MARK09011 Consumer Behaviour: Macro View of UK High Street Retailers

This report examines the dynamic changes in the UK retail industry, particularly focusing on the fashion sector. It highlights the significance of understanding consumer behavior, influenced by factors like marketing communication, technological advancements, and cultural and social shifts. The report details how marketing communication strategies, including advertising and digital marketing, are used to attract customers. It emphasizes the impact of technology, such as AI and IoT, on enhancing customer experience and streamlining operations. Furthermore, the analysis explores how evolving social and cultural norms shape consumer preferences and buying patterns, influencing the industry's adaptation to ethical and environmentally friendly practices. The rise of online shopping, accelerated by events like COVID-19, is also discussed, underscoring the need for retailers to adapt to changing consumer behaviors to remain competitive. Desklib provides a platform for students to access similar solved assignments and past papers.

THE ABOVE QUOTES
HIGHLIGHT THE
DRAMATIC CHANGES IN
THE UK RETAIL
INDUSTRY OVER PAST
FEW YEARS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................2
Marketing communication...........................................................................................................3
Impact of Technology in retailing...............................................................................................4
Cultural and social changes.........................................................................................................5
Changing patterns of buying behaviour in fashion industry.......................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
1

INTRODUCTION
Business environment is the collection of internal and external factors that affect the functioning
of the company. It can be demands of the customers, suppliers, competition, political factors,
technological factors etc. It is very important that the company should analyze these factors and
make strategies accordingly. It is also necessary to identify the needs and requirements of the
customers and plan accordinglyeir needs and wants(Voramontri, and Klieb, 2019). It helps the
market. Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals, customers and groups of
organizations select , buy and sell products and services in order to satisfy the rs to understand
the factors that influence the customers buying decisions. The presentation covers the macro
view of the customer behaviour that can influence the UK high street retailers to survive in the
coming years. The study also highlights other elements such as cultural and social change, digital
influence, marketing communication and also the impact of technology on the retail sector.
MAIN BODY
The chosen retail industry is the fashion industry and it is also observed that the UK's fashion
industry plays a very important role in the development of the economy. With the increase in
population and with the increase in the awareness have resulted in increase in the demand of the
clothing in the UK. With the increase in the retail sector, they offer a wide variety of fashion
items that range from high and branded fashion wears, casual wear and also expensive fashion
items. The company that is operating in fashion retail faces various challenges that is to regularly
evaluate the current situation in the market and also the changing customer requirements which
help the company to plan their strategies accordingly If the fashion industry is compared in the
19th century, it was was well developed as there was less use of technology and most of the
items was handmade (Nash, 2019). Various retail outlets such as boutiques and various stores
provide a great opportunity to the customers to purchase the products. It is the liberty of the
customers to choose the products according to their preferences and styles. In this competitive
industry it is important for the companies to maintain high standards in fashion which helps to
survive in the market. Over the years with the changes in the fashion retail industry, it has been
observed that the demand for ethical and environmentally friendly clothing has increased in the
UK.
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One of the biggest fashion events in London named ‘Pure London’ has been organized which
displays a wide range of products from high to low range. It is also observed that with the
increase in the fashion industry in the UK resulted into increase number of employment
opportunities which contributes in the economic growth of the country as well. According to
recent research it has been analyzed that the UK’s fashion industry has provided 797,000 jobs as
an increase in the demand for the products results in demand for the skilled and creative
people for new and unique styles and fulfil the demands of the customers.
Marketing communication
Marketing communication refers to the techniques and methods that are applied by
the companies in order to convey and promote to the customers about the products and
services they offer in order to attract the customers to purchase the products or it can be said
that the medium adopted by the company in order to communicate the information about the
products and services to their customers is known as marketing communication(Ryding,and et.al
2018).The companies dealing in fashion retail sector adopts various strategies in order to
attract large number of customers which helps to create the image of the brand in their mind
which helps to take purchase decisions. In the fashion retail industry, the company uses
various marketing communication methods and tools such as advertising, sales promotions,
events, direct marketing, digital marketing and personal selling. Companies dealing in the
fashion retail industry use various methods of communication mix in order to convey
information to the customer.
