Consumer Research

MSc.
Dissertation 7014512
Factors Influencing Consumer Buying Behaviour of Fast Fashion in the

UK
By
Abby Nakalinda
Dissertation submitted to the university of Bradford school of Management

in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MSc. in
Marketing and Management.
U.B Number- 17014512

Dissertation Supervisor- Dr Elvira Ismagilova
MSc. Dissertation
2018
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MSc. Dissertation 7014512
STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICITY AND WORD COUNT
I have read the university regulations relating to plagiarism and certify that this dissertation is
all my own work and does not contain any unacknowledged work from any other sources.
WORD COUNT: 16,400
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Abstract
17014512
Factors Influencing Consumer Buying Behaviour of Fast Fashion in the UK
Keywords: Consumer behaviour, Fast Fashion, Purchase Decision, Psychological, Personal

and Social factors.
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to examine the factors influencing consumer buying behaviour
of fast fashion clothing in the UK. Fast fashion is a new word on the market and therefore
this study was conducted so as to investigate the relationship between consumer behaviour
characteristics (psychological, personal and social) and consumer buying behaviour of fast
fashion in the UK. The study also tested the impact of psychological, personal and social
factors on consumer buying behaviour. A survey was conducted on 100 respondents both
males and females aged above eighteen years within the United Kingdom who are consumers
of fast fashion clothing. The study used both primary and secondary data to examine the
models, theories and results of the study. The sampling method of this research was
probability sampling technique as all participants had an equal chance of being picked. This
study used Correlation test analysis to examine the relationship of the independent variables
(psychological, personal and social factors) and the dependent variable (Intention to buy) and
multiple linear regression analysis to find out the impact of consumer behaviour variables and
consumer buying behaviour in fast fashion using the statistical package for social sciences
(SPSS). The results showed that of the three independent variables (psychological, personal
and social), psychological and personal factors have an impact on consumer buying
behaviour while social factors proved otherwise. Based on the R square 39.3% psychological
and personal factors explain consumer buying behaviour. For future research, the researcher
recommends a bigger sample size to get a wider view and better results.
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The study will contribute to the existing data on characteristics of fast fashion clothing and
will be relevant to fast fashion retailers, potential retailers and scholars who may wish to
carry further studies on this subject.
Acknowledgements
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First and foremost, I would like to thank God Almighty for all the great things he has been
doing in my life and making this journey possible, I’m grateful for the provision and for
always being with me. I’m forever grateful and your name will I praise and glorify forever
more.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who helped and supported me in
different ways in making this achievement a success. Firstly, heart- felt gratitude goes to Dr
Elvira Ismagilova my dissertation supervisor for all the help and guidance during the writing
of this thesis. Her patience, encouragements and selflessness made this dissertation a success.
Next, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Chevening Scholarships, the UK

government’s global scholarship programme, funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office (FCO) and partner organisations for sponsoring my studies in the United Kingdom,
this has been a great experience and the sweet memories created will forever be in my heart.
I further would like to acknowledge all my lecturers with special mention of Dr Takao for
sparing his time whenever I needed help and Bradford university for the support and making
my stay at the university bearable, I could never have chosen any better university than
Bradford.
This acknowledgement would not be complete without showing my deepest gratitude to my

brothers and the whole entire family for rendering me help and support in different special
ways. You all made this possible and I’m glad to be a part of you all.
I would also like to thank my cheerleader TMM for all the words of encouragements, the
fights, the unconditional love, the motivation and the list is endless. Thank you, my love, for
believing in me always even when I didn’t believe in myself. You are a treasure worth
keeping.
I would also like to acknowledge every person who has played a role in my education, Mr
and Mrs Siulapwa Snr, Mr and Mrs D. Siulapwa, Mr Steve Mwinga and Mr Kebby
Nakalinda. Thank you for investing in me, I’m forever indebted to you.
Special gratitude also goes to my late parents for teaching me the value of education at a
young age. You would have been proud to see your only girl child get an education, have a
career and be independent. You are always at heart.
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This acknowledgement would not be complete without mentioning my darling girl Hadassah
Bongani for being my source of strength before and after she was born, you have made my
life so beautiful. The smiles, laughter, cries, giggles all just melt my heart, you have made me
experience the true meaning of Love. I love you forever and I thank God for you every day.
You are my shining star!
Last but not the least, special thanks to all my friends who made my life easier at Bradford
University, Kemi, Itunu, Clement, Julian, Karen, Irina to mention a few. Thanks guys you
helped me in one way or another and I’m grateful. I hope this friendship we created lasts a
lifetime.
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Dedication
This piece of work is dedicated to my parents and my darlings Taonga, Hadassah and Abby.
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Table of contents
Abstract.................................................................................................................................................3
Acknowledgements...............................................................................................................................5
Dedication.............................................................................................................................................7
List of Tables.......................................................................................................................................10
List of Figures.....................................................................................................................................11
CHAPTER 1: Introduction and Background.......................................................................................12
1.1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................12
1.2. Background to the study...........................................................................................................12
1.3. Problem statement....................................................................................................................13
1.3.1. Why is it a problem?..........................................................................................................14
1.3.2. Who is it a problem for?....................................................................................................14
1.4. The rationale for the study........................................................................................................14
1.5. Objectives of the study.............................................................................................................14
1.6. Research questions....................................................................................................................14
1.7. Significance of the research......................................................................................................15
1.8. Structure of the Dissertation.....................................................................................................15
CHAPTER 2: Literature Review.........................................................................................................16
2.1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................16
2.2. Fast fashion...............................................................................................................................16
2.3. General Concept of Consumer and Consumer Buying Behaviour............................................17
2.4. Impact of psychological factors on Consumer Behaviour.........................................................19
2.4.1. Motivation.........................................................................................................................20
2.4.2. Perception..........................................................................................................................21
2.4.3. Learning.............................................................................................................................22
2.4.4. Attitudes............................................................................................................................23
2.5. Impact of Personal factors on consumer buying behaviour.......................................................23
2.5.1. Age....................................................................................................................................24
2.5.2. Income...............................................................................................................................25
2.5.3. Occupation.........................................................................................................................26
2.5.4. Lifestyle.............................................................................................................................27
2.6. Impact of social factors on consumer behaviour.......................................................................28
2.6.1. Family................................................................................................................................28
2.6.2. Reference groups...............................................................................................................29
2.6.3. Roles and status.................................................................................................................30
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2.7. Theoretical framework..............................................................................................................31

2.8. Conclusion................................................................................................................................31
CHAPTER 3: Methodology................................................................................................................32
3.1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................32
3.2. Purpose of the study..................................................................................................................32
3.3. Research Philosophy.................................................................................................................32
3.4. Research design........................................................................................................................34
3.4.1. Qualitative research method...............................................................................................35
3.4.2. Quantitative research method.............................................................................................36
3.5. Sampling technique used..........................................................................................................37
3.6. Hypothesis................................................................................................................................38
3.7. Pilot study.................................................................................................................................38
3.8. Data collection instruments.......................................................................................................39
3.9. Data analysis.............................................................................................................................39
3.10. Validity and reliability............................................................................................................40
3.11. Ethical considerations.............................................................................................................41
3.12. Measuring variable.................................................................................................................41
3.13. Conclusion..............................................................................................................................42
CHAPTER 4: Data findings and the presentation of results................................................................44
4.1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................44
4.2. Survey results...........................................................................................................................44
4.2.1. Demographic profile..........................................................................................................44
4.2.2. Correlation analysis...........................................................................................................47
4.2.3. Multiple regression analysis...............................................................................................49
4.3. Conclusion................................................................................................................................50
CHAPTER 5: Data Analysis and Discussions.....................................................................................52
5.1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................52
5.2. Discussion................................................................................................................................52
5.3. Conclusion................................................................................................................................55
CHAPTER 6: Conclusions, Implications and Recommendations........................................................56
6.1. Introductions.............................................................................................................................56
6.2. Conclusions..............................................................................................................................56
6.3. Implications of the study...........................................................................................................58
6.3.1 Theoretical implications......................................................................................................58
6.3.2. Marketing Implications......................................................................................................58
6.4. Recommendations and future research.....................................................................................59
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6.5. Limitations of the study............................................................................................................60

REFERENCES....................................................................................................................................61
Appendices..........................................................................................................................................72
Appendix 1: Dissertation proposal...................................................................................................72
Introduction to research.......................................................................................................................74
Background to the study......................................................................................................................74
Literature review.................................................................................................................................75
Problem statement...............................................................................................................................76
Why is it a problem?............................................................................................................................76
Who is it a problem for?......................................................................................................................77
Significance of the research.................................................................................................................77
Main research aim...............................................................................................................................77
Research objectives.............................................................................................................................77
Research questions..............................................................................................................................77
Research methodology and design.......................................................................................................78
The population.....................................................................................................................................79
Ethical consideration...........................................................................................................................80
Limitations of the research..................................................................................................................80
Proposed chapter headings and subheadings.......................................................................................80
REFERENCES....................................................................................................................................83
Appendix 2: Checklist Approval.....................................................................................................88
Appendix 3: Survey Questionnaire..................................................................................................89
List of Tables
Table 1: Qualitative vs Quantitative methods (McLeod, 2017)……………………………..36
Table 2: Measures of constructs……………………………………………………………...42
Table 3: Age group of participants…………………………………………………………...44
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Table 4: Gender of
participants……………………………………………………………….44
Table 5: Ethnicity of participants……………………………………………………………46
Table 6: Occupation of participants………………………………………………………….47
Table 7: Correlation between fast fashion variables and consumer buying behaviour………48
Table 8: Reliability statistics …………………………………………………………………

48
Table 9: Test of
normality…………………………………………………………………….49
Table 10: Model Summary…………………………………………………………………...49
Table 11: Regression Coefficients…………………………………………………………..50
List of Figures
Figure 1: Consumer decision making process……………………………………………….19

Figure 2: Main Psychological factors……………………………………………………….19
Figure 3: Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs……………………………………………………...20
Figure 4: Main important personal factors…………………………………………………..24
Figure 5: Main social factors ………………………………………………………………..28
Figure 6: Theoretical framework…………………………………………………………….31
Figure 7: Research Onion………………………………………………………………….....33
Figure 8: Ethnicity of participants……………………………………………………………45
Figure 9: Occupation of participants…………………………………………………………47
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CHAPTER 1: Introduction and Background
1.1. Introduction
Fast fashion market is one industry that has been seen to be growing at a fast pace in most
European countries the UK inclusive. Debatably, one cannot ignore the significance role that
branding plays in the decision making of consumers of fast fashion. This research aims to
investigate and examine the characteristics of consumer behaviour namely psychological,
personal and social factors in influencing consumer buying behaviour of fast fashion clothing
in the UK. Although most research has been conducted on this subject, most researchers have
concentrated so much on the supply side of the fast fashion, attention on the influences of
consumer behaviour characteristics must also be considered.
The researcher in this study uses quantitative research method to collect data through the use
of questionnaire surveys as primary data sources and library text books, journals and the
internet were used to collect secondary data relevant to the topic. The researcher choose to
use this method as she was testing hypotheses and the relationship between consumer
behaviour characteristics (psychological, personal and social) and consumer buying
behaviour of fast fashion. A sample size of 100 people both male and female aged eighteen
years and above who are consumers of fast fashion will be used, and the research will be
conducted within the context of the UK.
The reason for conducting this research is to examine and understand characteristics of
consumer behaviour with special attention to psychological, personal and social factors. This
research will help fast fashion retailers, new entrants in the fast fashion market and scholars
who may want to carry out research on this subject in future.
1.2. Background to the study

“Consumer behaviour is the study of how people make decisions about what they buy, want,
need or act regarding a product, service or company” (Schofield, 2018). It is not easy to
pinpoint the origin of fast fashion but the late 1900s and early 2000s can be viewed as the
time when it became more popular especially in the European countries. Lately researchers
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have taken much interest in the subject of fast fashion which is viewed to be different from
the ordinary fashion industry. Fast fashion which has been looked at as being small when it is
actually the opposite has not seen much study in terms of consumer behaviour characteristics.
The fast fashion market has just come on the scene and has seen it growing in more
geographical areas and has seen few big fashion brands dominating the marketing hence
making it difficult for new entrants and small brands to enter the market (Wang, 2010).
A brand is the perceived image that a company sells to the consumers and branding is the
strategy that is used to create that image in consumers’ minds so that there is repetitive
purchasing of the product or service (Marion, 2015). Every company that wants to stay long
in the game knows that for it to survive in the industry, its marketing strategy must be better
than competitors and branding is one powerful strategy that most companies use. Fast
moving fashion has been described as the inexpensive designs that are seen to be moving
quickly from the catwalk to the stores to be at par with new trends in the market
(Investopedia, 2018).
A revolution of fast moving fashion has taken place from the 1800s up to date, this is because
consumers especially the younger generation are moving away from the old traditional
clothes to the new and cheap clothes that have mushroomed in the fashion industry. This has
made fashion brands to come up with ways of increasing demand of affordable clothing to
consumers, the concept of fast fashion is widely considered to have originated from brands
such as Zara, H&M to mention a few (Idacavage, 2016). Fashion retailers such as H&M,
Zara and Primark to name a few started as small shops but have grown rapidly over the years.
Constantly, consumers want clothes that they can afford and are of modern fashion therefore
high demand for fast fashion has increased tremendously (Osorno, 2014).
1.3. Problem statement

The researcher from vast readings has realised that little research has been conducted on the
characteristics of consumer behaviour in the fast fashion industry as a great deal of attention
is given to the ordinary fashion industry. Having noted a gap, she thought it would be
interesting to take up this topic and research on the characteristics of consumers in the fast
fashion industry with concentration on psychological, personal and social variables. A
decision to research on these variables was made because not much research has been done
especially in the fast fashion industry. Most researchers pay much attention to price, supply,
sustainability, production and distribution and neglect these other factors which are equally
important in consumer behaviour.
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As someone who is so keen about fashion, the researcher has chosen these variables as the
main influencers that characterise consumer behaviour in the fast fashion industry.
Lack of knowledge in the fast fashion market has created entry barriers to new potential
entrances especially small brands and making the few fashion brands to dominate the market
in a way. This has led to lack of development in the fast fashion market despite it being one
of the fastest growing markets in the fashion industry.
1.3.1. Why is it a problem?

