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CONSUMERS TRENDS: WHERE DO YOU BUY?
source:
www.cottoninc.com/TextileConsumer/
TextileConsumerVolume15/?Pg=2
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Globally, 79% of consumers said they ‘cross-shop’ for clothes, meaning that they shop different outlets looking for the best price, value, and fashion…
 one of the biggest differences among shoppers is in the types of retail outlets at which they buy apparel. In the Global Monitor 1999, shopping outlets ranged from street bazaars to department stores. In most countries, the clear majority of consumers indicated one outlet as their favorite. However, two outlet types were listed by about equal percentages of shoppers in France, Taiwan, Korea, and the United States;
Hong Kongers, Germans, Americans, and the French prefer to buy apparel at specialty chains, while Italians, Brazilians, Taiwanese, and the French favor small independent clothing stores. Colombians, Koreans, Taiwanese, and Americans prefer department stores, while Japanese and Britons tend to shop for clothes at chain stores;
the only consumers to name street markets as their favorite outlet were Koreans (28%). Street markets in Seoul, Korea, such as Tongdamun and Namdaemun, are sophisticated in their marketing approach and allocation of retail space. The independent designers who sell apparel at these markets can supply the latest fashions with a minimal lead-time of four to seven days. Consumers and independent retailers from Korea and retailers from China, Russia, and Poland purchase much of the apparel sold at these street markets;
consumer loyalty to one outlet cannot be taken for granted in any country. Colombia and Italy boast the most loyal apparel consumers. Almost half (47%) of Colombians shop at just one outlet (mostly department stores), as do 37% of Italians (primarily small independent stores).
Consumers have a variety of reasons for shopping at particular retail outlets, including selection, styles, quality, price, location, and convenience. But these factors’ importance varies from country to country…
consumers in Western Europe, Japan, and America say what they like most about their favorite store is the wide selection. Colombians and Taiwanese are less concerned about selection than about availability of the latest styles. What consumers in Brazil, Hong Kong, and Korea like most about their favorite store are the prices and the sales. But although consumers do know what they like most about their favorite store, the data show that they are most impressed by a combination of all of these attributes;
against this backdrop of differing consumer preferences, a major challenge facing manufacturers is the choice of a retail outlet for positioning their brand internationally. For example, chain stores are almost non-existent in Colombia, Korea, and France, so traditional chain-store suppliers would have to choose a new marketing strategy based on an unfamiliar retail channel. Street markets are a primary outlet in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea, but are insignificant in other countries, such as Japan, the US, the UK, and Germany.
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