Chapter 4 - Pearson
Chapter 4 - Pearson
Chapter 4 - Pearson
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dia76827_ch04.qxd 11/29/04 7:55 PM Page 72<br />
72 SECTION I Introduction to Fashion Retailing<br />
takes for items that consumers have ordered through catalogs and on-line to get to them, the<br />
different price points of fashion merchandise available for purchasing, the different types of<br />
brick-and-mortar environments, and the alternatives to shopping in-store by way of catalogs<br />
and Internet Web sites. But in the face of increasing competition, fashion merchants also<br />
must understand what motivates people to buy fashion merchandise and how to appeal to<br />
those motivations to attract their target market and entice them to spend.<br />
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR<br />
The motives that make consumers act and react in a particular way are broken down into rational,<br />
emotional, and patronage motives.<br />
Rational Motives<br />
People who consider such factors as price, care, serviceability, practicality, warranties, and<br />
safety when making a purchase are rationally motivated. In times when the economy is poor<br />
and consumers are either out of work or are experiencing difficulty in paying their bills,<br />
rational motives play an important part in how they satisfy their everyday needs. This is<br />
especially important when people buy fashion merchandise, because such purchases are not<br />
as important as necessities. Shoppers who head to such value-oriented operations such as<br />
Target, Kmart, Wal-Mart, and Kohl’s to make their fashion purchases as well as those who<br />
go to the off-price emporiums where marque labels such as Ralph Lauren and Liz Claiborne<br />
are offered for prices that are substantially lower than at the traditional retail operations, are<br />
most motivated by the rational factor of price. Some people who have good jobs and spend<br />
a great deal of their disposable income on fashion goods but do not have to pay attention to<br />
price are affected by rational motives and are opting to buy from companies such as Old<br />
Navy, where style is available at an affordable price.<br />
Price is a major factor for shoppers who patronize Filene’s Basement.<br />
(Courtesy of Ellen Diamond)