It is a problem because from findings, most researchers concentrate so much on other
variables such as price and quality as the main influencers of consumer behaviour in the fast
fashion industry. It is from this reasoning that psychological, personal and social factors were
selected as influencers of consumer behaviour. The researcher would like to find out if at all
these factors play a role in consumer buying behaviour of fast fashion clothing.
1.3.2. Who is it a problem for?

It is a problem to the following
 Fast fashion retailers because they may not know the important role that these factors
play in consumer behaviour
 Potential entrants because lack of knowledge about the industry creates entry barriers
making the few brands in the industry to dominate
1.4. The rationale for the study

The overall aim of the research is to find out the influences that psychological, personal and
social factors have on consumer behaviour and the relationship between these factors with
consumer buying behaviour in the fast fashion industry.
1.5. Objectives of the study

 Analyse the general characteristics that fast fashion consumer behaviour posses
 Explore the influences of psychological, personal and social factors on consumer
buying behaviour of consumers in the fast fashion industry in the UK
 Investigate the relationship of psychological, personal and social factors of
consumers with consumer buying behaviour of fast fashion consumers in the UK
 Based on the findings, make recommendations for academia and practitioners
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1.6. Research questions

 What are the general characteristics of fast fashion consumers?
 How does psychological, personal and social factors influence consumer buying
behaviour in the fast fashion industry in the context of UK?
1.7. Significance of the research

This research will benefit fast fashion retailers as the outcome of this study will give them
knowledge on the influences of psychological, personal and social factors and the elements
that ignite consumers to purchase fast fashion clothing. The knowledge of these factors will
help in the clothing they bring in their stores and how-to tailor communication methods.
Also, new entrants in the fast fashion industry as they will have information on some of the
factors that influence purchase of fast fashion clothing.
Finally, scholars who may be interested in this subject area may build up on what has not
been covered in this research. As earlier alluded, not much research has been done on fast
fashion, therefore scholars interested in this area may also take up other subject areas that
have not been investigated by past researchers and also gives them an opportunity to expand
what has already been studied and prove and compare findings and analysis.
1.8. Structure of the Dissertation

First chapter as seen above is the introduction to the dissertation. It highlights the background
of the study, research objectives and aims and also the questions that need to be answered
when analysing data. Chapter two is literature review, which evaluates the existing literature
and theories of the topic to be researched. Third chapter describes the methodologies and
techniques that the researcher used to collect the required data for analysis. Fourth chapter
presents the findings of the collected data and the results of primary data. Firth chapter goes
in detail to discuss the key findings of the study. Last chapter gives the conclusion,
implications and recommendations on future studies for a similar topic and summaries the
key points of the entire document.
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CHAPTER 2: Literature Review
2.1. Introduction
This chapter evaluates the already existing literature, theories and models that describe
consumer behaviour and the contributing factors to consumer buying behaviour. The
intention is to critically review the existing data and available information that has been
presented by other researchers and authors in this area of study. This chapter also helps the
reader to understand consumer behaviour and the characteristics of consumer behaviour.
The literature starts by looking at the concept of fast fashion. This is than followed by
describing the consumer decision making process and then the broader concepts of consumer
behaviour are discussed and narrowed to the topic at hand based on the research objectives.
The basis for examining this information is to help establish a good foundation of consumer
behaviour and the characteristics that influence consumer buying behaviour in fast fashion.
This research will basically focus on consumer behaviour characteristics and the influence
that psychological, personal and social factors play in consumer buying behaviour of fast
fashion clothing.
2.2. Fast fashion

Fast fashion has taken over the industry as more clothes are cheaply available than ever.
Sumner (2017) explains that at the rate that fast fashion clothing is moving, it would be
difficult to control as more and more people are purchasing clothes that they consider to be
affordable and up to date with the fashion trend. According to Wang (2010) fast fashion is
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characterised by cheap production and hence low prices and quick lead time. He goes on to
state that fast fashion retailers will do anything to shorten the time the clothes will be on the
shelf as they care more about consumer preferences than insisting on some belief. Watson
and Ruoh-Nan (2013) examine the differences between fast fashion and slow fashion
consumers regarding their decision-making process and notes that one of the differences is
how these clothes are produced. Price has an impact on fast fashion especially with female
consumers who are so particular with fashion (Rahmiati, 2016). Consumers will respond to
fashion according to the price of the products and that is why some fast fashion retailers are
more popular than others as price has a significant impact on the way consumers purchase the
products (Rahmiati, 2016).
Saricam and Erdumlu (2016) argues that the willingness for innovativeness has driven many
consumers to purchase fast fashion clothing as this shows their conformity to the group of
people and their individuality via social or status image and uniqueness. Meraviglia (2014)
however, explains that the recession that hit most European countries led to a reduction in
real income resulting into a reduction in consumer spending. This has made the demand for
fast fashion clothing to go up as consumers deem them to be trendy and of acceptable quality
and price. As there is more information available on fashion, consumers have become
independent, demanding and fashion conscious than in the past. This is because of changes
that are taking place such as cultural and social changes taking place in society, especially
due to high usage of internet, media and advertising. As a result, consumers desire clothing
that is trendy and at the same time of acceptable price (Bhardwaj and Fairhurst, 2010).
Barnes and Lea Greenwood (2006) describe fast fashion as being influenced by factors such
as timing, costs and fashion buying cycle. Fast fashion is influenced by the speed of sourcing
and purchasing decisions which creates an environment for creativeness and innovation
which is then introduced into the retail stores to attract consumers. Consumers expect and
thrive to be moving at the same pace with latest fashion and hence stores must ensure they
have new stock on a frequent basis. Fast fashion clothing can be seen to have hooked the
attention of mostly young females of different social-economic backgrounds and can be
argued that technology has played a role in fast fashion consumer behaviour and loyalty to
retailers (Linden, 2016).
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2.3. General Concept of Consumer and Consumer Buying Behaviour

Successful firms understand that consumers are compelled to buy their products or services
because of certain factors that drive them to do so. Studies show that the main four players in
consumer’s buying behaviour are cultural, psychological, personal and social factors
(Durmaz, 2014)
All of us at one point or the other are consumers. There are things we consume daily to keep
us moving. We purchase products/ services to satisfy our needs, preferences, wants and
buying power at a particular time (Solomon et al, 2013). In this world of stiff competition
among firms, who produce the same goods and services, a consumer is now being considered
the principal focus point and each firm has to work extra hard in order to distinguish itself
from competitors. Knowing the needs, preferences and buying power of consumers has
consequently become a necessity (Rahmiati, 2016).
Consumer buying behaviour involves consumer’s preferences, intentions, attitudes and

decisions regarding consumer behaviour when purchasing a product or service. Solomon
(2017) defines consumer behaviour as “the processes involved when individuals or groups
select, purchase, use or dispose of products, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy needs
and desires”. Consumer buying behaviour is affected by many factors and these factors are
believed to influence the purchasing decisions of consumers (Dudovskiy, 2013). Everyday
consumers make decisions on what to purchase according to the level of involvement of the
purchase i.e. high or low. The difference between the two is that high involvement consumers
take a lot of time to purchase the product/service as there is a high risk involved in the
purchase while low involvement consumers just purchase without much consideration and
without taking a lot of time (Howell, 2017). Fast fashion clothing is categorised as a low
involvement purchase with low perceived risk as a consumer takes little time and less effort
in deciding to purchase the clothes (Radder and Huang, 2008). Other products or services are
considered to be high involvement purchase with high perceived risk due to the nature of the
product. For example, buying of a car or furniture can be categorised as a high involvement
process as consumers are likely to take more time to gather some information about the
product before they finally decide to purchase it (Martin, 1998).
This research focused on consumer decision making process and the steps thereof. Rahmiati
(2016) talks about the decision process as being a complex process and purchase may involve
a lot of information search to decide to purchase. He further investigates the impact of fast
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fashion elements on females consumer buying behaviour. However, because the research just
involved females and was conducted in Indonesia, one would argue that even men do
purchase fast fashion clothing either for themselves or others and hence to make a fair
conclusion on research males should also be considered and also it was conducted outside the
UK, so the result may be different in the UK simply because of varying factors such as
economic, social, cultural etc. Stankevich (2017) sheds light on the importance of companies
to have the knowledge of buyer behaviour and mentions that knowing the psychology of how
consumers think, feel and select among alternatives is directly connected to the influence of
family, media culture etc. Knowledge of this and many other variables helps marketers to
come up with marketing strategies that effectively reach the targeted consumers.
The figure below shows the stages of consumer decision making process. Consumers
however, do not pass through all the stages of the decision process to purchase products or
services. For example, things that are purchased every day or on a regular basis rarely pass
through the information search and evaluation stages while complex purchase will usually
involve all the stages of the process before a decision is finally made (Middlebrook, 2015).
Fast fashion consumers may not necessarily pass through all the stages of the decision
process because of the nature of the purchase. For example, a consumer may recognise a need
of buying more clothes because of various reasons such as wanting to be up to date with
latest fashion, because he/she wants to wear those clothes at an event and sometimes
purchase is made due to impulse and in some circumstances because it is cheap (Watson and
Ruoh-Nan, 2013). Gilliland (2017) explains that it is very likely that fast fashion consumers
will skip stages two and three and immediately go to the purchase stage. This is so because
fast fashion is bought on a regular basis and most of the clothes sold in retail shops such as
Zara, Primark and H & M are the same so there is no need of information search and
evaluation of alternatives and post purchase satisfaction or dissatisfaction is minimal if not
non-existent in fast fashion.
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Figure 1: Consumer decision making process (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012)
2.4. Impact of psychological factors on Consumer Behaviour

The psychological factors talk about the psychology of an individual and how these may
influence the decision to purchase a certain product or service. Figure 2 shows the main
psychological factors.
Figure 2: Main Psychological factors (Business jargons, 2018)
2.4.1. Motivation
The buying process starts with the recognition for a need. A need generally is said to be lack
of something useful. Different factors leads to a consumer being motivated to buy a product
or service, factors such as style, prestige, self- pride etc (Durmaz, 2014). Once firms and
marketers know what creates motivation, then it becomes easier for them to develop
marketing tactics to influence consumer’s motivation to think about and eventually buy their
products or services (Smoke, 2009).
Buying behaviour to a greater extent is motivated by the needs that one undergoes through at
a particular time. People buy clothes associated with a brand name to look stylish. Abraham
Maslow is arguably one of the most known psychologists who has examined human needs.
He thrived to explain why different consumers are driven by different needs at different times
and hence will purchase products or services to satisfy those needs (Lautiainen, 2015).
Maslow (1943-1954) explained how people’s needs are motivated and how some needs take
precedence over others (McLeod, 2018). Figure 3 shows Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The
assumption is that basic need must first be met before proceeding up the ladder, but this is not
the case always. Once a need at a particular stage is met, it stops being a motivator and a
person then stops focusing on that need and moves to the most important need and tries by all
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means to ensure that needs at every stage are met before proceeding to the next stage
(Lautiainen, 2015).
Figure 3: Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs (McLeod, 2018)
1. Physiological needs
Physiological needs are the basic needs such as food, water, warmth, rest.
2. Safety needs
Consumers must feel safe in a particular environment.
3. Belongingness and love needs
It is the nature of human beings to feel loved and be accepted by others. They desire
to attend gatherings, unions and contacts with peers.
4. Esteem needs
Every person wants to be admired and respected.
5. Self-actualisation
What a person achieves all the needs mentioned above, he/she wants more and more.
This need is about how your regard yourself and how you expect/want to be regarded.
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2.4.2. Perception
The way a person responds to the information made available to him/her is called perception.
A Person’s perceptions about things are shaped by learning, backgrounds and expectations.
“Perception is a process where a person takes in sensory information from the environment
and uses that information to interact with the environment” (Study.com, 2018). The process
of perception is made up of three processes namely exposure (or sensation), attention and
interpretation which allows people the possibility to form different perceptions of the same
stimuli. An individual interprets the meaning of stimulus by their influence of needs,
experiences and wants (Solomon e’tal, 2016). An individual through sensation will react to
the immediate response of sensory receptors (e.g. eyes, nose, ears, mouth, fingers) to stimuli
such as light, colour, sound, smell, taste and texture. The process is a series of activities that
starts with stimuli in the environment and ends with how a person interprets that stimuli
(Cherry, 2017). Consumers experience many stimuli in their day to day life but may neglect
some and only pay attention to the stimuli that is related to their current needs. For example,
a consumer who desires to have a new house will pay attention to adverts that talk about
houses while neglecting adverts about cars until that time when he/she desires to have a new
car (Fanguy, 2015). Sometimes, consumers may interpret information in such a way that it
corresponds with what they already believe (Kenyon, Sen, 2014). Every individual’s
perception is based mainly on own beliefs, experiences and attitudes. Consumers make
decisions on what to purchase based on their beliefs, past experience and their attitudes
towards that product or service. For example, in the fashion industry the message
communicated to consumers s not the same i.e. fast fashion clothing has a different message
from slow fashion clothing (Asen and Cook 2016). It is difficult for consumers to retain all
the amount of information and stimuli that they get exposed to, hence, a consumer will only
select what stimuli to retain in relation to his/her needs at a given time. An example is about a
brand that consumers consider to be their favourite, they tend to forget rival brands easily
(Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). Perception of a brand in the marketplace plays a vital role as it
influences consumers to have a positive feel of that particular brand, it is for this reason why
big brands will go out of their way to ensure that that create a positive perception in the
minds of consumers (Smith, 2015). For instance, Gillette would pay Christian Ronald to be
an ambassador for their product. This aligns the way people feel about Ronald with the Gillet
brand thereby improving the perception of the brand or reinforcing the already positive thing
about the brand.
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2.4.3. Learning
Motivated people are ready and eager to act. Foxhall (2014) has this to say about learning
“Learning is closely related to perception. Both involve the individual’s responses to
environmental and psycho-social stimuli: both can be explained theoretically in terms of
either a stimulus-response or a Gestalt paradigm, both processes are intimately connected to
with and shaped by the individual’s attitudes, personality and motives”. Learning is any
change in behaviour as a result of past experience, everything around us is known through the
process of learning (Kletz, 2008). When learning takes place, there is a permanent change
that follows through experience. For example, consumers can recognise many brands even if
they have not used those brands, in a such a situation it is said that something was learnt
unconsciously (Solomon e tal, 2013). Learning takes place all the time. As a consumer is
exposed to more stimuli and situations, his/her knowledge of the world changes constantly.
Learning can have a negative or positive impact on a consumer based on past experience
(March et al, 2005). For example, a consumer who has had a negative experience with a
certain restaurant is more likely to avoid that restaurant in the future because he/she
remembers past experience and vice versa.
2.4.4. Attitudes
The attitudes of consumers compose of a consumer’s beliefs, feelings and behavioural
intentions towards a product or a service. These are interdependent and will influence how a
consumer reacts to a product or service. Because of attitudes, consumers are able to choose a
brand or retail shop over that of competition (Onodugo, 2017). Several researchers have
carried out research to find out other factors that influence consumer’s attitudes towards
marketing. Chan and Cui (2002) studied the consumer’s attitudes and beliefs toward
marketing in an emerging market and found that consumer attitudes towards marketing
largely remain neutral and that consumer attitudes towards the marketing mix variables
significantly affect their satisfaction as consumers., However, this research was conducted in
china and as such the results may be different in another country. Although, consumer
attitudes towards fashion has been studied, few studies have covered fast fashion industry
which is growing at a fast rate. A belief is a vision that a consumer has towards a product or a
service which ignited by past experience. A consumer can have either a positive or negative
belief about a product or service (Perner, 2018). For example, coffee tastes good or coffee
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easily stains clothes. At other times beliefs can be neutral like Tea is black. And at other
times consumer’s beliefs may be differ depending on a consumer’s situation and their
experience, for example, a consumer may buy fast fashion clothes because of price, but may
opt to buy ordinary fashion clothes because of quality and durability (Rossiter, 2014).
Additionally, consumer’s beliefs may be influenced by family or friends and coupled with
learning will eventually led to consumer’s buying behaviour.
2.5. Impact of Personal factors on consumer buying behaviour

