Zara: Analyzing Consumer Behavior and Marketing Techniques (MKT20025)

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Zara's marketing strategies and consumer behavior within the Australian market. It explores the consumer decision-making process (CDMP), including the stages of need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior. The report delves into internal psychological factors such as needs and motivation, personality, self-concept, perception, and attitudes, examining how these elements influence consumer choices. Additionally, it investigates the impact of situational factors on purchasing decisions. The study focuses on Zara's target market, types of decision-making processes (nominal, limited, and extended), and recommendations for enhancing marketing effectiveness, considering the company's mission and environmental commitments. The report also integrates relevant consumer behavior theories to support the analysis and offers insights into how Zara can further influence consumer behavior within the competitive fashion retail sector.

Running head: MARKETING
Marketing
Name of student
Name of University
Author note

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Executive summary
From the report, it could be understood that the business named Zara focused on
targeting the key market segments comprising of customers by considering various factors,
which resulted in influencing the buying decisions made by the clients. Being a reputed and
established organisation, the business organisation made sure to consider and integrate the
psychological factors for influencing the consumer buying choices and behaviours,
furthermore ensured fulfilment of criteria related to the various stages of the CDMP process.
The needs and motivation along with personality, perception and attitudes were also
responsible for influencing the behaviours of clients while the external environment included
the culture, beliefs and other factors that contributed to successful purchases made by the
customers of Zara. The various kinds of consumer decision making such as the nominal,
limited and extended decision making were also included here to understand what might be
the most influential for drawing clients and encourage them to make purchase consistently.

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Table of Contents
Executive summary....................................................................................................................2
Introduction................................................................................................................................4
Company overview.................................................................................................................4
Targeted markets....................................................................................................................5
Types of decision making process..........................................................................................5
Five stages of the consumer decision making process...............................................................7
Application and integration of psychological influences.....................................................10
Key recommendations..............................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
The report explains about the marketing techniques considering the business
organisation named Zara in Australia with the aim of influencing the buying behaviours and
decisions of consumers within the retail fashion sector. The topic will also illustrate about the
various stages of the consumer decision making process along with the internal factors that
are responsible for influencing the consumer buying behaviours such as needs and
motivation, self-concept, perception and attitudes along with the situational factors too. The
selected brand product here is Zara for both men and women (Zara.com.au 2019). The
product is a colour block sweatshirt for women that has been a craze and has fulfilled the
needs of many people all over Australia.
Company overview
Zara is a fast fashion retailer that has been originated in Spain and the parent
organisation is Inditex, which has aimed at targeting the fashion conscious clients, especially
the women to cater their needs and preferences with much ease and efficiency. The company
holds a good position within the marketplace and with its extensive range of fashion and
clothing items made available in the marketplace, the consumer buying behaviours have been
influenced and this has facilitated attracting more clients, furthermore generated higher
revenue and gained competitive advantage in business as well (Foxall 2014). The business
organisation’s mission statement is to implement environment friendly management model
for reducing the consumption of energy by 20 percent and at the same time, facilitate the
management of sustainability and efficiency criteria to ensure production of good quality
clothes with the use of 100 percent cotton and made without use of harmful chemicals and
bleach.

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Targeted markets
The target market is composed of men and women, 18-40 years of age, with mid-
range incomes. The target customer is very fashion forward and trend conscious, residing in
an urban area. They are either shopping for themselves or for their children. Zara's customers
are definitely sensitive towards having the most up to date and fashionable clothing and
accessories but at an affordable price (Rani 2014).
The key target consumers that the brand has focused on include both men and women,
though the colour block sweatshirts are aimed at the women, between the age of 18 to 40
years who have mid-level income. The customers whom are targeted have ben fashion
conscious and accustomed with recent clothing trends, especially in the urban places. The
other customers targeted are those who have purchased clothing items and accessories for
themselves or their children (Salazar, Oerlemans and van Stroe‐Biezen 2013). The clients
who are inclined towards the brand have been sensitive and remained up to date with the
latest fashionable clothing items that are made available by Zara at a reasonable price too.
Types of decision making process
There are mainly three types of decision making process that the targeted clients are
involved in while making purchase of a product or service from Zara. The three types of
consumer decision making process are nominal, limited and extended decision making. As
stated by Joshi and Rahman (2015), the nominal decision making process type enables are
made by the customers regarding the purchase of low cost products that are applicable for
frequent purchases and thus the level of involvement is quite low as well (Joshi and Rahman
2015). This kind of decision making normally does not start off as nominal, rather the
customers need to check their budget, needs and requirements, based on which they would be

