MKTG60121: Applied Business Research - Social Media and Fashion

This report presents an analysis of the impact of social media on the fashion industry in the United Kingdom. It examines the role of social media in marketing, brand awareness, customer engagement, and sales. The study explores the use of platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook by fashion retailers. The research investigates how social media has changed the fashion landscape, connecting brands directly with consumers and influencing trends. The report includes a literature review, research methodology, and a conclusion with recommendations. The report highlights the increasing value of the UK fashion industry and the significant role of online retail and social media in its growth. The study also explores the use of influencers and the importance of customer engagement in the digital age.

[Applied business Research]
2019

APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH 1
Executive Summary
This paper intends to present the concept of the impact of social media on the fashion
industry of the United Kingdom with the motive to understand the power to social media to
positively or negatively hamper the business. The study is comprised of different concepts
such as social media important for businesses and their impact on the fashion industry. The
analysis has highlighted that social media majorly support businesses especially the fashion
retailers in gaining the attraction of the customers in the market. The analysis also highlights
that social media channels like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are mostly used by fashion
retailers to promote and increase sales. Social media support in increasing brand awareness,
marketing, customer engagement, and sales of the business.

APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH 2
Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................1
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Research background.............................................................................................................3
Research aim and objective................................................................................................4
Research Question..............................................................................................................4
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................4
Introduction................................................................................................................................4
Conceptual Clarification........................................................................................................4
Social Media and Its Importance to Businesses.................................................................4
Influence of Social Media on the Fashion Industry of the United Kingdom.....................6
Summary............................................................................................................................9
Research Methodology.............................................................................................................10
Introduction..............................................................................................................................10
Research Philosophy............................................................................................................10
Research Approach..............................................................................................................10
Research Design...................................................................................................................11
Research Strategy.................................................................................................................11
Data Collection Method.......................................................................................................11
Sampling..........................................................................................................................12
Data Analysis.......................................................................................................................12
Ethical Consideration...........................................................................................................13
Summary..............................................................................................................................13
Conclusion and Recommendations..........................................................................................13
Reflection on Learning.........................................................................................................15
References................................................................................................................................17

APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH 3
Introduction
Research background
The paper aims to explore the influence of social media on the fashion industry of the United
Kingdom. It is known that today social media is covering the entire market and is being used
all over the world due to which everyone is getting impacted by what they see online
especially regarding fashion. Once, social media was famous among people for fashion which
was presented through fashion shows and glossy magazines. With the help of these channels,
the fashion industry was always kept elite, defined by the designers as well as editors of the
magazines. However, to 2018 the face and the use of social media have entirely changed
(Digital Me Up, 2018). Now, with the free access to the channels like Instagram, over this
platform, we could select at what people are exposed. While glossies and catwalks are still
the part of the present fashion sphere, but today it has become more interactive and fluid than
ever before which is altering the way the trend in the fashion brands are connected with their
target market. The Fashion industry of the United Kingdom has a major contribution to the
nation's economy. As per the analysis, the industry t was valued at around 29 billion pounds
in 2017 (Ahmad and Salman, 2015). The increasing value of the industry is because of its
increasing promotion over social media channels and use of internet among people for
shopping. Further, the increasing population of the country and increased awareness is the
main cause of increased demand for products like clothing, accessories, and footwear in the
United Kingdom. Over the last few years, the British fashion segment has majorly
transformed and developed as it is considered to be the hub of some of the top fashion
designers in the world.

APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH 4
Research aim and objective
The study aims to analyze the influence of social media on the fashion industry of the United
Kingdom. To attain this aim the researcher has framed some objectives like:
 To explain the concept of social media and its importance to businesses
 To identify the influence of social media on the fashion industry of the United
Kingdom
Research Question
 Explain the concept of social media and its importance to the businesses?
 What is the influence of social media on the fashion industry of the United Kingdom?
Literature Review
Introduction
The literature review chapter is all about presenting the current knowledge comprising
functional findings, theoretical and methodological contributions to the specific topic. It is
considered as the secondary source of information as it does not provide any new or original
details about the topic (Hart, 2018). This chapter has supported the researcher in presenting
the detailed analysis and findings of the previous research conducted by different authors to
understand the concept of the research topic.
Conceptual Clarification
Social Media and Its Importance to Businesses
According to Mohr, (2013), Social media is the application and website that are created to
enable people to share their information and content quickly, competently, and in real-time.
Several people consider social media as the application on their tablet or smartphone. But, the

APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH 5
reality is that it is the communication tool which started with computers. This
misunderstanding came from the fact that many of the operators of social media access their
tools through apps. The capability of social media to share events, views, photos and many
more in real-time has altered the way of living and doing business. Vendors who make use of
social media as their major portion of their approach of marketing generally gain measurable
outcomes (Chauhan, 2018). However, the key to successful social media strategy is to take it
as the extra appendage but to manage it with complete care, attention, and respect to all the
marketing efforts. Social media is very must important in different ways:
Building awareness – If the audience does not have any knowledge about the business, then
they cannot be its customer. Social media helps in boosting the visibility of the business
among consumers and allow wider market reach by making exerting efforts and time
(Alliance Expert, 2019).
Showing Authenticity – Customers do not take an interest in the business that print, dry and
corporate style social media posts. In its place, businesses must let their brand shine by
sharing everything on social media. It is essential for the business to practice a right tone
whether the post is funny, formal, or casual.
Increase inbound traffic – Inbound marketing is considered as the most effective manner of
generating targeted traffic to the website. It is considered to be the type of traffic that helps in
converting the position of the business (Carranza, 2015).
Satisfying the customer – Losing a consumer is tough, and gaining a new customer is every
tougher. However, retaining an existing consumer is considered is 10 times simple which
raise the requirement for the business to place customer satisfaction as the major priority (Hit
Wise, 2008). By making effective use of social media for involving with the customer, the
businesses have the opportunity to monitor what they desire, the issue they face and how they

APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH 6
can serve the customer. For satisfying the consumer and making their life easier, the business
has to provide personalized and effective customer service and today social media is the most
significant platform that helps in doing this.
Influence of Social Media on the Fashion Industry of the United Kingdom
As per Kim & Ko, (2012), the use of social media technology by the luxury brand flowed in
the year 2009. Technology stimulates patrons to get into contact with the brands. These
interactions with the patron create the brand by augmenting the consciousness, commitment,
and envelopment, which helps the brand in brand recall and repeat purchase. Blogs, Tweets,
and social networks such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter allow the fashion
businesses to get into touch with the target customer (Berger & Milkman, 2012). In the initial
period number of fashion brands believed that social networking can create a weak
relationship of the business with the customers, but now it is observed as the opportunity to
enhance the relationship with the customer and eventually cover the wider audience.
According to Kapferer, (2012), Fashion is everywhere, majorly because of the internet.
“Blogs” provide customers a space to express their views on the Internet. Blogs are
determined as the personal websites, majorly handled by an individual with the entries of
comment, explanations of events, or other things like video or graphics, where entries are
generally showed in reverse order”. Unlike fashion-oriented television shows and magazines,
there are several blogs for fashion available at the global level that is updated frequently with
new trends of fashion. The efficiency of these blogs is just because of its strong personal,
elitist and popular viewpoint (Kurutz, 2011).
According to the reports of British Fashion Council boss, Careline Rush talked about the
growth rate of the fashion industry of the United Kingdom as the value of the industry has
risen to £32 billion (Sleigh, 2018). The chief executive of the BFC expresses that this

APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH 7
increase is majorly from the online retail and some of the increase is in production, while the
designers of the United Kingdom were increasing their strength at a global level. In spite of
huge challenges, the industry has attained growth. The growth of the online fashion business
is because of augmenting utilization of internet and social media channels for communication
and information. These channels are used by businesses to promote their business (Claire,
2017). The influence of social media on the industry of fashion of the UK is presented below:
Marketing – Social media support the businesses in the industry of fashion of the UK in
marketing the new and attractive designs of appeal and other accessories by targeting the
wider market. Millennial is the generation that is majorly involved over the internet and
utilizing sites of social media for facts and entertainment (Nash, 2018). In addition to this,
they also search for new products and trend that are flowing in the market through different
social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, etc. The fashion industry target millennial
generation as they are also the one who spend higher on these types of products to be trendy
in society. The social media channels use helps businesses in increasing brand recognition
and awareness. Incorporating digital marketing as one of the main promotional mix variables
supports businesses in targeting a wider market.
Customer and brand engagement – The utilization of the social media platform helps in
bringing customer and brand closer to each other. According to Imran Amed the chief of the
business publication of fashion, the thing that has been changed majorly is the direct
relationships of the brands with their patrons. In this present grading, the customer can
intensify or adversely influence the trade, by sharing positive or negative experiences. Today,
with the development of these social media channels, people can get the latest design that was
used in the fashion show of the famous designers now can be checked over different channels
of social media over the personal or public account of respective designer, which was not
possible in the traditional methods of the promotion like magazines.

APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH 8
According to the analysis, it has been identified that in the United Kingdom Twitter and
Facebook are mostly used social media platforms. But, some new players are covering the
market such as Instagram. Instagram has reached 800 million active users on a monthly basis
of 2017. These users hold a higher range of engagement with Instagram in comparison to
different sites of social media. Instagram is bridging the gap between the customer and the
fashion brands. Both of them get connected by common platforms in place of a fashion show
or print promotion. This inspires these fashion brands to have a thought regarding the real
people with diverse skin tones, preference, and bodies type. This is resulting in opening a
new world for the marketers of the fashion industry. Recently Instagram shopping has also
been launched. Retailers are now able to tag their product posts that can result to reach to the
point of sale.
More Influencers – Creating a conversation about the brand or product is very essential and
one of the main cause why the fashion brands have combined influencer marketing in their
digital marketing strategies. Instagram’s influencer economy is distinctly valued at over $1
billion and around 94% of the retailers said influencer marketing is the most effective
strategy (Moatti, 2018). The influencer marketing strategy is comprised of working with the
influential facades, for instance, a user or blogger has a higher number of followers which
support in increasing the brand awareness and impacts the pattern of customer purchasing.
One of the big examples of this is Kendall Jenner and Adidas. Kendall Jenner has total
followers of around 89.2 million over the Instagram channel in comparison to the followers
of Adidas with 19.2 million (Richardson, 2018). If the Adidas adopts the influencer
marketing strategy, then it will result in increasing the social reach and improve the position
of the company in front of younger fashion following of Jenner.
Most of the people think that influencer content is a recommendation from the friend.
Admiring someone's fashion sense, looking, outfits or use of any type of product results in

APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH 9
increasing the trust of those people over these products and encourage people to purchase
those products or brands. From the analysis, it could be said that influencer marketing and
social media have altered the world of fashion. Today, everyone lives connected more closely
with products or brands than ever before and feel proud to post publicly regarding the names
of loved ones. With the introduction of Instagram shopping, the world of fashion retailing is
changing.
Summary
The above chapter has presented the reviews, opinions, and analysis of different authors
regarding the research topic that is the impact of social media on the industry of fashion of
the UK. The analysis has highlighted that the industry of fashion in the United Kingdom is
majorly growing and developing due to online promotions and shopping. This reflects that
social media is performing a major role in promoting this industry and enhancing the brand
image of the retailers. The social media channels that are mostly used in the country are
Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. However, in comparison among all the players, Instagram
is the most effective channel which supports the retailers and brands to promote the business.
Research Methodology
Introduction
Research Methodology is considered as the essential chapter of the research which specifies
the use of specific technique or procedure for identifying, selecting, and analyzing the
information related to the research topic (Peffers, Tuunanen and Chatterjee, 2007). This
chapter has supported the research in increasing knowledge about the diverse kind of
strategies that are used for conducting the study and selecting the most appropriate one for
the current study.

APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH 10
Research Philosophy
The research philosophy section of the paper is comprised of a comprehensive understanding
of the research topic that is the influence of social media on the industry of fashion of the
United Kingdom. For conducting this research, the researcher has used interpretivism
philosophy as it has provided support in gathering the opinions and analysis of different
authors who have researched a similar topic (Mason, 2008).
Research Approach
The research approach is another essential part of the research methodology as it supports in
selecting the proper data analysis and data collection techniques for collecting the
information. In consideration of the current research topic that is ‘the impact of social media
on the industry of fashion of the United Kingdom', the examiner has used inductive approach.
The inductive approach is considered to be the most flexible method and is not comprised of
creating a hypothesis (Retail Insight, 2018).
Research Design
The authors make use of diverse methods of research design for conducting the research.
Some of the methods that are generally used in the studies are a descriptive and exploratory
method. For conducting this research, the researcher has made use of descriptive research as
it has supported in collecting findings of different authors who have conducted the research
and analyzing them for the similar research topic and analyzing the collected data according
to the research question of the current research (Mitchell and Jolley, 2012).
Research Strategy
In the research methodology chapter, research strategy is considered as the most important
part to having relevant and detailed information regarding the topic of the research that is the
impact of social media on the industry of fashion of United Kingdom. To identify the results

APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH 11
the researcher has used the method of literature review as the research strategy. The strategy
of the literature review is used to present the current knowledge comprising functional
findings, theoretical and methodological contributions to the specific topic (Bell, Bryman,
and Harley, 2018). Further, it has also guided the researcher in analyzing the results of the
previous study to direct the current research.
Data Collection Method
The section of data collection performs a significant role in conducting the study as it guides
the researcher in selecting the suitable method of collecting data and making conclusions.
These methods also support the researcher in identifying the solutions to the research
question. The data collection methods that are used by the researcher to conduct the present
study are a secondary method. The secondary method of data collection is all about
discussing the views and opinions of different authors to provide a base to the arguments
presented by the researcher in the study. To collect data the secondary sources used in the
current study are journals, websites, articles, and books (Griffiths, 2010).
Sampling
Sampling is a group of people selected from the target population to highlight the expected
characteristics of the entire population. Authors put efforts to design the samples for
representing the entire population (Etikan, Musa and Alkassim, 2016). Generally, two
methods are used for sampling that is probability and non-probability sampling. Both
methods are used considering the research topic. As per the topic of the current research that
is ‘impact of social media on the industry of fashion of United Kingdom', the researcher has
planned to select probability sampling as the method for the study. The selected method gives
equal chance to all the people to get selected in the research providing their reviews and
opinions. Under this research, the researcher has presented the literature review in which he
has randomly analyzed the studies conducted by different authors. The researcher has not