SOCIAL
MEDIA IMPACT ON BRAND PERCEPTION AND CONSUMER BUYING DECISION IN THE LUXURY
FASHION INDUSTRY
Social Media has risen to become one of the most important marketing platforms for most FMCG companies and the fashion industry too has greatly benefitted from the large consumer presence on social media and the limited costs incurred in reaching out to them (Delloitte, 2015). Consumer behavior has been a major driver in shifting the focus of luxury fashion brands from conventional marketing to progressive investing in social media marketing. The attempt of luxury fashion brands is to generate brand loyalty by bringing customers closer to the brands through social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram (Hilfer, 2015). Luxury fashion brands are subject to the challenges of maintaining brand exclusivity and integrity whilst attempting at incorporating social media marketing into the existing marketing mix (Brandwatch, 2015). The intriguing assumption that social media marketing will help the image of the luxury fashion brands could also be proven wrong as certain empirical claims of a devaluing impact in this case have also surfaced in the past (Brandwatch, 2015) (Ozeum & Tan, 2014).
Luxury fashion brands have tried keeping pace with the marketing activities that have changed over time. They have also ensured that the rare factor in luxury fashion products is not lost through their efforts of popularizing or commercializing the brand. As such, social media poses an opportunity as well as a threat to the image of the luxury fashion brand in front of the consumers. Social media marketing does commonalize the brand and bring a prospective consumer much closer to the brand. This works for most industries but the luxury fashion industry has been established on the exclusivity and elite quality that the products endorse. As such, using social media for marketing luxury fashion products and doing so in the interest of the brand has become a serious challenge for the luxury fashion brands. Few brands have not made their presence felt on social media platforms in order to keep their product and market niche (Ilyashov, 2015). However, the increasing activities on social media, the cost effective marketing tool that it has become and the increasing presence of potential customers has made it imperative for luxury fashion brands to utilize social media and incorporate SMM into their marketing mix. Therefore, the purpose of this research paper is to alleviate these concerns by understanding whether a luxury fashion brand receives positive or negative promotions by extending its marketing activities to social media platforms.
In order to understand
the analyses to the problem stated above, answering the following research
questions shall help in fulfilling the objective of this paper:
This review of
literature makes use of empirical research to understand the theory of
consumption values that will be used in order to understand the research topic.
Also, extensive work has been done by academicians and scholars in
understanding the role played by social media with respect to the luxury
fashion industry. This research paper, however, seeks to answer those questions
that have been left in ambiguity.
This theory
primarily focuses on the buying decision of a prospective consumer. It tends to
answer whether a customer buys or does not buy a certain product and then
investigate further into the factors that influence such a buyer in taking this
decision (Sheth, Newman, & Gross,
1991).
This theory has been used to understand how the social media marketing
techniques of a luxury brand affects the buying intention, behavior and
decision of a prospective customer. This theory shall explain how the social
media presence of the luxury fashion brand affects the buying behavior of
customers.
In order to align
the social media marketing of luxury fashion brands with the consumer buying
behavior, it is important to understand how initiatives taken by the luxury
fashion brands in promoting their products on social media are identified by
the consumers. It could either bring the customers closer to the brand or lead
to erosion of the brand value and dignity. Even though this remains subjective
depending on the way in which the brand promotes its brand and products on
social media, a general idea of consumer perception and its effect on buying
behavior can be analyzed through the research process. The theory of
consumption values is one of the better models that explain the buying
intention of consumers by dividing the value created by the product into five
different value propositions namely functional, conditional, emotional,
epistemic and social values.
The predominant
value that a customer looks for in a product or a service is the need or desire
that it satisfies and the purpose it fulfils. This is known as the functional
value of the product. The functional value of a product constitutes the
utility, performance, quality amongst other factors. The economic benefit
theory comes closest to justifying the functional value of a product and holds
the price and any other value attached as the most important decision making
factor (Antonides & Raaij, 1998). The needs of the
consumers are the major drivers in giving rise to buying intention. However, in
the case of luxury fashion products, it is mostly the desires of consumers that
these luxury brands seek to fulfill.