Advertising is the indirect paid method which is used by the firm in order to promote
their products. The pages of the newsletters and magazines are the sources for advertising
information related to the company’s product generally this method is used to build
awareness of the brands existence. It aims to show a given product in comparison to the
products offered by the competitors. On the other hand, sales promotion is also used by the
companies to persuade the customers to purchase their products (Chambers, 2021.). This type of
technique not only helps in retaining the customers but also attracting new customers and
provide additional benefits such as discounts, coupons etc. It has been observed that with the
increase in technological factors the companies have started adopting different marketing
strategies which was not seen in the past in the fashion retail industry. As it has been
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observed that with the increasing scope of technology, the companies dealing in the fashion
retail sector use various forms such as emails fax etc to communicate directly to their
customers. Fashion trends change even faster than the changes in digital technologies. The
information about the product through digital marketing brings changes in consumer’s
buying behaviour with the increase of the digital era, people can easily access to any
information in less time and it is also studying that the consumer’s buying behavior depends
upon internal and external factors prevailing in the market. This tool is effective because it
promotes the speed and convenience of clothing trades, buying patterns and updated
feedback after sale etc. The company can also use various forms of digital tools such as
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Blogs for conveying the information to the customers
about the brand. The scope of the fashion industry has evolved over a period of time and will
continue to be so which depends on the preferences and styles of the customer.
Impact of Technology in retailing
Business environment consists of various factors which affect the functioning of the
company dealing in any sector so it is very important for the company to have up to date
information about the needs and requirements of the customers and also various other factors
that can impact the company (Youssef, and et.al, 2022). One of the factors, which is very
common and can have adverse impact if not made relevant changes i.e. technological factor.
It has been observed that technology has provided new dimensions which have helped the
company to achieve its goals and objectives. In the past there were no advanced technologies
and the people were buying clothes from the physical stores which was challenging for the
stores to maintain large data without using any technology but with innovation of various
methods and latest technology it has become easier to maintain the records of the sales in
electronic form The innovation of new methods such as barcode scanning, online payment
facilities provided by the retail stores has helped the customers to invest less time standing in
queues(Cao, 2018). It has also helped in providing strong security to the personal information
about the customers. Many Companies have used online marketing methods such as creating
online websites in order to sell their products and help the customers in choosing their
preferred clothes. With the use of the latest systems and software, it helps in recording
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detailed analysis of the sales and volume of transactions which was not present in the past.
From the research it has been observed that most of the customers in the UK are moving
towards online shopping and 20% of the population shop entirely online. Today various
companies use the advanced technology such as Artificial intelligence to enhance the
customer experience , helps in evaluation of the data, increase the sales and helps in
analyzing the trends and also offer guidance for future in formulating marketing strategies.
Internet of things is one of the latest technological trends in the fashion industry and the
fashion industry has to lay more emphasis on the comfort of the customers and also adapting
to the demands of the contemporary life. With the use of latest technology such as the
Internet of things has helped the company to share the data, manage the inventory, more
security and majorly increase in the efficiency and productivity of the company which helps
the company to create brand image in the market and also gain competitive advantage.
It can be said that with the increase in the technological factors in the market , it has
enabled the companies to adapt various changes and install new software and technology and
provide new and advanced services which will not help in increase in the profitability but
also helps in attracting new customers and loyalty which will result into enhance the brand
image of the company and also the scope of fashion retail industry by contributing in the
economic development of the country(Giannakis, and et.al, 2019).With the emergence of
COVID-19, many customer prefer purchasing the brand products which are available on
websites and avoid going to the physical stores so after considering many company has
switched towards online selling of their products.
