How digital marketing affects consumer behaviour

Online Assignment Submission

Proposal

The Influence of Digital Marketing on Consumer Behavior in Apparel Industry

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction 3

2. Literature Review 3

2.1 Digital Marketing Strategy in the Apparel Industry 4

2.2 The impact of digital marketing on consumer behaviour 6

3. Gap and objective 8

4. Methodology 9

Reference: 11

1. Introduction

Technological innovation and development have made e-marketing increasingly global. Dehkordi and Javadian (2012) digital marketing are more comfortable than traditional marketing. It reduces marketing costs and increases target marketing. Because of e-commerce and e-commerce, people feel more relaxed and comfortable. Digital marketing has become a cost saving and time marketing strategy. With the increasing number of e-commerce websites, the Internet has made the world smaller. Companies take advantage of digital marketing plans to enter the target market and gain more viewers. Without the support of digital marketing plans, it is almost painful to run a business (Deenadayalan, 2017). The clothing and fashion industry is no exception. From 2007 to 2012, online fashion sales increased by 185%. In the UK, online fashion sales have soared and doubled in value since 2012. Fashion online sales growth in 2017 accounted for 24% of total fashion spending. The online auction of clothing, fashion accessories and footwear costs £ 16.2 billion, and the online apparel market will continue to maintain strong double-digit growth. The market forecasts a further increase of 79% in 2022 to close to £ 29 billion (Mintel Press Team, 2017).

Apparel companies can sell products through digital marketing. The official website of any fashion brand helps to spread awareness about the company and its products, and customers can also purchase fashion products from the website. Apparel merchants can also display their products on e-commerce sites and social networking sites, attracting more and more buyers. Online media helps fashion companies launch their products worldwide with minimal investment (Fibre2Fashion, N.D). Digital marketing is affecting consumer behavior. Different kinds of digital marketing have different effects on consumers' purchase decision process. The purpose of this dissertation is to study the five-step marketing of digital marketing to consumer decision-making process.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Digital Marketing Strategy in the Apparel Industry

The apparel market has always relied heavily on marketing. In the apparel market, most apparel companies carry out digital marketing strategies. The company uses online channels to disseminate information about its brand, products or services to its potential customers. Methods and technologies for online marketing include e-mail, social media, display advertising, search engine optimization, etc. The goal of digital marketing is to reach potential customers through channels that people spend time reading, searching, shopping, or online (Optimizely, N.D) .

Social media

In digital marketing, apparel companies pay more and more attention to the operation of social media. Social media, especially channels such as Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram，which is a boon for apparel companies because the retail of apparel depends on the visual effects of their products. Social media undoubtedly provides a platform for presentation（Chaffey and Smith, 2013). Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram launched carousel advertising for apparel brands. Apparel companies seem to be able to measure return on investment more effectively in these channels. Also, apparel companies often produce online updates and blog posts about the company's fashion style and product business, which has dramatically increased user engagement. Papandrea (2018) followed that the best part of blog content is that it works with social media and email marketing to become a key customer loyalty builder. A highly concerned blog, whose content is distributed across multiple channels, helps brands attract consumers. Social media is often one of the leaders in fashion trends. The presence and influence of fashionistas in these garments form trends and spread through social media. Users spend more time on social media sites and absorb fashion trends from there. This phenomenon has affected the shopping patterns of social media customers for clothing (Behl，2016).

E- Mail

Sterne (2000) stated that through the use of e-mail channels, products and services could be promoted so that they can be profitable and achieve the best opportunities for their goals. Effective email marketing will translate into consumer purchases. The e-mail will be crucial to the brand. Personal customer service and secure purchasing via email make online shopping more personal. Establishing long-term customer trust online has excellent benefits (DHL, 2018).

The apparel company sends all contacts or potential customers periodic fashion updates related to company business and products. Includes coupons and other special offers. Attempts to attract customers to websites through email marketing and convert visitors to email subscribers. This will draw the company's email subscribers to visit the clothing company's physical store or online store (Enders and Jelassi，2000).

Mobile Applications

Mobile applications are the ideal platform for connecting retail stores and online experiences. Mobile Applications also the perfect way for brands to communicate directly with customers. The apparel company's mobile marketing strategy leverages the unique opportunities offered by mobile (Meritt, 2016). Mobile apps provide an instant, personalized experience and interactive channel. Apparel retailers have been working hard to get customers to download their specific branded mobile apps. Teqfocus Admin (2014) stated that customers use mobile applications to support their discovery of new clothes to purchase and delivery. Shoppers can check all store clothing, sizes, types, product features, compare prices, research them, read reviews, find store locations, scan barcodes, understand offers, and buy things. Mobile applications help establish a long-term relationship between apparel companies and customers.

SEO

Chaffey and Smith (2013) stated that apparel company search engine optimization for websites. Use keywords, page titles, categories, and URLs for search engine optimization purposes. This helps the company's sites and products become higher in search engine search rankings. When consumers are looking for apparel products, it is persuasive to use these keywords in the content of the entire page. Search engine optimization helps consumers access the clothing company's website (The prime factory, N.D).

2.2 The impact of digital marketing on consumer behaviour

With the implementation of digital marketing, consumer behavior has changed.