The social value of a product holds a lot of relevance when luxury fashion products are subject of the case. This is mainly because these products carry an image of superiority, economic strength and social recognition and the same is lent to the consumers that buy these products. This, however, does not involve customers that follow luxury fashion products on social media pages but do not actually own any of them. However, the social value of a product is the social class or hierarchy the individuals with similar possessions are clustered or bundled into.
The consumer
buying behavior as is being analyzed through the concept of social media
marketing is to a large extent dependent on the peer groups and family circles
that people are part of. The financial and educational strength of an
individual is a major contributor in shaping his preference for products and
influencing his buying decision. The professional environment of individuals,
in modern-day society, requires them to act, behave and function in a way as is
commanded by the social hierarchies and the social value of the product is at
times the most important factor shaping buying decisions and intentions of such
buyers (Schiffman & Kanuk, 1997). It has been
empirically observed that the social media pages are frequently and closely
followed by people of similar attitudes, behaviors and social circles (Schiffman & Kanuk, 1997).
One of the main
reasons behind the extent to which social media influences people is due to the
emotional value it creates. The reason behind brands promoting their products
extensively on social media is that such marketing builds up an emotional value
(either positive or negative) in the minds of the prospective consumer.
Emotions such as excitement, satisfaction and loyalty initiate purchases
whereas those of anger and guilt tend to distance consumers from brands and
companies (Sheth, Newman, & Gross,
1991).
One of the most
important value propositions in a product that the modern-day consumer seems to
be very interested in is the epistemic value. The feeling of newness or
innovativeness that a product passes on to the consumer shapes the buying
intention to a great extent. Social media platforms are utilized as low-cost
means to market and promote the innovative features that products today are
being launched into the market with. The switching behavior in such consumers
is prominent whereas brand loyalty does not have a role to play in influencing
decisions (Katz & Lazarsfeld, 1955). The innovativeness
in products is a very important facilitator and this study shall investigate
further as to how the epistemic value is conveyed to the target market by
companies and brands in order to drive sales at a premium price.
This value is not
tapped by social media platforms as this is subjective thereby differing from
person to person and case to case (Kalafatis, Ledden, &
Mathioudakis, 2010). However, social media presence for
brands is important in order for it to be able to stem conditional value
prospects in consumers. Time and place have been regarded as the most important
determinants in creating the conditional value for a product.
The theory of
consumption values is relevant only to understand the way in which consumers
are influenced by different values that a particular product provides to them.
This theory will be used in this research paper by aligning the same with
social media and the role that is played by social media in building any or all
of these values and hence, affecting the consumers’ buying behavior, brand
perceptions and purchase decisions. This research is focused primarily at
understanding how social media pages and platforms and the activity of luxury
brands therein shapes the perception of consumers and attracts or repels them
from a particular luxury brand and product.
Luxury is defined
as anything that provides comfort rather than fulfilling a need and is
difficult to obtain often when discussed in financial terms. Luxury products
are ones that are made to last for a considerably longer time and carry the
image of exclusivity for which a premium is charged by luxury brands (Kapferer & Bastien,
2012).
Luxury products have been used to create social distinctions in society and
draw hierarchies. In context of this
research paper, luxury has been interpreted from a Western culture perspective
and speaks about the present-day ongoing in the luxury fashion industry.
As far as this
research is concerned, luxury fashion customers are not restricted to just the
ones that buy luxury fashion products but also those that follow these brands
and their products on social media. Even though a part of these customers
aren’t exactly buyers, they can be termed potential buyers that do fall under
the target population of such brands.
Social media can
broadly be defined as a collection of Internet-based applications that brings
people together by creating and exchanging user generated content (Jahn, Kunz, & Meyer,
2012).
In this context, a luxury fashion brand is bound to bring together people who
have similar interests thereby using social media as a platform for these
customers to openly communicate and express themselves.