Personal factors are those factors that relate to a consumer as an individual and strongly
influence his/her buying behaviour. These vary from consumer to consumer and according to
their attitudes, beliefs and experiences. The study of these factors helps researchers to explain
why different people behave differently even when in the same situations and seemingly
having had same experiences (Solomon, 2016). The main personal factors that will be
considered in this research include age, income, occupation and lifestyle.
Figure 4: Main important personal factors (Business jargons, 2018)
2.5.1. Age
Consumer buying behaviour is highly influenced by the age of the consumer i.e. the life cycle
stage in which he/she falls. When evaluating a product or service, consumers tend to examine
it to check if it meets certain criteria (Bansal, 2015). It is therefore the duty of retailers to
ensure that what they are offering will meet the needs and expectations of consumers and
increase the willingness to purchase that product or service (Herve and Mullet, 2009). As
people grow, their needs, wants and expectations of products and service change. Age may
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change a person’s lifestyle and thus affecting his/her personal needs and values (Pratap,
2017). For example, young people spend most of their time out watching movies, having fun
and on fashion as compared to the elderly who stay mostly indoors and pay particular
attention to their health (Deeks, 2009). It is therefore important for marketers to know who
their target audience are as this will help in market segmentation and marketing strategy.
There are several products and services that are targeted for the millennials just like they are
products and services that are targeted at the elderly (Gregoire,2003). From observation,
younger people tend to spend more on fashion than the elderly. This is because the younger
generation tries to identify themselves to friends, they socialise more and because they want
to look trendy (Mantilla, 2018). Wee (2015) conducted a research on shopping behaviour of
different age groups, the researcher wanted to find out whether the shopping behaviour of
older shoppers differs significantly from other age groups. He found out that age did not play
a major role in determining the shopping behaviour of consumers, however, his research was
not specified to a certain product/service and hence the results of how age affects buying
behaviour may not be the same in fast fashion clothing. Wan et al (2014)’s research was
about the impact of age and shopping experiences on the classification of search, experience,
credence goods in online shopping. The findings showed that age did have an impact in
online shopping and that most middle aged people are more interested in online shopping. In
as much as this is true for online shopping, the result for fast fashion clothing may not be the
case as clothing is different from online shopping of goods. Herve and Mullet (2009),
however had a different finding when they conducted a study on age and the factors
influencing consumer behaviour. The researchers concluded that age does play a role when it
comes to weighing of different factors such as price, durability etc. the results showed that
most participants aged between 18-25 were more concerned about the price of a product
while those above 35 were more concerned about the durability of a product and that price
did not matter much to them. This goes then to show that age may have an influence
depending on the product being sold.
2.5.2. Income
Income has great influence on a person’s buying patterns. The income of a consumer
determines what he/she is going to buy and the frequency of buying that product or service.
Ahmed and Khan (2016) defines income as “money received for work or through investment
on a regular basis. It is the sum of all wages, salaries, profits, interest payments, rents and
other forms of earnings”. Based on previous studies it is argued that that there is a positive
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relationship between income and buying patterns. Mihic and Culina (2006) researched on
buying behaviour and consumption, looking at income and social class. The results showed
that income and social class has a considerable influence on buyer’s behaviour. However, the
researchers used qualitative research and hence the result may not be the same with a
quantitative research being used as the two types of data collection differ in the way research
is carried out. The change in income in many developed and developing countries has seen a
rise in consumer spending. Consumers can now spend on more luxurious activities such as
travelling and latest trending clothing (Song, 2011). Mbugua (2017) carried out a research in
Nairobi, Kenya where she was examining the factors that influence consumer behaviour
when buying selected fast-moving consumer goods in Nairobi, the findings showed that the
level of income is an important factor which influences people’s buying decisions i.e. income
is a key determinant in deciding which brand to buy. But since the research was conducted in
Nairobi, Africa, the results may not be the same in the UK because of factors such as
economy, social and cultural which are different between the two countries. Most consumers
especially those between 18-34 who are just starting their careers with a not so high income
would rather spend relatively small amount of money on high impact-low cost fashion and
hence fast fashion clothing is seemingly the popular one in this age group (Garner, 2017).
Kumar et al (2014) however, argues that income is that deciding factor for most consumers
especially when it comes to purchasing clothing. The researchers found out in their research
on factors influencing consumer buying behaviour in cosmetic products that most
respondents who had a seemingly high income had interest in purchasing cosmetics products
than those with a lower income as they deemed the products to be luxurious. This research
was conducted in India and as earlier alluded results may differ in the UK due to different
settings of the two countries.
2.5.3. Occupation
Occupation of an individual influences his/her buying pattern. People tend to buy products
and services that they deem to fit or advocate their profession in society. For example, the
buying patterns of students is different from those who are in full time employment (Wong,
2015). The nature of a job of an individual has a direct influence on what products or
services a person will purchase (Perry, 2018). The designation or nature of job of an
individual will influence his/her buying decisions. For example, a student will be more
dressed in casual clothing than a professional who would prefer to buy smart wear clothing to
suit the working environment. Srinivasan et al (2014) conducted a research on the impact of
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occupation on purchase behaviour of luxury brands in Mumbai where the aim was to
understand the influence of occupation on the frequency of buying luxury products. The
results of the research showed that there is a relation between occupation and kind of luxury
product that consumers intend to buy. People of different occupations respond differently to
different brands that are being offered. Rahim et al (2017) however, in their research about
the demographic factors that influence green purchase intent found that occupation did not
influence purchase decisions of respondents. Fairly putting it though, Srinivasan et al and
Rahim et al’s studies cannot be compared as the topic of study for both were very different. A
lot of consumers respond to fashion trends that they can easily associate with their profession,
for example, a lawyer’s buying decisions in terms of clothing will be different from those of
other professions such as doctors (Rehman and Jamil, 2016). Consumers who share same
occupation may possess same values, same tastes in music, clothing and luxury activities.
Nagarkoti (2009) conducted a study on factors influencing consumer behaviour of
smartphone users. The results showed that occupation of a person had an influence in the
purchase of a smart phone i.e. a person who has a good job or business owed a smartphone as
they could afford it. However, the research was qualitative and a research on occupation for
fast fashion may show different results.
2.5.4. Lifestyle
The lifestyle of a consumer is how he/she lives and spends money. Lifestyle influences the
buying behaviour of consumers. The lifestyle of a person is how he/she lives and conducts
him/herself in society, for example, a person who is known to have a heathy lifestyle will
avoid junky food and eat healthy foods (Business Jargon, 2018). Lifestyle can be used to
segment people into groups based on their opinions, attitudes and activities. Lifestyle can be
things like playing soccer, eating healthily, attending charity events etc (Bhasin, 2018). The
lifestyle of individuals helps marketers in segmenting consumers on the basis of things they
like to do, how they spend their leisure time, and, on the things, they spend their disposable
income on (Krishnan, 2011). Many researchers have conducted research on lifestyle so as to
have better understanding of them. Lifestyle of consumers is an important aspect to consider
as it is associated with social class, product involvement, self-image and activities of
consumers. It gives marketers a hint of what to produce and how to tailor communication
messages to the target audience (Zanatta, 2018). Atchariyachanvanich and Okada (2007) did
a research on how consumer lifestyles affect purchasing behaviour in internet shopping in
Japan. The researchers used quantitative method to collect data and the results were that
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internet shoppers in Japan fits the lifestyle of Japanese consumers and influences them in
purchasing products/services through internet shopping. However, this research focused on
internet shopping and hence the result may be different if a research was conducted on non-
internet shoppers. Krishnan (2011) conducted a study on lifestyle-a tool for understanding
buyer behaviour in India. It was concluded from the results of study that lifestyle
characteristics have a great impact on purchase decisions. The results showed that a person
chooses a brand or a product which to some extent possess a maximum possibility of the
definition or elaboration of his/her lifestyle identity. The marketing implication of this is that
a firm has to segment consumers according to their lifestyle so as to sell good products and
services that will depict or rather fit the lifestyle of a person. Therefore, this study establishes
the relevance of lifestyle influence on consumer behaviour in India which apparently may not
be the case in the UK. Further studies of the influence of lifestyle on consumer behaviour was
done by Yi Lin and Yu Shih (2012). This research also proved that lifestyle has a significant
positive influence on purchase decisions of consumers. Both researchers seem to emphasise
on the importance of firms to segment markets according to different lifestyles of consumers
as different lifestyles affect purchase decision-making of consumers. This research was
carried out in Taiwan. Another interesting study on lifestyle was conducted recently in
Pakistan by Mohiuddin (2018). This study was specifically on the effect of lifestyle on
consumer decision making and the participants were only women who resided in Pakistan. It
is interesting to note that the results showed that lifestyle was highly an influence in decision
making of female consumers. Lifestyle in this case is a combination of different factors such
as demographic, religion and culture. The results maybe different with males but however
from the studies mentioned in this thesis on lifestyle, they all are showing that lifestyle has a
significant influence on consumer buying behaviour.
2.6. Impact of social factors on consumer behaviour

Consumer behaviour is significantly affected by social factors. Most individuals have
someone influencing their buying decisions. Social factors cannot be avoided as an individual
comes from a society that is composed of different people and preferences and society
influences the buying decisions of an individual in one way or the other. Society shapes the
way we think, live and relate with others. The main important social factors are family,
reference groups and role and status of a consumer (Business Jargon, 2018).
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Figure 5: Main social factors (Business Jargon, 2018)
2.6.1. Family
Family members play an important role in designing an individual’s preferences and
behaviours. A family is a critical element that affects consumer consumption and disposal off
products and services. “A family may be defined as two or more people living together,
related by blood or marriage who share a common house, common income and similar status
and values” (bbamantra, 2018). It is from the family that individuals form an environment
where values, perceptions and shape an individual’s personality (Lautiainen, 2015) for
example, a certain perception created when one was a child about a certain brand can carry
on with that brand selection even in adulthood without even realising that family has had an
influence. It is from family that a person develops his/her first perceptions about brands,
products or services and consumer habits (Zohari, 2012). Most selections made by consumers
are based on several considerations of which many are influenced by family and the role they
play in a consumer’s life. For example, your favourite perfume may have been because a
family member uses/used and hence family is likely to have a limited but certain influence in
your life as a consumer as you make buying decisions (Pratap,2017). The influence of family
remains for a long time from when one is a child until when he/she becomes independent to
make own buying decisions though with an influence from a member of his/her family. As
marketers are coming up with marketing strategies, it is vital that they study the importance
of the role of family in consumers (Exeter, 2017). There are some decisions that are made by
consultations from all members of the family and some that are made by the parents of the
family and hence marketers must be able to understand the different dynamics of decision
making in families (Roberts e tal, 1997).
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2.6.2. Reference groups