Cultural and social changes
The social changes play vital in the fashion industry that allow the retail industry to survive in
the marketplace. Social changes are the changes which are adopted from the society in order to
improve the lifestyle. On the other hand the cultural changes indicate the system that consider the
value, attitudes, norms, practices behaviour of the induvial person. The cultural and social
changes are quite similar with each other. The cultural and social changes include the changes in
the lifestyle of the people and nonvariation in the technology in appropriate manner. The social
and cultural changes play vital roles in influencing the people to buy and sale the product and
services in effective as well as efficient manner. For instance the fashion industry is growing and
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able to survive in the market on the united kingdom in appropriate manner with the assistance of
the cultural and social changes. The culture indicates that the females are more likely to wear the
fashionable cloths then men. In order to that ch industry deliver target the female consumer for
increasing the sales of the company.
The fashion industry is largely depend on the cultural factors and the consumer increase their
social values in order to meet the trends of the market. Basically due to fashion the people are
able to express their image and the standard. Along with that in order to deliver the best culture
in the marketplace the people follow the lifestyle. The fashion industry keep changing as per the
cultches changers in domestic as well as international marketplace. The industry deliver the
product and services as per the requirement of the culture that allow the fashion industry to
survive in the marketplace. Therefore the organisations design, manufacture and deliver the
product related to the fashion as per the cultural trend. As the population is increasing in the
demand in the domestic as well as international marketplace. In order to acquire success in the
marketplace the various countries adopted the culture of the market. In the marketplace the
fashion industry supposed to support the different culture because it includes the trends and taste
as well as preferences. For instance if the particular person need to follow the the religious
culture or them according to the event or festival then the person dress as per the culture and
environment of the event. The dress code is one of the major steps that encourage the people to
invest the amount in the fashion industry, in context to that the fashion industry offer wide
variety of the cloth and accessories in order to meet the demand of the customer. Many of the
celebrity support the biggest brand by wearing the branded cloths and mention them in their
instagram or social media stories that encourage the people to go for the fashion. The fashion
industry deliver the trendy attires with the unique changes continuously in the marketplace that
attract large numbers of the customers. Different occasion required different cloths in context to
that the individual person wear the attires as per the occasions.
The fashion industry conduct the research on the mindset of the people to wear the cloths and all
the accessories. In order to addressee the social and the cultural factor of the individual person
the origination bring the unique as well as creative ideas in the marketplace that encourage the
customers to buy the product that the company is producing in order to contribute in the
economy of the fashion industry. The up is one of the biggest markets which satisfied the
consumer by offering wide range of clothing and accessories. The biggest brands of the
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accessories are belongs to the market of the uk which are mentioned as nike, adidas, mark and
spencer etc. The social and cultural changes allow the organisation to survive in the market . The
consumer in the marketplaces are quite obsessed to impress the people of the society in order to
the people increases their capability to spend the capital on the expensive brands and cloths.
Most of the customer support the fashion industry in order to show the wealthiness and economic
values in the marketplace. The consumer behaviour created the perception of buying the quality
cloth rather the expensive attires and as serious also motivate others to buy the fashionable cloths
and deliver the unique consumption patterns.
Changing patterns of buying behaviour in fashion industry
Fashion industry is one of the leading industries in the united kingdom. The product involve in
the fashion industry affecting the resources which available on the planet. In the modern era the
behaviour of the consumer us changing rapidly in the fashion industry. The humans or the
individual person are becoming conscious and showing concern for the nature. In the current
period of time the people are willing to by the products which are not affecting the natural
limpidity. In order to address this issue the fashion industry is implement various and started
producing the sustainable and eco-friendly fashion wears which attract large numbers of the
customers from different continental and no continental market. Along with this it also delivering
the assistance in improving the image of the industry all over the world that result in higher
growth and profitability in the marketplace. In order to deliver the ratification to the consumer
the organisation which are involve in the fashion industry started running the camping for
example fashion revolution, clean clothes and fair wear. Along with that the organisation also
utilizing the eco-friendly tools and technique for the survival of the organisation in the
marketplace. All this plan of action affecting then buying behaviour of the consumer in positive
as well as appropriate manner. The buyers are becoming emotional and impulsive after
determine that the planet the resources are limited for forthcoming. In the modern era it is hard to
convey the buyers for buying the product and services due to high compaction in the market. In
context to that many companies started taking imitative to attract the potential customers. For
instance in order to change the buying behaviour of the consumer the fashion institutes started
enhancing the awareness and educating the individual person about the fast fashion. It give
assistance in educating the people in effective style.