Luxury brands have
crafted their brand image solely on their own and the customers have been mere
spectators and receivers wherein they have been subject to the marketing
practices of these luxury brands (Jahn, Kunz, & Meyer,
2012).
Social media as transformed a one-way communication process into a two-way
communication process wherein consumers don’t just communicate with the brand
but within themselves too (Kim & Ko, 2010). Due to these
factors that the social media concept has embedded in its core working
methodologies, consumer behavior and perception towards luxury fashion brands
is being greatly influenced.
Since social media
is a very broad concept analysis of which in its entirety is beyond the scope
of this paper, this research paper focuses mostly on the two widespread social
media platforms that are known to affect the luxury fashion industry
predominantly namely Facebook and Instagram. Luxury fashion brands and
consumers are known to frequent these social media platforms extensively. If
messaging applications like Whatsapp are ignored, Facebook and Instagram are
the most prominent social media platforms in the world.
Not only do these
social media platforms boast of highest number of users, there are easily
adaptable by luxury fashion brands and are preferred within the fashion
industry (Morrison, 2015). Through the survey
conducted, it was found that Facebook and Instagram are the most preferred
options for consumers as far as luxury fashion brands were concerned. Facebook
has 1.59 billion active users and is the most popular social media platform in
the world and is expected to grow and retain its rank amongst the social
network sites. Even though Instagram has just 400 million active users monthly,
the nature of the application has ensured that it becomes the most popular
choice for luxury brands to reveal and market their collections and events (Scott, 2015). Considering the
framework of storytelling, use of photos and videos and attractive
demographics, these two social media platforms have been selected as the most
relevant ones in order to base this research upon. In the context of this
research paper, the term ‘social media’ implies Facebook and Instagram only.
Social media has
become such a predominant part of people’s perceptions, decisions and even
lives that almost every luxury fashion brand has its presence in at least one
of the social media platforms. However, it is still unclear as to how useful
these social media pages have been to the brand and the image it has. The
uncertainty regarding the outcome of such pages can be attributed to the fact
that many of these luxury fashion brands do have a page but do not make use of
it in the right sense to promote the brand (Okonkwo, 2010). The way in which a
social media page is managed affects the image of the luxury brand to a great
extent. If strategically managed, a well-planned social media strategy can
promote the brand and products in the right sense whereas poor marketing on
these pages can lead to self-cannibalization.
Primary as well as
secondary research has been used in order to understand consumer buying
behavior and purchase decision in relevance to the social media presence and
activities of luxury brands. The author of this research paper is part of an
educational course that requires her to understand the luxury fashion market in
the contemporary sense and social media happens to be one of the most important
marketing and promotion platforms for every company in modern-day globalized
world. As such, this topic has been chosen to lend valuable insights into the
way in which a prospective consumer interprets and perceives a particular
luxury brand owing to the latter’s social media presence and marketing
activities. On-ground research has been done and the findings have been coupled
with literature retrieved from various data sources such as books, magazine,
electronic journals, articles in periodicals and websites. Having carefully
understood each of the four theories that explain consumer behavior, the theory
of consumption values has been found to be the most comprehensive one that
adheres to the objective of this paper. The data collected from the primary
research has been put together to draw conclusions that happen to be the final
outcome of this research paper.
Secondary research
has been done in order to understand the concepts of ‘luxury’, ‘social media’
and ‘impact of social media on luxury brands’. Empirical work done by
researchers and scholar with respect to the luxury fashion market and social
media and the dependability of the former on the latter has been used in the
literature review. The theory of consumption values (Sheth, Newman, & Gross,
1991)
has been used in order to understand the social media impacts towards consumer
brand perception and buying intention. The different facets of the theory of
consumption values have been used to devise the online questionnaire and to
understand how much of the decision making process is influenced by each value
proposition as professed by Sheth (1991).
Primary research
has been done by means of an online survey wherein the questions have been
attributed to the different facets of the theory of consumption values and the
same has been aligned with the objective of the paper.