A reference group is a group which an individual like to get associated with i.e. what he/she
wants to be called in that group. On a daily basis, an individual’s buying decisions are to a
certain extent influenced by a variety of people (Pittard, 2013). Reference groups can either
be large or small and may include family members and close friends. There are two types of
reference groups namely primary and secondary groups (Lake, 2018). Primary reference
group are those people that one comes in contact with on a regular basis, these can be family,
friends, schoolmates, churchmates etc. Primary reference group can have a strong and direct
impact on consumer buying decisions since they are significant in one’s life (Mishara, 2015).
Secondary reference groups are more on the formal side and usually speak often. These may
be professionals, colleagues or seniors at the work place (Carmen, 2012). These do not have a
very much significant impact on buying decisions as compared to the primary reference
group. Bhasin (2017) explains that sometimes reference groups maybe confused as peer
pressure but that is not the case because in most likely than not, a person’s reference groups
may not even be aware of their influence in one’s buying decisions. Maria (2015) in her
qualitative research on reference group influence in consumer role rehearsal narratives
describes reference groups as being important in that reference groups have an influence on
how an individual feel towards a certain brand, product or service and hence influence the
choices made in buying decisions. She further explains that individuals strategically will
engage themselves in a certain way during social interactions so as to feel part of the group
and not feel left out. There are some groups which a person does not belong to and yet
influence his/her buying decisions, these are called aspirational groups. He/she aspire to be
part of that group in the future (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). Marketers therefore, need to
understand the role that various reference groups play in a consumer’s life and thereby the
products, services and communication messages must satisfy a consumer and help him/her to
be identified with a certain reference group.
2.6.3. Roles and status

The role and status of an individual in society also influences his/her buying decisions. For
example, a person holding a highly prestigious job in an organisation will be compiled to
purchase those items that advocate his status. Kotler and Armstrong (2010) explains that an
individual may play different roles in his/her life. Each of these roles is composed of
activities that is required of the individual to perform according to a specific environment and
persons around him/her (Griffin, 2013). For example, a woman working as a managing
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director in an organisation and is married will play that role at work and the role of a mother
and wife at home (Jisana, 2014). Status of an individual in society reflects the rank and the
importance of his role in social groups or society at large. Social status reflects how an
individual is perceived in society which can be in terms of occupation, money, wealth or
education (Recklies, 2015). It is typical of human beings to want to be an admiration by
others and be role models. This can be acquired by having a successful life or by being born
in a family that is considered to be wealthy and influential to society (Chand, 2016). Both
roles and status influences the buying decisions of consumers and therefore marketers must
always consider the roles and status of targeted audience in order to satisfy needs and
expectations of consumers (Topno, 2016). These influences and behaviours are at every stage
and for every role and status. Marketers have understood this important concept by selling
brands that create an association with the products which reflect important social roles and
status.
The researcher identified some gaps in previous studies such as some characteristics that
influence consumer behaviour in fast fashion not being undertaken by other researchers. Most
researchers have only concentrated so much on price, quality and sustainability of fast
fashion leaving out the factors which are also important in consumer behaviour. It is from this
that the researcher decided to conduct a study on factors that contribute to consumer
behaviour and consumer buying behaviour of fast fashion clothing.
2.7. Theoretical framework

In this study, psychological, personal and social factors were taken as independent variables
and intention to buy as a dependent variable. These variables were tested to find out if they
have an influence on consumers of fast fashion clothing
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C on sum e r buyin g b e havio u r(Y)

Psychological factors (X1)
Personal factors (X2)
Social factors (X3)
Figure 6: Theoretical framework
2.8. Conclusion
This chapter was about the existing literature and different theories that relate to consumer
behaviour and characteristics of consumer behaviour. Different authors and scholars had their
say on the influences of consumer behaviour characteristics on different areas of study and
how this information is important to firms. Arguments have been raised and literature has
been evaluated and conclusions have been made. The next chapter is about the methodology
that the researcher used in this study.
CHAPTER 3: Methodology
3.1. Introduction
The previous chapter examined and discussed the comprehensiveness of theoretical
frameworks and literature regarding consumer behaviour, the buying process and the
variables that influence consumer buying decisions in fast fashion clothing in the context of
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the UK. This chapter aims to examine and give details of all the stages of the research issues
to do with selection and sampling. The method for data analysis will be explained and
discussed and all ethical issues that need to be considered as the research is being conducted.
3.2. Purpose of the study

This research study was conducted specifically to examine and investigate the decision
making process and the influences of psychological, personal and social factors in the buying
of fast fashion clothing in the UK context. Fast fashion is a growing market and therefore the
influences of these factors among others cannot be ignored. In order to achieve this objective,
the researcher used questionnaires to collect the relevant data so as to test the factors and
analyse if at all they have an impact on consumers of fast fashion clothing.
To address the main objective, specific objectives have been developed; The study seeks to
address and bring to light the following research questions;
1. What are the general characteristics of fast fashion consumers?

2. How does psychological, personal and social factors influence consumer
behaviour in the fast fashion industry in the context of UK?
3.3. Research Philosophy
Figure 7: Research Onion (Walter, 2018)
In explaining the methodology to be used in this research, the researcher followed a simple
model known as “research onion” which was developed by Saunders et al (2007) which
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explains each stage that was carried during the research strategy. Each layer describes the
process that the research must under -go, and each stage is important in conducting research.
“A research philosophy refers to a system of beliefs and assumptions about the development
of knowledge”(Saunders et al, 2016). Identifying the right philosophy helps to create a
coherent research project in which all elements of the research fits in well and makes the
reader to understand and follow the research topic well (Walter, 2017).
The nature of the research topic falls under the philosophy of Epistemology (positivism) as
the aim of this topic was to try and find out the acceptable knowledge of consumer behaviour
and then address the facts in terms of the influences of psychological, personal and social
factors in the purchase of fast fashion clothing.
Second layer, the research used the deductive approach. This approach “develops hypothesis
or hypotheses upon a pre-existing theory and then formulates the research approach to test it
(Silverman, 2013). The researcher deemed this to be the suited approach for the topic as the
research examined whether the phenomena fit expectation based on previous research
findings.
Third layer is the research strategy which entails how a researcher will conduct his/her work
(Saunders et al, 2007). This includes various approaches, but this topic used a survey to
collect the required data through questionnaires bearing in mind that the topic used
quantitative methods to collect data.
Fourth layer is about the choice which talks about the method to be used in the research. This
research topic used the mono- method as the name suggests using one method for the study.
This research used quantitative method only. This method is appropriate for this study as the
researcher wanted to confirm the hypothesis about the influences and impact of
psychological, personal and social factors on consumer buying behaviour of fast fashion
clothing. Also, the data collected in this study was in the form of numbers and statistical
results.
Firth layer which is the time horizons is time frame estimation of completing the research.
The nature of this topic is short term and hence a cross-section kind of approach was adopted.
Finally, the sixth layer of the research onion model represents the data collection and
analysis. In this section, the questionnaire content will be decided and the sample group. At
this point a trial of the questions to be used in the research will be developed. As alluded
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earlier, primary data was used to collect data. Analysis of data was conducted using the
proposed multiple linear regression analysis and correlation analysis in SPSS to prove the
hypothesis of this study i.e. which independent variables are related to the dependent variable
and then explore the forms of these relations.
A descriptive and exploratory research design was used to describe consumer behaviour
characteristics in fast fashion, describe the influences and the roles that psychological,
personal and social factors play in consumers when they are deciding to purchase fast moving
clothes. The exploratory was used to generate further questions for additional knowledge,
ideas and insights.
3.4. Research design

According to Pavelek (2013), conducting any kind of research requires selection of the right
design method as this plays an important in the correct collection and analysis of data. He
explains that three main reasons of choosing a right design in research are;
a. It does not only explain what research was performed, but also research design
justifies all the major choices that the researcher made throughout the writing process.
b. Secondly, it is very easy for a thesis to gain or loss marks as the research design is the
backbone of the thesis and shows the depth of the thesis that the researcher has
undertaken.
c. Thirdly, research design is arguably the most challenging chapter of the thesis to get
to grips with and write in a clear and consistent way.
Choosing a research strategy is mostly guided by the research paradigm the researcher
believes in and also the type of research he/she is trying to conduct. Defining the research
strategy is simply deciding whether to use primary data, secondary data or use both to come
up with conclusions to a specific topic. Rodrigo (2017) states that a researcher must address
the use of a best strategy earlier on to avoid complications, he further goes on to mention that
case studies, surveys, observations and interviews are examples of research strategies that a
researcher can use. Many other researchers have had a say on the descriptions of research
strategies and the conclusion is that there is no bad or good strategy. A researcher decides to
use a strategy according to the nature of the research and the subject that is being
investigated.
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There are two types of methods used in conducting research i.e. qualitative and quantitative
research methods. Both methods have they own advantages and disadvantages depending on
the nature of study and what exactly the researcher wants to solve at the end of the research.
The methods are discussed in detail below.
3.4.1. Qualitative research method

Wisker (2017) describes qualitative research as a method used to when a researcher wishes to
understand meanings, look at, describe and understand experiences, ideas, beliefs and values
and all intangibles that are not calculated. On the other hand, DeFranzo (2011) explains that
qualitative research is primarily exploratory and that researchers use this method to gain
understanding of underlying opinions, reasons and motivations. He further states that
qualitative research is used by researchers to uncover trends in thought and opinions and dig
deeper into the problem. McLeod (2017) pointed out the strategies that researchers may use
in the collection of data using the qualitative method, these are but not restricted to interviews
(individual or group) which can be face-to-face, telephone interviews and electronic
interviews, observations and documents. All these methods of collecting data has they own
advantages and disadvantages, it is therefore the decision of the researcher to come up with
an appropriate method which will try to solve the research problem (Pachpande, 2014).
Different authors have written about the advantages and limitations of qualitative research
method. One of them being Dowd (2016) who stated among other advantages that qualitative
research is rich in digging deeper understanding of the problem at hand for example,
participants can elaborate on what they mean. A notable limitation of this method among
others is the fact that this method is not always generalizable due to the small sample size and
the subjective nature of the research.
3.4.2. Quantitative research method

“Quantitative methods emphasize objective measurements and the statistical, mathematical,
or numerical analysis of data collected through polls, questionnaires and surveys or by
manipulating pre-existing statistical using computational techniques” (Earl, 2018). Generally,
the goal of a researcher in conducting quantitative research study is to determine the
relationship between one thing (independent variable) and another thing (dependent variable)
within the target population. To put it in simple terms, quantitative research attempts to
answer research problems using how many, how much or to what extent. Rahman (2016)
states some of the advantages of this research method as the findings are generalised from a
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sub population as this method uses a larger sample to collect the data for analysis. Another
advantage is the fact that data analysis using this method does not consume a lot of time as
there are softwares that are used such SPSS. He however, mentions that this method fails to
ascertain deeper underlying meanings and explanations as being a limitation. The above
explanation is summarised in the table below adopted from McLeod (2017).
Table 1: Qualitative vs Quantitative methods (McLeod, 2017)
In achieving the aim of this study which is to find out the relationship of consumer behaviour
characteristics and consumer buying behaviour and also investigate the impact that these
characteristics have on consumer decision making process in fast fashion clothing, the
researcher opted to use quantitative research to collect the necessary data for analysis. Ponto
(2015), highlighted out some few strengths of the survey. For example, a survey covers a
large population from which data is collected. Additionally, Pachpande (2014) in his
dissertation mentioned of how a survey questionnaire has the advantage of easily translating
the unobservable beliefs, ides etc and presents them in a manner that is examined and easily
interpreted.
The justification for the selection of this method is because this research will investigate the
impact of psychological, personal and social factors of consumers who purchase fast fashion
clothing and also due to the fact that hypothesis will be used to examine whether the
phenomena fit expectation based on previous research findings. This research used survey
questionnaires to collect data the reason for opting to use this strategy is because the
researcher feels this strategy supports the deductive reasoning and theory in which logical
inferences is formulated on the particular concept and inferences are presented in a
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theoretical manner. Furthermore, the survey questionnaires were used so as to make it easier
for the researcher to collect the necessary data from the 100 respondents who voluntarily took
take part in the answering of the survey questionnaire. However, the researcher did recognise
some of the limitations that a survey questionnaire may have like Kelley et al (2003) stated
that a survey questionnaire poses a high risk of the data being produced to lack in depth or
details on the topic being invested. With this in mind, the researcher ensured that the
questions formulated in the questionnaire would bring meaning feedback from respondents.
In addition, there is a fear of securing high response using survey questions especially when
the questions are sent by post. With this in consideration, the researcher posted the
questionnaire online and also giving out the questionnaires to respondents who filled them in
the presence of the researcher.
3.5. Sampling technique used

Saunders et al (2009) describes sampling as a “technique that provides a range of methods
that enable a researcher to reduce the amount of data to be collected by only considering data
from a sub group rather than all possible cases or elements”. With this knowledge, the
researcher used simple random probability sampling technique considering Saunders et al
(2009)’s description that in probability sampling, the researcher will have a complete list of
all the cases in the population from which the sample will be drawn. For instance, in this
research, the topic looks at consumers of fast fashion clothing and hence in the screening
section of the question a question is asked if the respondent is a consumer of fast fashion or
not. If not, the he/she is not eligible to take party in the survey.
The target population for this study were consumers of fast fashion clothing who resides in
the UK for at least six months or more. All participants who are not consumers of fast fashion
were disqualified and all participants needed to be eighteen years and above to qualify in the
survey. The population target was one hundred respondents both males and females based in
the UK.
The data was collected in a space of one week starting from Wednesday 18 th July to
Wednesday 25th July 2018. The data was collected entirely by the researcher of this topic.
3.6. Hypothesis
H1: There is a significant impact of psychological factors on consumer buying behaviour of
fast fashion clothing
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H2: There is a significant impact of personal factors on consumer buying behaviour of fast
fashion clothing
H3: There is a significant impact of social factors on consumer buying behaviour of fast
fashion clothing
H4: There is a simultaneously significant impact of psychological, personal and social factors
towards consumer buying behaviour of fast fashion clothing
Y=B0+B1X1+B2X2+B3X3+e
CBB=B0+B1P+B2P+B3S+e
The above equation has one dependent variable CBB (Consumer buying behaviour) and three
independent variables P(Psychological), P(Personal) and S(Social).
3.7. Pilot study