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The buyers are prioritising the fashionable clothes in context to that it is important to change the
perception of buying the cloths it allow the fashion industry to grow in appropriate manner.
Along with that the retail stores are offering variants of the attires that encouraging the consumer
to buy all the fashionable product from the market in order to remain up to date in the fast and
forward world. The retail industry offering the cloths at the reasonable rates that allow the people
to invest the money in the fashion. Along with that the retail stores are addressing the personal
factors of individual person by determine the taste and preferences of the consumer that also
improve the value of the industry in the market. If the customers is not satisfied with the specific
product the company deliver various alternative or substitute goods in order to meet the demands
of the people in an appropriate manner. That helping in gaining the the attention of the buyers.
On this other hand the fashion industry of the up is delivering the transparency to the consumer
which is affecting the buying behaviour of the consumer as well as increasing the potential of the
individual. Along with that the industry offering the psychological product that is changing the
attitude and behaviour toward the fashionable cloth,, accessories, shoes, bags etc. The behaviour
of the consumer is also change when there is change in the climate condition of the particular
nation if the industry do not focused on the this climate point the company is not able to sell the
product in effective manner because it’s obvious the person by simmer clothes in the summer
time. In context to that the industry is overing thew values in the marketplace.
Conclusion
From the above report it will be concluded that fashion industry is growing rapidly in the market
of united kingdom. The business environment is playing huge role in increasing the value of the
fashion industry in effective as well as efficient manner. With the various factor such as
marketing communication, impact of the technology, consumer behaviour, social and cultural
changes the industry is able to deal with the drastic changes in the marketplace. The report also
highlighted that how the companies assassinated with the fashion industry is able to manage the
survival in the marketplace. The growth of the fashion industry is contributing in increasing the
economy of the company in appropriate manner.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Ahmad, N., Salman, A. and Ashiq, R., 2015. The impact of social media on fashion industry:
Empirical investigation from Karachiites. Journal of resources development and
management, 7.\
Cao, H., 2018. The growth of e-commerce and its impact on the fast fashion retailers.
Chambers, K., 2021. Social Marketing Strategies Used by Small Businesses Leaders in the
Fashion Retail Industry (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).
Cui, Y.C. and Fan, B.F., 2021. The corporate social responsibility strategy in fast fashion
industry: case company Zara.
Drew, L. and Sinclair, R., 2015. Fashion and the fashion industry. In Textiles and fashion (pp.
635-647). Woodhead Publishing.
Giannakis, and et.al, 2019. A cloud-based supply chain management system: effects on supply
chain responsiveness. Journal of Enterprise Information Management.
Nash, J., 2019. Exploring how social media platforms influence fashion consumer decisions in
the UK retail sector. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International
Journal.
Ringland et.al 2018. Vintage luxury fashion: Exploring the rise of the second-hand clothing
trade. Springer.
Sudha, M. and Sheena, K., 2017. Impact of influencers in consumer decision process: the fashion
industry. SCMS Journal of Indian Management, 14(3), pp.14-30.
Vermonter, D. and Klieg, L., 2019. Impact of social media on consumer behaviour. International
Journal of Information and Decision Sciences. 11(3). pp.209-233.
Youssef, and et.al, 2022. Cross-national differences in big data analytics adoption in the retail
industry. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 64. p.102827.
Online references
Impact of Technology in retailing, 2022. [online]. Available
throughhttps://www.vendhq.com/blog/retail-technology-trends-2/
Consumer behavior in marketing – patterns, types, segmentation 2021-2022[online]. Available
through<https://www.omniconvert.com/blog/consumer-behavior-in-marketing-patterns-types-
segmentation/ >
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