A
lthough the e-commerce system is expanding quickly in the fashion
industry, brick and mortar retailers haven’t died out. Both retailing
systems hold different significant value to consumers. (Gramigna et al.,
2015) Both online and in store shopping has been statistically proven to be
popular within the fashion industry; it was found that 68% of people browse
in store but prefer to buy online; however 70% were found to browse online
(Raconteur, 2016) but actually buy the item in store. Thus it would seem
that the online vs in store debate is a popular topic within business practises.
There is ‘variation in roles’ (Jackson, T.
and Shaw, D. 2000 :39) across the different
fashion sectors. The mass market sector for
example, has a role in replicating clothing
to make large amounts so they appeal to
a diverse range of customers. Whereby
customers’ needs and wants are met
(Investopedia, 2011) but with less pressure
of the customer services from the store
itself, unlike luxury sectors whom strive
towards their customer service as they
have to provide information in a persuasive
manner to justify the pricing of the product
(McCall, 2014). The Researcher found that
when comparing preferences for a range of
brands within a diverse set of consumers,
93.75% had a desire to shop within Mass
market companies. Thus showing the
power of the mass market. the Mass market
is often associated with ‘Omni-channel
retailing’ which is when a sector will provide
multichannel operators within their brand
so they’re able to make shopping for their
consumers easy and accessible, making
it possible for consumers to shop when
convenient for themselves (Rouse 2014).
5
The Mass market is often associated
with ‘Omni-channel retailing’ which is
when a sector will provide multichannel
operators within their brand so
they’re able to make shopping for
their consumers easy and accessible,
making it possible for consumers to
shop when convenient for themselves
(Rouse 2014). Whether that be; online,
in store, mobile stores, mobile app
stores, telephone sales and even in
today’s age TV shopping and catalogue
shopping. Brands like Topshop operate
their business using ‘Omni-channel
retailing’ and whilst using their online
system, they have demonstrated their
success by boosting sales for Arcadia up
to 24 per cent. (Bourke 2015) Brands
like Topshop, Zara and River Island
all fall into the category of the ‘‘Mass
Market” where they’re seen to fit into
a ‘competitive price-conscious market’
(Jackson, T and Shaw, D, 2001:40) which
describes styles that are affordable
yet produced by cheap materials
that look appealing and fashionable.