Prior to the actual data collection, the researcher deemed it necessary to conduct a pilot study
so as to ensure feasibility of the questionnaire before it was distributed for actual data
collection. During the pilot study, the researcher engaged ten people to answer the
questionnaire and give feedback where necessary. The time to complete the questionnaire
was also recorded and finally the researcher had an of idea how long it would take
respondents to fill in the questionnaire. Teijlingen and Hundley (2001) explains the
importance of conducting a pilot study and mentions that conducting a pilot study is not
guaranteed that for success in the main study but that it increase the likelihood of success.
They further go on to state that conducting a pilot study gives valuable insights to the
researcher and also other researchers. With this in mind, the pilot study was a good
opportunity for the researcher to examine the clarity of the questions and adjust were
necessary. It was also an opportunity for the researcher to check the content validity of the
survey and also have a feel of what to expect in the actual collection of data.
3.8. Data collection instruments

The researcher used survey questionnaires to collect data for this topic. The justification to
use this technique has already been discussed above. The researcher used both internet survey
and physically distributing the questionnaires to the participants. The researcher used Google
forms to create the questionnaires which were self-administered. The questionnaire was
created so as to address the gaps of knowledge mentioned in literature review and the whole
document especially in the fast fashion industry. This was decided as the cost is low and also
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covers a large population and there is less biasness as the respondents completed the
questionnaires themselves. The questionnaire was written in English only and a link was sent
on Facebook pages, LinkedIn and what’s up groups.
The questions in the questionnaire survey consisted of three sections. Section one was the
brief introduction of the topic and thanking participants for taking part in the survey. Section
two was the screening section for eligible participants with demographic profile questions
(age, gender UK residents and consumers of fast fashion), these demographics are useful in
the analysis as it gives the research an idea of for instance, the most age group that
participated in the survey and also the occupation of majority of participants etc. The third
section consisted of questions based on the theory of factors influencing consumer buying
behaviour in fast fashion clothing and the intention to buy. The researcher in this study used a
five point Likert scale to measure the variables and the scale was from 1 (Strongly disagree)
and 5 (Strongly agree) for independent variables and 1 (Very low) and 5 (Very high) for
dependent variables. Section three had 17 questions both independent and dependent
variables which were adopted from other previous research papers.
3.9. Data analysis

This research topic used SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) to check the
statistical analysis of the data collected. The data that was collected both physically and from
Google forms was useful as it created tables, pie charts and other analysis immediately an
answer was submitted by the respondent. The data was also analysed by the hypothesis that
was drawn from the beginning using the SPSS application to come up with fairly concrete
conclusions on the findings. Because of the research topic at hand, the researcher decided to
use multiple linear regression analysis to explore the potential association between the
independent variables (psychological, personal and social) and the dependent variable
(Intention to buy) and correlation analysis to find out the relationship between the
independent variables (psychological, personal and social factors) and consumer buying
behaviour of fast fashion clothing.
Most research requires that the assumption of normality is met, normality means the test of
distribution is normally distributed with 0 mean and 1 standard deviation (Lani.2017).
Various tests of assumption to prove normality are used by different researchers. The data
that was collected after being tested proved to be normally distributed. According to Lofgren
(2017) a data set of less than 2000 elements uses a Shapiro-Wilk otherwise a Kolmogorov-
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Smirnov is used. In this study since the sample size was 100 a Shapiro-Wilk test was used to
check the normality of the data. Also using Z-value no outliers were found in the data as it
was all within -3 and +3 as explained by Seo (2002)
The survey feedback was also reviewed carefully comparing it with the already existing
literature.
3.10. Validity and reliability

The researcher identified and singled out key diversity factors in order to ensure validity and
reliability of the data. Validity is a cardinal aspect of every research. Validity can either be
internal or external. Internal is the extent to which a researcher manipulates the data
internally while external mainly is the generalisation of the study to a wider population.
When conducting research, a researcher must ensure to check both validities so as to make
valid conclusions after collecting data. For example, in this research, documents and
websites of the topic at hand were reviewed before, during and at the end of data collection.
A variety of articles, journals, documents etc. related to the fashion industry were read so as
to gain full understanding and knowledge of the fashion industry in the UK. The researcher
had in mind the fact that the results of the research are only useful if the findings can be
interpreted.
The researcher adapted the scale of five to use in the questionnaire from other researchers
with a similar topic. Reliability of the data collected through the Likert scale used a model
known as the Cronbach’s Alpha (this is a measure of internal consistency or simply how
closely related a set of items are). For a score to be considered reliable, it has to be 0.6 and
above. Please note that data collected through the Likert scale that shows a score of 0.702 is
said to be reliable or acceptable meaning that that it is viewed to be consistence and can be
trusted or relied upon (Furaiji et al, 2012). This is reported in the findings of the results for
each variable.
3.11. Ethical considerations

Various researchers have highlighted the importance of ethical conduct when conducting
research. In line with this, the researcher was aware of ethical considerations that must be
considered as the research is going on. According to David et al (2011), every good research
must comply with regulations as well as established requirements. Questionnaires
administered in whichever way comes with ethical issues like for instance, the researcher
ensured that no personal details of respondents were collected, and all information collected
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was anonymous. Additionally, the survey was totally voluntary and that the respondent had
the right to withdraw at any given point and the researcher emphasised on the confidentiality
of the data collected and that it would be used only for academic purposes by the researcher
and the supervisor who had access to the data. The researcher also took note of the required
referencing according to university standards and ensured that plagiarism was avoided as
much as possible.
3.12. Measuring variable

The variables in this study were measured using a Likert scale of 5 of questions which were
adopted from other studies. The scale for the independent variables was 1 representing
strongly disagree and 5 strongly agree. For the dependent variable, 1 was representing very
low and 5 very high. The table below shows the variables, questions and references:
Table 2: Measures of constructs
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Factors Question Source

Psychological 1. I like shopping for fast fashion clothing
Durmaz. 2014
2. I do shopping to make myself
happy. I do not care about what other
people think
3.The most important thing for me is
that sellers of fast fashion clothes
convince me in every case to buy the
clothes they are selling
4.The most important thing is for me
to enjoy buying fast fashion clothing
5. I do not feel very confident in my
ability to shop for clothing Teng et al.2014
1. Beyond the money I save, buying
Personal clothing makes me happy Shukla and Babin. 2013
2. I have the ability to choose the right
Teng et al.2014
clothing for myself
3. My self-confidence is high in
selecting clothing
4. I keep my wardrobe up-to-date with
the changing fashions
1.Opinions of family and friends in

Bagga and Bhatt. 2013
purchasing clothing is more influential
Social as compared to industry experts
2.I generally consult family and
friends before making a clothing
purchase
3.I like to know what clothing make
good impressions on others Shukla and Babin. 2013
4. I achieve a sense of belonging by

purchasing the same clothing that
others purchase
5. When I buy clothing, I usually buy
those brands that I think my friends
will approve of Teng et al.2013
1. The probability that I would
consider buying fast fashion clothing is Dodds et al. 1991
Intention to buy (very low to very high)
2. My willingness to buy fast fashion
clothing is (very high to very low)
3. If I go to buy clothing, I would
consider buying fast fashion clothing Wu and Wang. 2011
3.13. Conclusion
This research study was set to examine consumer buying behaviour of consumers of fast
fashion clothing in the UK context and investigate the influences that psychological, personal
and social factors have in the purchase of fast fashion clothing. To address the objectives that
were set, the researcher used quantitative method through survey questionnaires to collect the
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relevant data for analysis and discussion. A sample size of 100 comprising of both males and
females above the age of eighteen years who are residents of the UK was used.
The researcher was interested in consumers of fast fashion clothing. A pilot study was done
so as to test the feasibility of the questionnaire before actually sending it out for data
collection and necessary adjustments were made to the final research instrument. The data
was analysed using Correlation test and multiple linear regression in SPSS. Validity,
reliability and ethical considerations were taken into account by the researcher before, during
and after data collection.
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CHAPTER 4: Data findings and the presentation of results
4.1. Introduction
Chapter three presented the methodology used in this study. This chapter will now display the
primary data results from survey questionnaires and the interpretation thereof. This chapter
according to the findings of the questionnaires will answer the set objectives that were
developed in chapter one. The researcher used charts, tables, correlation test and multiple
regression analysis to test the hypothesis that was raised in literature review. The data
collected was normally distributed, and hence the researcher tested the strength of the
relationship of independent and dependent variables.
4.2. Survey results

4.2.1. Demographic profile
Table 3: Age group of participants
Frequenc
Age y Percent Valid Percent
18-24 47 47 47
25-34 43 43 43
Above
34 10 10 10
Total 100 100 100
From the table above, the survey results shows that the majority of the participants fall in the
age group of between 18-25 years with 47% participation followed by the age group of 25-34
with 43% participation. Only 10% of the respondents are above the age of 34. Adding all
these figures together gives the desired sample size of 100 participants.
Table 4: Gender of participants
Frequenc
Gender y Percent Valid Percent
Female 75 75 75
Male 25 25 25
Total 100 100 100
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The findings in the data shows that females dominated the participation in the survey
accounting to 75% and the remaining 25% comprises of the males who took part in the
survey. An assumption can be made that females are more keen with fashion trends than
males and hence a topic research such as this one attracts more of the females than the males
hence the high number of females taking part.
Figure 8: Ethnicity of participants
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Table 5: Ethnicity of participants
Valid
Ethnicity Frequency Percent Percent
African 28 28 28
Asian 22 22 22
British 12 12 12
Caribbea
n 2 2 2
Caucasia
n 11 11 11
East
European 1 1 1
Greek 1 1 1
Latino 12 12 12
Middle
Eastern 6 6 6
Mixed 2 2 2
North
African 1 1 1
White 2 2 2
Total 100 100 100
As can be seen in the table above/pie chart, generally the survey attracted different
participants with different ethnicities. This gives unbiased answers and can arguably be said
that the responses then comprised of diverse ideas. Africa respondents were the highest with
participation of 28% while other (White) was the lowest with participation of only 2%.
Table 6: Occupation of participants
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Frequenc Valid
Occupation y Percent Percent
Employed 19 19 19
Employed
and Student 1 1 1
Entreprene
ur 2 2 2
Student 76 76 76
Unemploye
d 2 2 2
Total 100 100 100
Figure 9: Occupation of participants
As can be seen, the majority respondents are student giving a 76% of the total sample size
followed by those who are employed giving a percentage of 19 and the rest were
unemployed, entrepreneur and employed and a student at the same time.
4.2.2. Correlation analysis

Three variables of fast fashion namely psychological, personal and social were considered in
this study. The relationship was determined by Pearson correlation calculated in SPSS
(Statistical package for social science). Pearson’s correlation measures the strength of a linear
relationship between two variables.
Table 7: Correlation between fast fashion variables and consumer buying behaviour in
the UK
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Fast Fashion Elements Pearson Correlation (r) Significance (2-tailed)

Psychological .471(**) .000
Personal .597(**) .000
Social .219 .029
r is Pearson correlation coefficient
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01level (2-tailed)
From the analysis of this study, the results indicates that there is a positive relationship
between the fast fashion variables and consumer buying behaviour. However, based on Table
7 above, of the three independent variables analysed in this research, only two i.e.
psychological and personal factors have a significant relationship with consumer buying
behaviour. The results shows that personal factors highly correlate with consumer buying
behaviour in fast fashion in the context of the UK compared to the other two factors.
Table 8: Reliability statistics
Variable Cronbach Alpha

Psychological 0.77
Personal 0.85
Social 0.88
Intention to buy 0.93
The report in table 8 shows that Cronbach’s alpha scores were all above 0.75, therefore,
implying that the items have a relatively high degree of internal consistency. As was
mentioned in chapter three, a reliability score of 0.75 or higher is considered to be
“acceptable”.
Table 9: Test of normality
Shapiro-Wilk
Variable Statistic df Sig.

Psychological 0.979 100 0.187
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Personal 0.966 100 0.283

Social 0.981 100 0.172
Intention to buy 0.929 100 0.356
As can be seen in table 9 above, all the p values (sig) for the variables are above 0.05 which
is the critical value for testing normality using the shapiro-wilk test. We can therefore
assume that this data is approximately normally distributed.
4.2.3. Multiple regression analysis

Table 10: Model Summary
Model R R Adjusted R Std. error of the R Square Sig. F change

Square Square estimate change
1 627 .393 .374 .68555 .393 .000
a. Predictors: (Constant), SF, PF, PsF
b. Dependent variable: IB
The table above illustrates that since the dependent variable was normally distributed and the
sample size was 100 which is above the minimum size of sixty for three independent
variables hence R square in this model explains that 39.3% of the independent variables and
the dependent variable are statistically significant.
Table 11: Unstandardized Standardized t Sig.