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able to check whether the product can suit their needs or not before making the purchase from
Zara.
The limited decision making process type does not require any in-depth research or
understanding about the product and thus the customers can make purchases from the brand
easily without getting involved much during the purchase of products and services from Zara.
According to East et al. (2016), the decisions are made by customers considering the best
choices that can suit their demands and by checking for any better alternatives, which might
be better than the actual product, i.e., the sweatshirt that the customers might be searching for
(East et al. 2016). Based on limited decision making process type, the marketers and brands
must examine the customer related data and information and ensure that the factors are
responsible for influencing the purchases made based on the prices set for the colour block
sweatshirts, product availability, quality of products and services along with the style of
packaging.
Another decision making type is the extended decision making where the customers
need to choose the high cost products and services and due to this the purchases are not
frequent considering the premium quality products available at higher price (Khare 2015).
When it comes to extended decision making, it is important to make sure that the brand
creates a positive brand image and online presence by creating a platform where the
customers can share their opinions and feedbacks, furthermore understand about the products
and provide necessary responses to deal with the negative comments posted by clients. The
interactive guides and tools are used to facilitate the decision making process. Based on
Ahmetoglu, Furnham and Fagan (2014), it could be understood that the limited decision
making can be a suitable choice, because there are multiple alternatives available at the stores

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of Zara along with availability of similar kinds of sweatshirts, which can definitely influence
the buying behaviours of clients easily (Ahmetoglu, Furnham and Fagan 2014).
Thus, the main scope of the report is to analyse the different marketing techniques and
the various factors that are responsible for influencing the consumer buying behaviours and
decisions made while purchasing a specific product from Zara, Australia.
Five stages of the consumer decision making process
The identification of the consumer decision making process helps an organization in
enhancing the operations as per the preferences of the target customers. The concerned
organization, ZARA, is a retailer, which proposes fast fashion clothing and accessories to the
customers. The different modifications that are undertaken by the concerned organization in
the supply of goods are dependent on the demand faced by the same in the international
markets. Sullivan, Kang and Heitmeyer (2012) stated that the identification of the CDMP
(Customer Decision Making Process) helps an organization in identifying the demand that is
faced by the same while operating in different economies. Therefore, the assessment of the
CDMP will be helping the organization in maintaining the efficacy of the operations as per
the objectives. The section will be focusing on the assessment of CDMP framework in
identifying the psychological and attitudes of the buyers (Bartels and Onwezen 2014).
Figure: CDMP framework

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(Source: Jin Ma, Littrell and Niehm 2012)
The first stage of the CDMP process is related to the customer psychology of gaining
recognition. In this context, the organization, ZARA, provides the customers with an
affordable range of attires and accessories in order to address their needs of being recognized
in the society. On the other hand, the trends that are affecting the society relating to fashion
has helped the organization in developing different design of the products as per the
consumer preferences. The brand recognition is again an important standpoint faced by the
organization while developing their products, as most of the fashion conscious customers rely
on the brand name while making a buy of the product. Ashman, Solomon and Wolny
(2015) stated that recognition of the brand among the reputed brand helps an organization in
maximizing the sales volume. The obsessive nature of the customers towards the brand name
of ZARA will be helping the organization in gaining the customer loyalty. The customers
look for the designs in attire and accessories that are trendy in the society. Therefore, the
organizational proposition is largely dependent on the fast fashion and trendy designs that are
developed by the same as per the customer requirements.
The second stage of the CDMP is dependent on the point where the customers look
for information of the organization. Liao et al. (2012) stated that most of the companies
make use of the social and digital media platforms in order to communicate with the
customers relating to the propositions made by the same. Informed decision making is one of
the major steps that are undertaken by the customers before making a buy of any product. As
most of the customers are aware of the brand name of ZARA, they look out for the
propositions that are made by the organization as per their preferences. On the other hand, the
organizational mission statement of providing the customers with “exclusive choice of
fashion by providing a quicker turnover of new stock than other fashion retailers” has helped

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in motivating the fashion conscious customers (Zara.com.au 2019). In this connection, the
concerned organization has integrated their product lines in different social media platforms
as well as their general websites in order to make the customers awre of the offerings.
Information that is provided by the organizations in this connection helps in enhancing the
decision making process of the customers.
The third stage of the CDMP framework enumerates the customer’s looking for
alternatives. Kang, Liu and Kim (2013) stated that the organizations undertake market
research in order to identify the different propositions that are made by the competitors.
Proper market research helps the organization in developing and designing products through
an identification of the market trends. On the other hand, the customers undertake market
research in order to explore the product offerings that are made by the competitors of the
concerned business. The customers explore the alternatives on the basis of price and quality
of the products that are delivered by the organizations. The stage helps the customers in
undertaking decisions of making a buy of the product as per the preferences of the same.
Henninger (2015) stated that the identification of the third stage of CDMP helps an
organization in proposing unique propositions o the customers. On the other hand, the loyalty
of customers towards a particular brand or product affects the decision making through
biases. ZARA, in this context, has taken steps to monitor the preferences of their target
customers for designing the products. On the other hand, the concerned organization has also
taken steps to assess the market competitiveness and the products that are designed by its
competitors. It has helped the organization in maximizing the USP (Unique Selling
Proposition) as per the needs of the customers.
The fourth step of the CDMP framework is the purchase decision made by the
customers. The stage involves the organizational understanding of the behavior and