Apparel companies display brand-related products or services on social media pages. Lodh and Shoaib (2017) stated that almost 80-90% of people are attracted to online advertising. Because social network users are not specific to gender and age, everyone can see different types of advertisements on their Facebook or Instagram pages. Now, consumers buy most of their products after watching online publications, rather than reading newspapers and magazines. Social media helps apparel companies attract and reach a wide range of potential consumers. Social media has gradually become the online way for consumers to communicate products or services. Chaffey and Smith (2013) followed that most of them are peers talking about brands, styles, product types, services, etc. Because most of them belong to the same age group and have roughly the same financial background, it is easy or practical to help and guide social customers to purchase specific products or use any services.

Today's consumers can access many different information and experiences through social media. This comes from other customers' information and suggestions (Senecal and Nantel 2004). Godes & Silva (2012) research shows that 90% of consumers read online reviews on social media or other websites before making a purchase decision. Consumers perform a new round of product evaluation after reading at least four reviews. Social media reviews play an important role in buying decisions. According to consumer research, 81% of people were influenced by friends' posts, and 85% were influenced by celebrity endorsement when making a purchase decision. Boohoo, a fast-fashion retailer reported that its profits have doubled after celebrity promotion of its Instagram products to 16-24-year-old fans ( Tan, 2017). Fashionistas form trends and influence through social media, and potential consumers absorb fashion trends there. This has affected their fashion-related shopping model. Digital strategy consulting (N.D) stated that when looking at other people's clothing on social media, 37% of Britons will try new things. Nearly one-third believe that social media helped them decide what to buy and how to wear it.

Now, 80% of fashion brands have mobile websites, and consumers can browse apparel products through mobile apps. Digital Marketing helps consumers stay connected with the latest fashion without going to physical stores. The company will update you with new information on market new trends, prices, new deals, and most recent designs through mobile apps or emails. This immediate update of information stimulates consumer purchase motivation. Today, consumers rely mainly on online shopping rather than traditional shopping. This way, consumers can freely check different product companies of various websites and easily check price differences, design differences, and uniqueness. The e-marketing is available 24/7 shopping or advertisement. Consumers do not need to search within a limited time. Compared with traditional shopping, digital marketing can help consumers purchase the latest products and services, rather than a comprehensive survey of the overall market (Lodh and Shoaib, 2017).

Compared to online websites, more people use mobile phones for fashion shopping. Durkin（2015）followed that Seventy-five percent of mobile users said they meet their needs through retailer websites or applications on their smart devices. Footwear brand Schuh said that 49% of its site visitors come from mobile devices; another 21% come from tablet computers - so only 30% come from desktop computers.

Gabriel and Kolapo (2015) suggested that attitudes and perceptions of risk influence consumer purchasing decisions. Consumer perceptions of risks associated with online shopping have a crucial influence on their choices. In addition to the impact of trust and perceived risk related to online shopping, the browsing experience is also one of the critical determinants. Many consumers have rid themselves of unresponsive websites, resulting in a severe shopping experience. Due to poor service quality, 54% of consumers stopped doing business with the company. Papandrea (2018) followed that many shoppers are concerned about the security and privacy of completing transactions through mobile devices. Only 9% of consumers purchased items directly through links on social media. On the contrary, most consumers will read the proposal to stimulate interest in buying the product, but then purchase the product through a more simple website (Forbes and Lukas, 2013).

On the other hand, new trends such as digital personalization and artificial intelligence are affecting consumers. The personalized, customer-centric digital marketing model provides a more personalized and planned shopping experience, with a focus on niche markets and the opposite of mass production. Consumers want to become individuals through the brands and products they identify with, which means that the brand will have to focus on its strengths, brand story and product quality (DHL, 2018). Papandrea (2018) followed that Levis recently launched the "Virtual Stylist" chatbot on his website and Facebook Messenger. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to communicate with customers, help them find the perfect fit jeans, and see the corresponding images worn with them. This unique experience has attracted the attention of consumers.

3. Gap and objective

The gap is in the reference literature that the survey did not accurately describe the five-step impact of digital marketing on the consumer decision-making process. What factors of digital marketing have the most significant effect on consumer behavior? Are there more factors that affect consumer behavior?

The goal is to study the influence of different factors in digital marketing on the five steps of consumer decision making. Determine the impact of various factors on consumer behavior. Look for more consumer influence factors through the survey. And trying to make a decision process model suitable for online consumers.

Assuming the model is based on the consumer decision model.

Purchase decision

Reading reviews;

Looking at products

Celebrity effect

Observe 3D look；

Compare similar product Information

Information search

Post-purchase behaviour

Evaluation of alternatives

Problem/need recognition

motivation

Enjoyment;

Socializing;

New trend

Discount

strengthen

Push of digital information

Safety and risk

Quality of web experience

product comprehensive experience

4. Methodology

(a) Research Design

According to the purpose of the study. This study used quantitative approach. Quantitative research aims to understand the effects of digital on consumer behavior and to test and test and modify the hypothetical model. The research uses surveys to obtain data. The questionnaire is the primary tool for the investigation. Convenient online questionnaires and field distribution questionnaires will be used for interviewees. The questionnaire should include closed questions and semi-closed questions.

(b) Sample size

Respondents were selected using a purposeful non-probability sampling method. The interviewees should understand digital marketing and participate in it. About the sample size of the questionnaire is 250-300.

(c) Collection data

100-150 online questionnaires and 100 -150paper questionnaires can be provided to survey respondents.

(d) Analysis

Organize the questionnaire and collect complete and effective questionnaires. For the research questionnaire, effective 100-150 questionnaires should be taken to extract valid data and collate. Conduct data analysis.

Regarding the analysis of the data, after finishing the data, the results of the respondents were entered into the statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software program.

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