Regression Coefficients Coefficients
Coefficients
Model B Std. Beta
Error
1 (Constant) 0.463 0.435 1.063 0.291
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PsF 0.245 0.145 0.168 1.693 0.009

PF 0.546 0.112 0.481 4.875 0.000
SF 0.139 0.091 0.124 1.533 0.129
a. Dependent variable: IB
Table 11 is the regression coefficient which describes the contribution of each of the
independent variable to the dependent variable and to clearly understand this, the researcher
uses the standardised coefficients beta to compare the three variables. The table therefore
shows that of the three variables personal factors seem to have greater contribution to
consumer buying behaviour than psychological and social factors. Also, from the table above,
it can be seen that psychological and personal factors are statistically significantly while
social factors in this case is not statistically significant.
4.3. Conclusion
The study was conducted through the use of questionnaires survey. The purpose of the study
was to find out the influence or rather the impact of psychological, personal and social factors
in consumer buying behaviour of fast fashion clothing in the context of the UK. One hundred
(100) properly completed survey forms were submitted by consumers of fast fashion clothing
and these were considered for analysis and discussion. The findings were divided into two
parts, the first part displayed tables, graphs and pie charts and the second part was on the
findings of the independent and dependent variables using correlation test to check the
relationship and multiple linear regression analysis to find out the impact of the independent
variables on the dependent variable. In-depth discussion of the findings will be discussed in
the next chapter supported by various theories, models and the existing literature regarding to
consumer behaviour and the factors influencing the intention to buy.
From the findings above the researcher concludes that:
1. There is a positive relationship between consumer buying behaviour and

psychological and personal factors
2. There is no positive relationship between consumer buying behaviour and social
factors
3. Psychological and personal factors have a significant impact on consumer buying
behaviour unlike social factors which has not
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4. Two independent variables i.e. psychological and personal factors have a

simultaneously significant impact on consumer buying behaviour.
CHAPTER 5: Data Analysis and Discussions
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5.1. Introduction
The previous chapter presented the actual results of the study collected through the survey.
This study aimed at showing the impact of psychological, personal and social factors on
consumer buying behaviour in the context of the UK and also to examine the relation of these
factors with consumer buying behaviour as the dependent variable. A sample size of 100
properly completed questionnaires was used. This chapter will now discuss the findings in
more detail and also link the primary findings to the already existing literature, theories and
models relevant to this study. Limitations of the study will also be highlighted and
suggestions for future research will be drawn. Finally, conclusions based on this study will be
done.
5.2. Discussion
From the findings of the study, most fast fashion consumers were observed to be between the
ages of 18 and 34 and 75% of these respondents were females. As with other researchers, one
could argue that most consumers fall in this age range because this age group is more
concerned about changing fashion trends and also because fast fashion is deemed to be cheap,
one can conclude that this age group consists of majority being students with not so much
money to spend on clothing and hence resort to something that is cheap and yet fashionable.
This complies with the findings of Herve and Mullet (2008). Additionally, it could be argued
that such a study like this one attracts more females than males as females are more
concerned about fast fashion trends than the males O’Cass (2000) hence high female
participation in the survey. This result also complies with the findings of Koca and Koc
(2016) in their study where they were trying to examine clothing purchasing behaviour by
gender with respect to fashion brand awareness. The findings showed that true to the
assumption that females are more interested in fashion than the males and that females
purchase clothing in order to conform to fashion. Bearing in mind how fast trends are moving
in fast fashion this argument could be accepted for fast fashion clothing.
The inexpensiveness and the fashionability of fast fashion clothing are points of
attractiveness for consumers in the UK. However, it is imprudent to generalise this perception
as results may be different in other countries. Additionally, making such a conclusion is not
appropriate because not so much research has been conducted on fast fashion consumption
and little is reported about fast fashion factors and segmentation.
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The factors that were considered for this study are psychological, personal and social. Each
will now be discussed according to the findings and connecting it to other studies, theories
and models of consumer behaviour.
The findings showed that psychological factors are statistically significant and have a
positive impact on consumer buying behaviour. This finding was actually expected since the
selection of fast fashion is largely influenced by utilitarian values rather than symbolic
values. Authors such as Durmaz (2014) who studied the impact of psychological factors on
consumer buying behaviour attribute to the fact that elements such as perception, motivation
and learning play an important role in the consumption of goods and services. This can also
be connected to fast fashion clothing, for instance, most consumers of fast fashion have the
perception that fast fashion clothing are fashionable and yet affordable. Therefore, this will
drive a person to purchase fast fashion clothing because the theory behind is paying less for
something that is trending in the market. Additionally, other researchers who conducted a
research on psychological factors (motivation, perception, learning and attitudes) found out
that there is a significant positive impact of these factors and fashion consumption behaviour
of consumers in the south east of Nigeria (Godswill Agu and Onuoba, 2016).
The study also revealed that of the three factors that were considered for testing and analysis,
personal factors (age, income, occupation and lifestyle) contributed the most to consumer
buying behaviour and was statistically significant. This finding complies with the findings of
other researchers such as Anic and Mihic (2015) whose findings showed that personal factors
such as age is the most important demographic variable explaining fashion consciousness
followed by income and occupation. As the results of this study indicated occupation plays a
major role in deciding what, how and when to buy a product or service. The majority of
respondents in this study were students representing 75% of the total sample size. The
argument could be that because fast fashion is deemed to be cheap and yet fashionable, it is
easy for students who may have a tight budget at that point to afford high quality fashionable
clothing which is quite high priced. Further, most students would want to look nice and
classy with fashion that is trending hence a conclusion can be made to say that most fast
fashion consumers in UK in this study were students. This is supported by Baker (2018) in
his article in the student newspaper had this to say, “As students, if we need a black t-shirt for
our bartending jobs, or a new jumper when our old one gains one hole or too many, our
lifestyle requires an element of speed and accessibility, and the cheaper the better”. Weston
(2009) goes on to add by saying that by one looking nice, you do not have to be Victoria
54 | P a g e
Beckham to afford it. It’s now easier than before to look like the celebrity of the moment as
more retailers of fast fashion bring into their stores exact replicas of their outfit. The writer
mentions an interesting fact that the charity shops which were once favourites of the students
because of unique vintage finds have now become more like graveyards of Topshop’s
Autumn/Winter collection or indeed final resting places of those unwearable accessories as
genuine bargains are lost due to the emergency of fast fashion clothing. Additionally, the
lifestyle of fast fashion consumers in this study students who are the majority, influences
consumer buying behaviour in that fashion is centred on people’s lives. For instance, one
whose lifestyle is to look nice and classy will always be at the hem of fast fashion as this
brings latest fashion into stores at a cheap price. O’Connor et al (1997) in their research
results actually showed that fashion conscious had an influence on the lifestyle behaviour in
young Irish ladies. Simply saying that many times, fashion makes a person to adopt a certain
lifestyle and then begins to live and relate things with that lifestyle especially when it comes
to purchasing of products or services.
The last variable that was being tested in this study is social factors (family, reference groups,
roles and status). From the findings however, this did not contribute much to consumer
buying behaviour and was found to be statistically insignificant, meaning that social factors
in this study did not influence consumer buying behaviour. Also testing the relationship
between social factors and consumer buying behaviour proved that there was no correlation
between these two. However, this result has contradicted to many articles and studies which
have proved otherwise. Reason could be that fast fashion is a new name on the market and as
such most research and studies on this topic has not been conducted to validate and prove
results. Another reason is that the majority of the participants were students and as such,
social factors did not play a very big role in their decision to buy clothes as this stage, most
people make their own decisions without involving for example family members. Eszter
(2008) in his study on the influence of reference groups on consumer behaviour found out
that reference group had a positive influence on consumer behaviour. However, the study was
not specific to fast fashion hence different conclusions and the method of data collection was
qualitative while this study used qualitative method. Another research by Mirzaei and Ruzdar
(2010) was on the impact of social factors affecting consumer behaviour on selecting
characteristics of purchased cars. The findings of the study showed that of the three elements
of social factors (reference groups, family and social status) reference group did not have an
impact on purchase of cars characteristics while the other two had a positive impact. Other
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researchers Furaiji et al (2012) also in their study on an empirical study of the factors
influencing consumer behaviour in the electrical appliances market found that social factors
were the leading factors in influencing consumer buying behaviour of electrical appliances in
Iraq. Again, the argument here can be that in as much as some elements of social factors were
positive the study was not about fashion and hence the result cannot be the same with fast
fashion.
5.3. Conclusion
This chapter discussed the results found in the previous chapter and connected it to other
studies and literature on the subject. The results of the study showed that of the three
variables considered (psychological, personal and social factors) only social factors showed
that there was no impact on consumer buying behaviour of fast fashion clothing. This chapter
presented arguments of why this is the case when other studies prove otherwise.
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CHAPTER 6: Conclusions, Implications and Recommendations
6.1. Introductions
This study was conducted to find out the influence of consumer behaviour factors specifically
examining psychological, personal and social factors on consumer buying behaviour in fast
fashion in the context of the UK. Previous chapters have discussed various areas of the study
and also the finding and the analysis of the research conducted.
6.2. Conclusions
In order to achieve the objectives of the study which are:
 Explore the influences of psychological, personal and social factors on consumer
buying behaviour of consumers in the fast fashion industry in the UK
 Investigate the relationship of psychological, personal and social factors of consumers
with consumer buying behaviour of fast fashion consumers in the UK
First chapter gave highlights of the study in terms of the background of the study, the
relevance of the study, the objectives and the aims of the study and just what to expect in this
study. Second chapter was about literature review, the researcher read widely to combine
theories, models and other studies conducted by other researchers on consumer behaviour and
factors influencing consumer buying behaviour in fast fashion. Third chapter explained the
methods that were used to conduct this study and how the data collected would be analysed in
order to draw solid conclusions and comply and differ with other previous studies on the
topic. Fourth chapter presented the findings of the study using tables, charts, graphs, pie
charts and correlation and multiple linear regression in SPSS (Statistical package for social
sciences). This was to find out the relationship if any between factors influencing consumer
behaviour known as independent variables and consumer buying behaviour also known as the
dependent variable. Data was collected through questionnaires survey from 100 participants
who are fast fashion consumers residing in the UK and aged 18 years and above. Chapter
five was all about data analysis and discussions of the findings of the study. This chapter will
now conclude the whole study, highlight the implications of the findings of this study then
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make recommendations for future studies. The limitations encountered in this study will also
be highlighted.
The above objectives were successfully met and based on this study the following
conclusions have been made;
The Hypothesis 1 is accepted that there is a significant impact of psychological factors on

consumer buying behaviour of fast fashion clothing in the UK. This result shows that
psychological factors are one of the factors in fast fashion that has an impact on consumer
buying behaviour. Based on theory psychological factors (Motivation, learning, perception,
attitude) do play an important role in consumer decision making process and purchase of fast
fashion clothing. The study also shows that there is a relationship between psychological
factors and consumer buying behaviour as was shown by the correlation test that was carried
out in SPSS. This finding has been seen to be similar with other studies that have been
conducted before.
The Hypothesis 2 is also accepted that there is a significant impact of personal factors on
consumer buying behaviour of fast fashion clothing in the UK. This result supported the
assumptions that personal factors are important in consumer buying behaviour especially in
fast fashion clothing. It is interesting to note that of the three factors that were considered for
this study, personal factors proved to have a very strong impact and very statistically
significant to the study. The relation between personal factors and consumer buying
behaviour was also found to be positive. This just like many articles and studies previously
conducted complied and can be said to be an important factor to consider.
The Hypothesis 3 that there is a significant impact of social factors on consumer buying
behaviour of fast fashion clothing in the UK has been rejected in this study. This result shows
that there is no significant impact of social factors (reference groups, family, roles and status)
on consumer buying behaviour in fast fashion. Respondents did not find social factors to be
of any influence in their buying behaviour of fast fashion clothing. However, other studies
found the opposite result, but the argument is that the studies were not on fashion but other
topics, so it is likely to find a different result simply because this result only represent
findings of fast fashion in the UK, results can be different in other countries as was explained
in literature review. The correlation test also showed that there was no relationship between
social factors and consumer buying behaviour.
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The Hypothesis 4 is accepted on this study that there is a simultaneously significant impact of
psychological and personal factors on consumer buying behaviour in fast fashion in the UK
except for social factors. This result is supported by the value of R Square which mentioned
that 39.4% of psychological and personal factors impact consumer buying behaviour.
6.3. Implications of the study

This study presents significant implications both theoretical and practical.
6.3.1 Theoretical implications

The results indicate a direct and positive relationship between psychological and personal
factors and support H1 and H2 and past research. Psychological and personal factors have a
positive impact on consumer buying behaviour of fast fashion. However, social factors
proved otherwise. In other studies, social factors proved to have a positive impact on
consumer buying behaviour, but one has to understand that results differ according to the
topic being studied and hence to say social factors have no positive impact on consumer
buying behaviour may be wrong unless specifically relating it to fast fashion as this study has
shown.
H3 showed a negative result and predicted that there is no correlation between social factors
and consumer buying behaviour. Like alluded earlier, most studies have proven otherwise
therefore, this finding is a valuable contribution to the fashion and fast fashion streams. These
findings add to consumer behaviour knowledge in such a way that now we can understand to
say that factors that are positive in one study area may not be the same in a different study.
This then helps in understanding the diversity of consumers and the importance of knowing
your consumers when selling a product or a service.
6.3.2. Marketing Implications

From literature fast fashion is a low involvement product in general meaning consumers do
not have strong motivation to process information, this to marketers means that more effort
have to be put into promoting and advertising the product because you have to constantly
remind your customers about the product. Successful fast fashion brands such as H&M are
found to make great efforts to induce involvement in consumers, this has been done by
putting H&M Magazines in their stores for consumers to get for free. This helps to attract
potential consumers to process its products as well as fashion style ideas. Keeping consumers
informed with such information not only increases knowledge in the brand but fast fashion as
well.
59 | P a g e
This study has also brought out some interesting findings and marketers can capitalise on
these findings to increase market share of their products (Fast fashion). Like for instance
looking at the factors that have a positive impact on consumer buying behaviour of fast
fashion clothing, messages can be tailored in such a way that these are out in consideration.
Based on the findings, both big brands and small brands dealing in fast fashion clothing have
an insight on which factors impact consumer buying and hence strategies can be put across
that not only concern the actual consumer but also the elements that have an impact or an
influence on their decision making process. Additionally, these results can be used by
marketing managers of fast fashion retails to focus more on the characteristics of fast fashion
and know which ones influence consumer buying behaviour. Like for instance, since personal
factors according to the findings contribute more to consumer buying behaviour, marketers
must be able to segment their markets according to the income, occupation and lifestyle of
consumers
This study together with other past studies can be used as a point of reference for players in
the fast fashion clothing industry.
6.4. Recommendations and future research

