PEOPLE
THE FOUR PILLARS…
PEOPLE
Consumers are one of the main reasons why fashion is evolving, constantly and consistently. In the age of social media, now more than ever people are what makes a brand go viral and widely-known world-wide just by the tap of a button. The power the consumer has is incredibly important, specifically Gen-Z.
Gen-Z consumers become aware of a brand often through social media such as Instagram or Pinterest, platforms which displays multiple images of garments if the consumer has chosen to look at them, therefore a brand’s social media presence should be strong to avoid getting lost in the sea amongst other brands’ social media accounts. The Gen-Z consumer is ‘willing to shop across channels, have an appetite for high-quality items and are eager to stay on top of cultural trends’ as Vogue Business have discovered. They want to be able to fit in with others around them yet still want to have their own sense of style; as a result, new trends are forming through the consumer’s expression of clothing. What was once someone’s unique sense of style has now become everyone’s sense of style – social media captures this perfectly. Images are shared of an influencer’s outfit and a sea of consumers will shop everywhere to get the top the influencer is wearing. Gen-Z tend to focus on being more careful with their money since more awareness is being brought to the subject. This could be seen as a negative for brands in some instances as the consumer wants to purchase pieces they know will last for years to come rather than shopping for the sake of it. Of course, there are still some consumers who make less calculated decisions and purchase a number of items at a time but the majority are weary of the amount of money they are spending.
On the other hand, it could be a positive for brands as the consumer is aware of how many garments end up in landfill; the consumer is more likely to support a brand that has the same ethics as them. Forbes claims “two-thirds of consumers say they will pay more for sustainable products”.
Diversity is now one of the biggest deciding factors in whether or not a Gen-Z consumer will support a brand or not. A brand should be using their platforms in a correct way by featuring models from an array of cultural backgrounds, genders, disabilities and more. Any form of discrimination from a brand or any lack of diversity is immediately noticed by the Gen-Z consumer, such as Abercrombie and Fitch. The Netflix documentary, ‘White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie and Fitch’, demonstrated how quickly a brand will be picked apart by its consumers until they fix their diversity model. This emphasises just how much power the Gen-Z consumer has..
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Petro, G. (11th March 2022). Consumers Demand Sustainable Products And Shopping Formats. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregpetro/2022/03/11/consumers-demand-sustainable-products-and-shopping-formats/?sh=5fe11ec6a062
Vogue Business (2021). Gen Z shopping trends uncovered. Vogue Business.
https://www.voguebusiness.com/consumers/gen-z-shopping-trends-uncovered-pay-pal.