The data has been
collected from the young college-going population of the colleges in
Nottingham. Therefore, the results and findings represent the responses from a
select population in a target market. It has been ensured that 100 people have
taken the online survey and the findings have been based on the data collected
therein. These questionnaires have been distributed in a strategic manner
thereby gaining respondents that have either bought luxury fashion products or
have been extensively active on social media platforms such as Facebook and
Instagram in following luxury brands and their products. Even though the
questionnaire has been floated online, it has been ensured that the respondents
belong to a target age group and are affected by similar socio-cultural and
economic aspects. Students of the Nottingham Trent University and the
University of Westminster form a major part of the entire population of
respondents. The sampling method ensures that the findings of this study can be
held true for a student population under 30 years of age that has been exposed
to the luxury fashion world and is part of a developed economy.
It has been found
through the results of this survey that social media has a predominant impact
in shaping the brand perceptions and buying decisions of consumers. 78% of the
respondents were of the view that social media activities of a particular
luxury brand help them in creating an image about the brand, one that has a
lasting role to play in shaping their buying behavior. The negative outcomes of
social media marketing have been highlighted in this research paper but the
findings show that the positive outcomes of such marketing by luxury fashion
brands far outweighs the negative ones and that the luxury fashion brands that
strategically promote their brand and products on social media have only
benefitted from the same.
81% of the
respondents were of the view that the social media page of a luxury fashion
brand increases brand loyalty and enhances consumer buying by bringing the
consumer closer to the brand, its products and every emotional and social
impact that it creates. This proximity to the luxury fashion brand is created
because luxury fashion brands often reveal insights of their brands, underlying
stories and behind the scenes footage on social media to intrigue buyers. The
collaborations of these brands with various events, excerpts from famous
celebrities and brand ambassador programs are all extensively featured on
social media thereby giving insights into the luxury brand that is otherwise
missing from traditional marketing platforms such as television, newspapers,
advertisements, billboards and sponsorships.
The major findings
from the survey were:
The different
questions asked as part of the primary survey helped in understanding different
facets of the social media influence that was felt by consumers with respect to
luxury fashion brands. It was found, through the survey, that users found
images and videos highly engaging and influential as opposed to text mostly
because the products and the aesthetics can be promoted best in the visual
sense. It was also analyzed that consumers are not just interested in the
products and their features but the surrounding activities that encapsulate the
luxury brand. In order to ensure that a consumer is loyal to a brand through
social media activity, it is important that a lot more is promoted on social
media. Consumers are interested in knowing the values that the brand stands for
and the background activities that go on. This can be aligned to the theory of
consumption values wherein the emotional value of a product rates as a more
important facilitator to consumer perception as compared to the functional
value of the product.
The assumption
made early on in this research paper that a luxury brand might lose its sense
of exclusivity by promoting its brand online does not hold true, if the results
of the survey are to be believed. Only 11 per cent of the respondents felt that
social media advertising makes a luxury fashion brand lose its exclusivity. The
modern-day globalized world presents a market wherein every consumer willing to
pay a predefined price is able to own a product he/she desires or needs. This
is in contrast to a few decades earlier wherein luxury items and goods were
believed to be reserved for the upper sections of the society and economic
prowess was the sole determinant to decide ownership of luxury items. In order
to remain profitable and grow with the growing market, the luxury fashion
brands find it imperative to target a wider section of the market and this
gives the power to the consumers to choose the products. The results of the
survey have proven that bringing the brand closer to a consumer helps its image
and turns the prospective consumer into a brand-loyal consumer.
Social media
marketing educates the consumers about the brand from time to time and keeps
them updated about the ongoing in the luxury fashion market. Almost the entire
group of respondents was of the view that their knowledge and understanding
about certain luxury fashion brands stems from their pursuits on social media.
The respondents have very little or no idea about those luxury brands that have
not opted for social media marketing whereas they were updated on trends,
collections, products and fashion lines for brands that had extensive social
media presence. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram create a
present fan base while paving the way to find takers in future as the
contemporary society is influenced by social media to a great extent. This is a
positive influence that social media creates with respect to the brand
perceptions of prospective consumers with respect to luxury fashion brands.