In as much as this study effectively addressed the intended objectives, additional
investigations on consumer buying behaviour and factors that influence consumers in fast
fashion must be conducted in order to validate previous findings. The following are the
recommendations;
 Extend geographic locations thus catering culture and ethical considerations on fast
fashion consumer behaviour.
 This study mostly was participated by students, future research can concentrate on
another group of people for instance the employed and see if the results of the factors
above will be the same.
 Further research can also be conducted on a large scale with a large sample size so as
to have a wider and better view of the findings.
 Another recommendation is to use both methods of collecting data i.e. qualitative and
quantitative methods, it would be interesting to see the results thereof.
 The researcher also feels that if male participation was as much as female
participation, probably the result would have been different, future research can put
this point into consideration.
60 | P a g e
6.5. Limitations of the study
The main limitations of the study are:
 The study had limited time to finish and hence had a small sample size in order to
meet the deadline for submission.
 The study was conducted at primary stage of fast fashion industry. This is due to the
fact that the topic at hand (fast fashion) hasn’t got so many literatures on it as it is
still a developing industry, hence a lot of time was consumed on trying to find the
relevant data to the topic.
 Another limitation is that the data was collected only from one country, this may not
represent a solid conclusion as the result may be different in another country due to
factors such as income level, education etc
61 | P a g e
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Dissertation proposal
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Factors Influencing Consumer Buying Behaviour of Fast Fashion in the UK
UB #: 17014512
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Contents
INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH.................................................................................2
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY..........................................................................................2
LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................................................3
PROBLEM STATEMENT........................................................................................................4
WHY IS IT A PROBLEM?.......................................................................................................5
WHO IS IT A PROBLEM FOR?...............................................................................................5
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH...................................................................................5
MAIN RESEARCH AIM..........................................................................................................5
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES......................................................................................................5
RESEARCH QUESTIONS........................................................................................................6
RESEARCH METHODOLGY AND DESIGN........................................................................6
THE POPULATION..................................................................................................................7
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS...............................................................................................8
LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH.....................................................................................8
PROPOSED CHAPTER HEADINGS AND SUB-HEADINGS..............................................9
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................11
APPENDIX A- WORK PLAN................................................................................................14
APPENDIX B- ETHICS CHECKLIST...................................................................................15
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Introduction to research
The fast- moving fashion market is one of the most fast- growing markets in the UK and the
world at large. Arguably it could be said that Branding plays a significant role in consumer
purchase making decision of fast moving fashion. This research will investigate and analyse
consumer behaviour characteristics in fast fashion and specifically investigating the
influences of psychological, personal and social factors in the purchase of fast fashion
clothing. Although most researchers research mostly on the supply side of the fast fashion,
attention on the influences of consumer’s behaviour characteristics must be considered.
Quantitative research method will be used to collect data through questionnaire surveys as
primary data sources and library text books, journals and the internet will be used to collect
secondary data relevant to the topic. This method was selected as it will investigate the
impact of psychological, person and social factors of consumer behaviour in the fast fashion
industry. A sample size of 100 people both male and female will be used, and the research
will be conducted within Bradford.
The intention of the research is to gain insights and understanding of consumer behaviour
characteristics in the fast fashion with attention to psychological, personal and social factors.
This research will benefit fast fashion retailers, new entrants in the fast fashion market and
scholars who may want to carry out research on this topic in the future.
Background to the study

“Consumer behaviour is the study of how people make decisions about what they buy, want,
need or act regarding a product, service or company” (Schofield, 2018). Recently, researchers
have taken interest in the field of fast fashion which is different from the ordinary fashion
field. The fast fashion which is considered small has not seen much study in terms of
consumer behaviour. The fast fashion market has just emerged and has seen it growing in
more geographical areas and has seen few big fashion brands dominating the marketing
hence making it difficult for new entrants and small brands to enter the market (Wang, 2010).
A brand is the perceived image that a company sells to the consumers and branding is the
strategy that is used to create that image in consumers’ minds so that there is repetitive
purchasing of the product or service (Marion, 2015). Every company knows that for it to
survive in the industry, it must be better than competitors in so many ways and branding
being one of them. Fashion retailers describe fast moving fashion as inexpensive designs that
move quickly form catwalk to the stores to meet new trends (Investopedia, 2018).
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From the 1800s up to date, fast moving fashion industry has gone through a revolution, this is
because consumers especially the younger generation are moving away from the old
traditional clothes to the new and cheap clothes that have mushroomed in the fashion
industry. This made fashion brands to come up with ways of increasing demand of affordable
clothing to consumers (Idacavage, 2016). Fashion retailers such as H&M, Zara and Primark
to name a few started as small shops but have grown rapidly over the years. Consumers are
constantly looking for affordable and yet fashionable clothing hence the demand for fast
moving clothing has increased tremendously (Osorno, 2014).
Literature review
This research will basically focus on consumer behaviour characteristics and the influence
that psychological, personal and social factors play in the purchase of fast fashion clothing.
Fast fashion has taken over the industry as more clothes are cheaply available than ever.
Sumner (2017) explains that at the rate the fast fashion clothing is moving, it would be
difficult to control as more and more people are purchasing clothes that they consider to be
affordable and up to date with the fashion trend. According to Wang (2010) fast fashion is
characterised by cheap production and hence low prices and quick lead time. He goes on to
state that fast fashion retailers will do anything to shorten the time the clothes will be on the
shelf as they care more about consumer preferences than insisting on some belief. Watson
and Ruoh-Nan (2013) examine the differences between fast fashion and slow fashion
consumers regarding their decision-making process and notes that one of the differences is
how these clothes are produced. Price has an impact on fast fashion especially with female
consumers who are so particular with fashion. Consumers will respond to fashion according
to the price of the products and that is why some fast fashion retailers are more popular than
others as price has a significant impact on the way consumers purchase the products
(Rahmiati, 2016).
Saricam and Erdumlu (2016) argues that the willingness for innovativeness has driven many
consumers to purchase fast fashion clothing as this shows their conformity to the group of
people and their individuality via social or status image and uniqueness. Meraviglia (2014)
however, explains that the recession that hit most European countries led to a reduction in
real income resulting into a reduction in consumer spending. This has made the demand for
fast fashion clothing to go up as consumers deem them to be trendy and of acceptable quality
and price. As there is more information available on fashion, consumers have become
independent, demanding and fashion conscious than in the past. This is because of changes
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that are taking place such as cultural and social changes taking place in society, especially
due to high usage of internet, media and advertising. As a result, consumers desire clothing
that is trendy and at the same time of acceptable price (Bhardwaj and Fairhurst, 2010).
Barnes and Lea Greenwood (2006) describe fast fashion as being influenced by factors such
as timing, costs and fashion buying cycle. In fast fashion, sourcing and buying decisions are
compounded by the speed by which decisions must be made and innovation introduced into
the store. Consumers expect and thrive to be moving at the same pace with latest fashion and
hence stores must ensure they have new stock on a frequent basis. Fast fashion clothing can
be seen to have hooked the attention of mostly young females of different social-economic
backgrounds and can be argued that technology has played a role in fast fashion consumer
behaviour and loyalty to retailers (Linden, 2016).
Problem statement
From many readings the researcher has realised that not so much research has been conducted
on the characteristics of consumer behaviour in the fast fashion industry as a great deal of
attention is given to the ordinary fashion industry. Having noted a gap, she thought it would
be interesting to take up this topic and research on the characteristics of consumers in the fast
fashion industry with concentration on psychological, personal and social variables. A
decision to research on these variables was made because not much research has been done
especially in the fast fashion industry. Most researchers pay much attention to price, supply,
production and distribution and neglect these other factors which also are important in
consumer behaviour.
As someone who is so keen about fashion, the researcher has chosen these variables as the
main influencers that characterise consumer behaviour in the fast fashion industry.
Lack of knowledge in the fast fashion market has created entry barriers to new potential
entrances especially small brands and making the few fashion brands to dominate the market
in a way. This has led to lack of development in the fast fashion market despite it being one
of the fastest growing markets in the fashion industry.
Why is it a problem?
This is a problem because from findings, most researchers concentrate so much on other
variables such as price and quality as the main influencers of consumer behaviour in the fast
fashion industry. It is from this reasoning that psychological, personal and social factors were
77 | P a g e
selected as influencers of consumer behaviour. The researcher would like to find out if at all
these factors play a role in the purchase of fast fashion clothing.
Who is it a problem for?

It is a problem to the following
 Fast fashion retailers because they may not know the important role that these factors
play in consumer behaviour
 Potential entrants because lack of knowledge about the industry creates entry barriers
making the few brands in the industry to dominate.
Significance of the research

This research will benefit fast fashion retailers as the outcome will give them insights on the
factors that influence purchase of fast fashion clothing. This knowledge will help in the
clothing they bring in their stores and how-to tailor communication methods.
Also, new entrants in the fast fashion industry as they will have information on some of the
factors that influence purchase of fast fashion clothing.
Finally, scholars who may be interested in this subject area may build up on what has not
been covered in this research.
Main research aim

The overall aim of the research is to find out the influences that psychological, personal and
social factors have on consumer behaviour in the fast fashion industry.
Research objectives
 Explore the influences of psychological, personal and social factors of consumers in
the fast fashion industry
 To find out the impact of a brand name on fast fashion consumers
 Investigate how psychological, personal and social factors of consumers influence
consumer behaviour in fast fashion in the context of UK
Research questions
 What are the general characteristics of fast fashion consumers?
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 How does psychological, personal and social factors influence consumer behaviour in
the fast fashion industry in the context of UK?
Research methodology and design
Source: (Walter 2017)
In explaining the methodology to be used in this research, the researcher will follow a simple
model known as “research onion” which was developed by Saunders et al (2007) which
explains each stage that will be carried during the research strategy. Each layer describes the
process that research must under -go, and each stage is important in conducting research. “A
research philosophy refers to a system of beliefs and assumptions about the development of
knowledge” (Saunders et al, 2016). Identifying the right philosophy will help to create a
coherent research project in which all elements of the research fits in well and makes the
reader to understand and follow the research topic well (Walter, 2017).
The nature of the research topic falls under the philosophy of Epistemology (positivism) as
this topic will try to find out the acceptable knowledge of consumer behaviour and then
address the facts in terms of the influences of psychological, personal and social factors in the
purchase of fast fashion clothing.
Second layer, the research will use the deductive approach. This approach “develops
hypothesis or hypotheses upon a pre-existing theory and then formulates the research
approach to test it (Silverman, 2013). The researcher feels this is the suited approach for the
79 | P a g e
topic as the research will examine whether the phenomena fit expectation based on previous
research findings.
Third layer is the research strategy which entails how a researcher will conduct his/her work
(Saunders et al, 2007). This includes various approaches, but this topic will use a survey to
collect the required data through questionnaires bearing in mind that the topic will use
quantitative methods to collect data.
Fourth layer is about the choice which talks about the method to be used in the research. This
research topic will use the mono- method as the name suggests using one method for the
study. This research will use quantitative method only.
Firth layer which is the time horizons is time frame estimation of completing the research.
The nature of this topic is short term and hence a cross-section kind of approach will be
adopted.
Finally, the sixth layer of the research onion model represents the data collection and
analysis. In this section, the questionnaire content will be decided and the sample group. At
this point a trial of the questions to be used in the research will be developed. As alluded
earlier, both primary and secondary data will be used to collect data. Analysis of data will
then be conducted using the proposed regression analysis of SPSS will be used to understand
which independent variables are related to the dependent variable and then explore the forms
of these relations.
A descriptive and exploratory research design will be used to describe consumer behaviour
characteristics in fast fashion, describe the influences and the roles that psychological,
personal and social factors play in consumers when they are deciding to purchase fast moving
clothes. The exploratory will be used to generate further questions for additional knowledge,
ideas and insights.
The population
This study will concentrate on participants between the ages of 18 and above both males and
females. The researcher picked on this age group because she feels this group is more
interested in fashion trends. Additionally, the assumption is that most of this age group are
still going to school, work part time jobs or just settling in the permanent job and hence they
would want to spend less on clothing hence resorting to fast fashion which is acceptably
cheaper.
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This research will look at a sample size of 100 participants and will be conducted within
Bradford. Method of selection that will be used to pick respondents is probability sampling as
all the participants of the target group will all have an equal chance of being picked.
According to research methodology (2018), each participating method has a non-zero chance
of being selected, in short, all participants have equal chance of being selected.
This research will use both primary and secondary data to collect the necessary information
about the topic. Primary data will be collected bey insuring of questionnaires to the target
population and secondary data will be collected using the internet, reading journals, articles
etc.
The proposed way of analysing the data that will be collected is through SPSS and regression
analysis, this is so because of the type of topic and the method of collecting the data which is
quantitative.
Ethical consideration
“Research ethics are the set of ethics that govern how scientific and other research is
performed at research institutions such as universities and how it is disseminated” (Skills you
need). Ethics in research are important as they help in facilitating expansion of knowledge.
Ethical issues are also important in that it builds trust in the public about research and for the
research that is funded, this helps the funders to build confidence and believe that the
research is genuine and will produce the required results.
The researcher will adhere to ethical issues in her research by ensuring quality and integrity
when collecting and analysing the data. she will seek consent from the participants and will
not force anyone who will be unwilling to take part in the research, in short, all participants
will participate in the research voluntarily. Furthermore, she will uphold high levels of
confidentiality and will avoid to harm participants in any way.
Limitations of the research

1. Only one town of the country will be used for the research. Findings vary according to
location, income levels etc. As a result, it can limit the generalizability of the findings
2. Only one method of analysis will be used (regression analysis in SPSS). They might
be some sorts of variance in the overall results if tested by inferential statistical
techniques.
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Proposed chapter headings and subheadings