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psychology of the target customers while designing the product lines. The appropriateness of
the proposition drives the attention of the customers towards the product that correlates to the
preferences of the same. The concerned organization, ZARA, has taken steps to maximize the
diversity in the product range, which has helped the same in building a strong customer base.
Viswanathan and Jain (2013) stated that the customer decision of buying a product is
dependent on the evaluation of the needs and preferences of the same. The target customers
of the concerned organization are fashion conscious and are trend sensitive, which has helped
the organization in designing product lines as per the preferences of the same. On the other
hand, the decision of the customers of making a buy of the products that are offered by
ZARA are based on their sense of buying an unique and equally trendy apparel or accessory
for flaunting.
The last stage of the CDMP framework in the evaluation forwarded by the customers
at the post buying phase. The feedback from the customers after they make a buy of the
products helps the organization in bringing forth modifications in the line of products or
processes that were undertaken by the same. Pookulangara and Shephard (2013) stated that
the feedback from the customers helps the organization in making future plans for the
enterprise while studying the behavior and psychologies of the target customers. ZARA
undertakes evaluation of the customer feedbacks in order to identify the latest trends that are
introduced in the fashion industry for upgrading their line of products as per the changing
preferences of the customers.
Application and integration of psychological influences
There are multiple psychological factors that influence the consumer buying
behaviours and decisions for Zara product. The motivation factor influences the buying
behaviours of consumers and based on the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, the basic and

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security needs are focused on firstly to create a motivational effect on the consumers of Zara.
Zara made the colour block sweatshirt available at a reasonable price range n online
platforms and also at the stores which created ease for the clients to access the product and
this encouraged them to make purchases as their accessibility and pricing needs have been
taken care of by the brand (Bartels and Onwezen 2014).
The company made relevant information about the sweatshirt available on the website
to make clients informed about the product features and whether it can cater to their needs
and preferences or not. This has facilitated perception and allowed the clients to make
selection, organise and interpret the information content for the specific product to draw
meaningful conclusions prior to the purchase of product (East et al. 2016). The colour block
sweat shirt is perceived as a god quality brand product and thus the clients have been
motivated to purchase it for getting associated with the fashion conscious segment within the
society.
According to Scott and Vigar‐Ellis (2014), the learning of individuals is dependent
upon the skills and knowledge that they possess and often acquired with experiences, which
could be either cognitive or conditional learning. Zara could design marketing campaigns to
understand the beliefs and attitudes of clients, furthermore enhance the capability of brand to
maintain a positive brand image and influence consumer buying decisions (Scott and Vigar‐
Ellis 2014).
There are few other external environment factors that have contributed to the
influencing of consumer buying decisions such as the culture, reference groups and social
class. Zara, being a centralised brand, should focus on the global trends and move towards
geocentric orientation to adopt the local culture and solutions and make sure to cater the
needs of local people at first (Badgaiyan and Verma 2015). The positive brand image and

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name has further assisted Zara to deliver products based on the cultural values and belief,
furthermore ensures using colors in the clothing items, language and messages that can reflect
the culture of the place. The social class affects the consumer buying behaviours by creating
an impact on the consumer lifestyles, buying patterns, media patterns and according to the
interests of the consumers. The income level of clients and consuming style must be
considered and Zara has made it possible to attract more clients by producing the new and
innovative sweatshirt through sustainable manufacturing methods and available at reasonable
price range (Pappas 2016). Thus, the product has been targeted at every market segments
without making any discrimination to the consumption patterns, which could also influence
the buying behaviours made by clients.
Figure: Psychological factors of consumer decision making (Pappas 2016)

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Key recommendations
 The recommendations are some major approaches that could be undertaken in the
future for improving the business functioning in the future as well as influence the
consumer buying behaviours to create a huge customer base and generate higher
business revenue too.
 The particular theory on which the consumer buying behaviours are based on is the
motivation need theory according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, which has
created huge positive effects all throughout the psychological community and
influential factors that have contributed to higher number of purchases made by the
customers. The need motivation theory enabled fulfilment of physiological needs,
safety, love, esteem and self-actualisation needs that should be fulfilled one by one for
motivating the consumers to prioritise the purchases towards the hierarchy base
(Pettigrew 2014). This could further allow the company to draft messages and
information about the new product, i.e., the colour block sweat shirt of Zara and
create a sense of need or urgency in consumers to facilitate the consumer buying
behaviours and decisions.
 It is recommended to be implemented by Zara to provide additional offers and
discounts for the prices of the product too and ensure that the right clients are targeted
and influenced to create a large customer base. The main purpose would be to
increase the revenue generation capability and ensure gaining higher profit along with
competitive advantage in business.
 It is also recommended to make sure that the online platforms are managed properly
along with use of social media channels for drawing in more clients and at the same
time, respond to clients; feedbacks for ensuring that they are influenced and
encouraged through creation of a positive mind set as well.

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 It is recommended to increase the level of diversity of products and services of Zara
for influencing the buying behaviours of clients with much ease and effectiveness
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