Most of the
respondents in the survey were of the view that luxury brands should indulge in
social media marketing as it only helps the brand gain customer trust, loyalty
and appeal to a larger consumer base. Apart from being informative, social
media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram bring together people of similar
tastes and preferences in luxury products even though they are from different
ethnicities, nationalities and backgrounds. Being a part of such a community is
often perceived as quite attractive by many consumers who wish to keep
themselves updated with social media ongoing in the luxury brand segment solely
to be a part of a certain social group. This highlights the social value of a
luxury brand and product that the theory of consumption values professes (Sheth, Newman, & Gross,
1991).
From the results
of the survey, it was found out that one of the key reasons social media helped
luxury fashion brands was that it brought the exclusivity of the brand closer
to the lives of the consumers (Jahn, Kunz, & Meyer,
2012).
Some luxury brands have even failed in marketing their brand properly mainly
because they have restricted the social media promotion to a one-way
communication tool and have not realized the importance of consumers’ opinions
when voiced on a social media platform. It was found that 75% of the
respondents believed that they were more attracted to the brand when it allowed
them to comment and have a say on their platforms. Brand responsiveness towards
positive and negative feedback from consumers helped shape the buying
intentions of consumers in a positive way as they felt they belonged to the
brand family as long as they were heard.
The theory of
consumption values when applied to the results of the data collected gives us
clear insights into the way in which social media marketing helps in shaping
brand perceptions of luxury fashion products. As can be seen from the results,
only 45% of the respondents were interested in the functional value of the
products. Most of the respondents were influenced by the social image of the
brand and the social recognition that the brand would bring to them if their
products were to be bought. Also, it was established that social media
marketing when done strategically has a positive influence and there are little
or no negative impacts. Neither is there any erosion of the brand exclusivity.
In fact, luxury fashion products, by making their brands available on social
media platforms, entice potential customers towards their product line by highlighting
the emotional value of luxury fashion products. With luxury fashion products,
it was found that the epistemic value held little or no relevance as innovation
was not necessarily an attribute buyers looked for. The conditional value
cannot be explained by the scope of this research but it was found that many of
the prospective customers followed social media pages of luxury fashion brands
to watch out for discounts and end-of-season sales. Hence, it can be concluded
from the findings of this research that the emotional value and social value of
luxury fashion products influences the buyers predominantly and that these
values are highlighted on social media platforms by luxury fashion brands that
have managed to use this tool as an effective marketing weapon.
The objective of
this research paper was to analyze the impact that social media platforms have
on the consumers’ brand perception of luxury fashion brands. For this purpose,
Facebook and Instagram were the two popular social media platforms that were
considered. Secondary as well as primary research was used in order to answer
the research question. This research paper is an exploratory study that tries
finding out whether social media promotions erode the exclusivity of luxury
brands or bring consumers closer to the brand thereby creating a positive
impact.
The primary
research constituted an online survey that was conducted by means of a
questionnaire that received 100 respondents most of which were young college
going people that either followed social media pages of luxury brands or/and
had bought luxury fashion products before. The findings from this study were
that social media promotion has a positive impact on the image of the brand as
it encourages two-way communication and enhances brand loyalty and
trustworthiness whilst educating and informing consumers from time to time.
This economic means of promotion helped in popularizing a brand and few felt
that a brand lost its exclusivity due to its social media presence. It was also
found that the social media marketing of a particular luxury fashion brand
revolves around highlighting the emotional and social value of the product and
the brand whereas the functional value hardly makes a very big difference to
prospective buyers.
This study also
revealed that even for luxury fashion brands, one of the biggest drivers for
sales and customer loyalty happened to be the interaction between consumers and
the brand. Social media happens to be a facilitating tool that engages user
interaction with the brands and this enhances customer loyalty. However, it was
found that only those brands that strategically promoted their brand and
products on social media found it helpful whereas the brands that did not
allocate proper resources faced negative repercussions.
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