Abstract
List of content
List of figures
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Background of the study
1.3 Problem statement
1.4 Purpose of the study
1.5 Research questions
1.6 Significance of study
1.7 Definition of terms
1.8 Limitations
Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Search description
2.3 Theoretical framework
2.4 Review of research
Chapter 3: Methodology
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Research design
3.3 Research questions and Hypothesis
3.4 Setting and sample
3.5 Data collection/analysis
3.5 Conclusion
Chapter 4: Research findings
4.1 Introduction
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4.2 Present findings
4.3 Conclusions
Chapter 5: Discussions, suggestions for future research and conclusions
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Summary of findings
5.3 Suggestions for future research
5.4 Conclusions
6. Bibliography
7. Appendix
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REFERENCES
Academic coaching and writing, (2018). Dissertation proposal outline. [Online]. Available at:
https://academiccoachingandwriting.org/dissertation-doctor/resources/dissertation-proposal-
outline [Accessed on 09/05/18]
Bhardwaj, V. and Fairhurst, A. (2010). Fast fashion: Response to changes in the fashion
industry. The international review of retail, distribution and consumer research. 20(1). P 165-
173
Barnes, L, and Lea Greenwood, G. (2006). Buyer behaviour for fast fashion. Journal of
fashion marketing and management supply. 10(3). P 329-344
Essays, UK. (2013). Research onion. [Online]. Available at:
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/psychology/explanation-of-the-concept-of-research-onion-
psychology-essay.php [Accessed on 09/05/18]
Idacavage, S. (2016). Fashion history lesson: The origins of the fast fashion. [Online].
Available at:
https://fashionista.com/2016/06/what-is-fast-fashion [Accessed on 12/03/18]
Investopedia, (2018). Fast fashion definition. [Online]. Available at:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fast-fashion.asp [Accessed on 09/05/18]
Linden, A., R. (2016). An analysis of the fast fashion industry. Senior project submitted to
the Division of social sciences of Bard College.
Marion, S. (2015). What is branding? Journal of branding. [Online]. Available at:
https://www.thebrandingjournal.com/2015/10/what-is-branding-definition/ [Accessed on
04/04/18]
84 | P a g e
Meraviglia, L. (2014). From fast fashion to fashion vintage. [Online]. Available at: http://gfc-
conference.eu/files_download/GFC2014/MERAVIGLIA_From_fast_fashion_to_fashion_vin
tage.pdf [Accessed on 22/05/18]
Osorno, S., C. (2014) Consumer behaviour towards the fast fashion. The fast fashion era.
https://www.uni-kassel.de/fb07/fileadmin/datas/fb07/5-
Institute/IBWL/Wagner/EMBS/Correas_Silvia_expose_EMBS.pdf [Accessed on 10/04/18]
Rahmiati, F. (2016). The impact of fast fashion elements on female consumer buying
behaviour. Journal of marketing and consumer researcher. Vol 23.
Research methodology, (2018). Probability sampling. [Online]. Available at:
https://research-methodology.net/sampling-in-primary-data-collection/probability-sampling/
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2007). Research methods for business students (6 th
Edition). London: Pearson
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2016). Research methods for business students
(17th Edition). London: Pearson
Skills you need, (2018). Ethical issues in research. [Online]. Available at:
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/research-ethics.html [Accessed on 07/05/18]
Sumner, M. (2017). It may not be possible to slow down fast fashion- so can the industry ever
be sustainable? [Online]. Available at: http://theconversation.com/it-may-not-be-possible-to-
slow-down-fast-fashion-so-can-the-industry-ever-be-sustainable-82168 [Accessed on
22/05/18]
Saricam, C. and Erdumlu, N. (2016). Modelling and analysis of the motivations of fast
fashion consumers in relation to innovativeness. Research Journal. 16(4). [Online]. Available
at: https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/aut.2016.16.issue-4/aut-2015-0057/aut-2015-
0057.pdf [Accessed on 22/05/18]
Schofield, T. (2018). What is consumer behaviour in marketing? [Online]. Available at:
https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-consumer-behavior-in-marketing-factors-model-
definition.html [Accessed on 12/04/18]
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Wang, T., Y. (2010). Consumer behaviour characteristics in fast fashion. [Online]. Available
at: http://bada.hb.se/bitstream/2320/7723/2/2010.13.16.pdf [Accessed on 09/04/18]
Walter, S. (2017). Research onion-made easy to understand and follow. [Online]. Available
at: https://www.allassignmenthelp.co.uk/blog/research-onion-made-easy-to-understand-and-
follow/ [Accessed on 09/05/18]
Watson, M., Z. and Ruoh-Nan, Y. (2013). An exploratory study of the decision processes of
fast versus slow fashion consumers. Journal of fashion marketing and management. 17(2).
P141-159
Solomon, M. (2017). Consumer behaviour: Buying, Having and Being (Global Edition).
Pearson education limited. 29
Dudovskiy, J. (2013). Consumer buying behaviour definition. [Online]. Available at:

https://research-methodology.net/consumer-buyer-behaviour-definition/ [Accessed on
04/05/18]
Appendix A: Workplan
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ACTIVITIES WEEKS COMMENCING

APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPT
17 24 31 7 14 21 28 5 12 19 26 2 9 16 23 30 6
PREPARE PROPOSAL
SUBMIT PROPOSAL/ETHICS FORM
RECEIVE FEEDBACK ON RESEARCH PROPOSAL
REVIEW OF LITERATURE /BACKGROUND/INTRO
MEETINGS WITH SUPERVISOR
DATA COLLECTION
MEETINGS WITH SUPERVISOR
DATA ANALYSIS
MEETING WITH SUPERVISOR
INTERPRETATION
COMPLETE FIRST DRAFT
REVISION
SUBMIT FOR COPYING
SUBMIT FOR MARKING
PRESENTATION TO SUPER STORE
Appendix B: Checklist
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Please type
FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT AND LAW
TAUGHT POSTGRADUATE PROJECT ETHICS CHECKLIST
Project Title: Consumer Behaviour Characteristics in fast fashion
Name of Student: Abby Nakalinda
Student Contact Details – email address A.Nakalinda@bradford.ac.uk
SUPERVISOR/MENTOR/MODULE LEADER DETAILS - FOR MSc/MBA

SUPERVISOR/MENTOR TO COMPLETE ONCE FULL SUPERVISION HAS STARTED
OR FOR DBA MODULE LEADER TO COMPLETE
Name of Principal Supervisor/Mentor/DBA module leader: ………………………….
Supervisor/Mentor/DBA module leader contact details:
Email address………………………………………………………….
Has the student attended appropriate ethics training?: Yes/No
Project Summary Table – For student to complete
The overall aim of the research is to find out the influences that
Aim or purpose psychological, personal and social factors have on consumer behaviour
of project – what in the fast fashion industry
is it trying to find
out, explain,
predict?
Research  Analyse the general characteristics that fast fashion consumer

questions or
objectives behaviour posses
 Explore the influences of psychological, personal and social
factors of consumers in the fast fashion industry
 To find out the impact of a brand name on fast fashion
consumers
Appendix 2: Checklist Approval
88 | P a g e
APPROVAL WITH CONDITIONS

Dear Abby Nakalinda/Dr. E Ismagilova

Ethics Checklist: Abby Nakalinda/Dr. E Ismagilova
Title: Consumer Behaviour Characteristics in Fast Fashion

Your ethics checklist has now been reviewed by the Research Ethics Panel.

I am pleased to inform you that approval of this study has been confirmed (if still relevant), subject
to the following conditions:

That the survey questionnaire contains a short introduction with these components:
researcher's contact details
brief summary of the research

confirmation that participation is entirely voluntary
what is involved for the prospective participants, e.g. time to complete, kind of questions being
asked
data management including how data will be stored and who has access
approach to anonymity
statement that completing/submitting the survey questionnaire will be taken as implied consent to
participate.

As long as the conditions are being met the research may proceed without any further
documentation being provided.

Please add a sentence onto any material you share with participants confirming that ethics approval
has been granted by the Chair of the Faculty of Management and Law Research Ethics Panel at the
University of Bradford on 13/06/2018

Kind regards

Christopher Storey

Christopher Storey
PGR Administrator
Faculty of Management and Law
My Working Hours Are: Mon & Tues 9.00-4.00 Wed - Fri 8.00-
4.45
+44 (0) 1274 234528
www.bradford.ac.uk
Appendix 3: Survey Questionnaire
89 | P a g e
SECTION 1
Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour in Fast Fashion in the UK

Thank you for accepting to take part in my dissertation research. My name is Abby Nakalinda
student studying for an MSc in Marketing and Management at Bradford University. The aim
of this research is to examine and understand the influences of psychological, personal and
social factors in the purchase of fast fashion clothing. This survey takes approximately 5-10
minutes.
Your taking part in this survey is entirely confidential and voluntary. You can choose not to
participate at all and can stop the survey at any time. completion of the questionnaire is to be
done anonymously without any adverse consequences towards you.
All responses to this questionnaire will remain anonymous, will not be linked to you in any
way and no identifying information about you will be collected at any given time during the
survey. Your answers will be used anonymously and analysed as a part of a whole sample of
other respondents and never individually. The study data will be kept anonymous, only the
researcher and the dissertation supervisor will have access to the data.
This research was approved by the chair of the faculty of Management and Law research
ethics panel at the University of Bradford.
Should you have any concerns or questions regarding the research, please do not hesitate to
contact me at A.Nakalinda@bradford.ac.uk.
SECTION TWO
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Fast fashion is a term used to express those designs that move from catwalk quickly to
capture current fashion trends. Fast fashion clothing collections are based on the most
recent fashion trends. These are inexpensive clothing sold by large retailers such as
Primark, Zara and H & M.
Are you currently residing in the United Kingdom? (Living in the UK for at least six
months or longer) *
Yes  No 
Are you a consumer of fast fashion clothing? *
Yes  No 
What is your age *
Under 18 
18-24 
25-34 
Above 34 
What best describes your gender *
Female  Male  Prefer not to say 
What is your ethnicity *
British 
Caucasian 
Latino 
African 
Middle Eastern 
Caribbean 
Asian 
Mixed 
Other: …………………………………………………………
SECTION THREE
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I like shopping for fast fashion clothing *

Strongly Disagree  Agree  Neutral  Disagree  Strongly Agree 
I do shopping to make myself happy. I do not care about what other people think *
The most important thing for me is that adverts of fast fashion clothing convince me in
every case to buy the clothes being advertised *
The most important thing is for me to enjoy buying fast fashion clothing *
I feel very confident in my ability to shop for clothing *
Beyond the money I save, buying clothing makes me happy *
I have the ability to choose the right clothing for myself *
My self-confidence is high in selecting clothing *
I keep my wardrobe up-to-date with the changing fashions *
Opinions of family and friends in purchasing clothing is more influential as compared
to industry experts *
I generally consult family and friends before making a clothing purchase *
I like to know what clothing make good impressions on others *
I achieve a sense of belonging by purchasing the same clothing that others purchase *
When I buy clothing, I usually buy those brands that I think my friends will approve of
*
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The probability that I would consider buying fast fashion clothing is
Very Low  Low  Neutral  High  Very High 
My willingness to buy fast fashion clothing is *
If I go to buy clothing, I would consider buying fast fashion clothing *
What is your occupation? *
Student 
Employed 
Senior citizen 
Unemployed 
Entrepreneur 
Other: ………………………………………………………………
93 | P a g e

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MSc.

Factors Influencing Consumer Buying Behaviour of Fast Fashion in the

Dissertation submitted to the university of Bradford school of Management

U.B Number- 17014512

STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICITY AND WORD COUNT

WORD COUNT: 16,400

Factors Influencing Consumer Buying Behaviour of Fast Fashion in the UK

Keywords: Consumer behaviour, Fast Fashion, Purchase Decision, Psychological, Personal

Next, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Chevening Scholarships, the UK

This acknowledgement would not be complete without showing my deepest gratitude to my

2.7. Theoretical framework..............................................................................................................31

6.5. Limitations of the study............................................................................................................60

Table 1: Qualitative vs Quantitative methods (McLeod, 2017)……………………………..36

Table 2: Measures of constructs……………………………………………………………...42

Table 3: Age group of participants…………………………………………………………...44

Table 5: Ethnicity of participants……………………………………………………………46

Table 6: Occupation of participants………………………………………………………….47

Table 8: Reliability statistics …………………………………………………………………

Table 10: Model Summary…………………………………………………………………...49

Table 11: Regression Coefficients…………………………………………………………..50

Figure 1: Consumer decision making process……………………………………………….19

Figure 8: Ethnicity of participants……………………………………………………………45

Figure 9: Occupation of participants…………………………………………………………47

CHAPTER 1: Introduction and Background

1.2. Background to the study

1.3. Problem statement

1.3.1. Why is it a problem?

1.3.2. Who is it a problem for?

1.4. The rationale for the study

1.5. Objectives of the study

1.6. Research questions

1.7. Significance of the research

1.8. Structure of the Dissertation

CHAPTER 2: Literature Review

2.2. Fast fashion

2.3. General Concept of Consumer and Consumer Buying Behaviour

Consumer buying behaviour involves consumer’s preferences, intentions, attitudes and

Figure 1: Consumer decision making process (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012)

2.4. Impact of psychological factors on Consumer Behaviour

Figure 2: Main Psychological factors (Business jargons, 2018)

Figure 3: Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs (McLeod, 2018)

Consumers must feel safe in a particular environment.

3. Belongingness and love needs

Every person wants to be admired and respected.

2.5. Impact of Personal factors on consumer buying behaviour

Figure 4: Main important personal factors (Business jargons, 2018)

2.6. Impact of social factors on consumer behaviour

Figure 5: Main social factors (Business Jargon, 2018)

2.6.2. Reference groups

2.6.3. Roles and status

2.7. Theoretical framework

C on sum e r buyin g b e havio u r(Y)

Personal factors (X2)

Social factors (X3)

Figure 6: Theoretical framework

3.2. Purpose of the study

1. What are the general characteristics of fast fashion consumers?

3.3. Research Philosophy

Figure 7: Research Onion (Walter, 2018)

3.4. Research design

3.4.1. Qualitative research method

3.4.2. Quantitative research method