that have variety
classes, such as, automobiles, electronic devices, books, clothes, accessories, flowers, and
jewelries.

Type of Social Media mostly used by consumers

The most common SM that are mostly used by consumers for different purposes are:
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. A study of Miller (2010) has found out that over 11 million
consumers use more than 70% of many SM to purchase different products and services, to
provide rich information about certain product and to share comments with other consumers
(Miller and Lammas, 2010).
Facebook has more than 6 million consumers who registered to buy and share
information about products (Scott, 2013). A study showed that 60% of Facebook users say that
they are more able to recommend a product or service to their friends after following that brand
on SM (Parson, 2013). Facebook has reached 51% of users who buy different products through
it (Kunkel, 2013).
Twitter has recorded 800,000 followers who showed their appreciation to the provided services
about the products. The same study has indicated that written blogs has increased from 54% to
77% in two years, and watching several videos related to different products has increased from
32% in 2006 to
83% in 2008 (Miller and Lammas, 2010). Another study indicated that 79% of Twitter users say
they are more able to recommend a product or service to their friends after following that brand
on SM (Parson, 2013). Also, 64% of users use Twitter to buy different products (Kunkel, 2013).
Instagram is spreading widely in the recent two years because of active users who share and
upload different kind of photos. Based on the activities provided by users who use
Instagram, the results showed more than 16 billion photos were shared among users (Krieger,
2012). Phil Gonzalez, the founder of Instagrammers (Instagram users) was interviewed
to recognize the increasing of Instagram users. He stated in the interview that number of
users who login into Instagram increased in less than two years to 100 million users in more than
60 countries around the world. (Gonzalez,
2013). Because of the new adoption of Instagram, there is a lack of information about
the use of
Instagram as a tool in online purchasing.
Research Methodology
Research Objectives
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 buying behaviour in case of fashion and appreal goods.

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: -

Sample Size: -

Research Methodology

The type of research will be both exploratory as well as Descriptive. Multiple Choice will be
used as a basis of Questions. I have taken different factors by studying the existing models of
consumer attitudes that play an important role in purchasing fashion apparels and using internet
for information and shopping purpose.
 Questionnaire

1.NAME

2. Age

o Less than 20

o 20 - 30

o 30 - 40

o 40 and above

3. Gender

o Male

o Female

4.Occupation

o Student

o Businessman

o House Maker

o Employee

o Other:

5.Do you use social media?

o Yes

o No
6.Which social sites do you use?

o Facebook

o Instagram

o Pinterest

o Twitter

o Other:

7. Do you follow fashion brands on social networking sites?

o Yes

o No

8.Have you noticed fashion apparel advertisement on social media?

o Yes

o No

9.How do you observe the latest fashion trends?

o Social Networking Sites

o Print Media

o Television Ads

o Looking at what others are wearing

10.How much do you agree that social media helps in acquiring information about fashion
trends?

o Strongly agree
o Agree

o Neutral

o Disagree

o Strongly disagree

11.Do you follow fashion related blogs, posts, page?

o Yes

o No

o Sometimes

12.How often do you buy fashion products that you see on these sites?

o Always

o Sometimes

o Rarely

o Never

13.Do reviews and ratings affect your buying decisions?

o Yes

o No

14..Do you copy fashion from social media?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Never Mostly
15. Which e commerce website do you prefer buying fashion apparels?

o amazon

o flipkart

o myntra

o club factory

o snapdeal

o other