Changing Attitudes Put Pressure on Prices |
Since 1994, deflationary pressures have affected the prices of many goods, but few have shown a more pronounced deflationary trend than apparel prices. In only 21 of the last 105 months has the consumer price index for apparel been positive, indicating a rise in clothing prices. In most months, prices have fallen, leading to falling prices for suppliers throughout the textile pipeline. Several factors have contributed to the downward pressure on apparel prices: the move by consumers toward purchasing apparel at lower-priced venues, such as mass merchants like Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Target; the influx of less-expensive imported apparel; and increased markdowns at retail.
Possibly the most critical factor for the decline in prices is the increase in sales at discounted prices: over 62% of apparel purchased in 2002 was on sale, according to data from STS Market Research. This trend is consistent with consumers' attitudes about waiting until apparel items are marked down before buying. According to the Lifestyle Monitor, the percentage of consumers who buy the latest styles on sale at the end of the season has increased significantly since 1994 among the cohorts aged 16 to 24 then and 24 to 32 now, while remaining relatively stable among older consumers. These results suggest that by the age of 25, consumers tend to establish a pattern of either paying full price or buying on sale, a pattern that they will follow for the rest of their lives. This pattern indicates that through numerous fashion cycles, apparel retailers generally Lifestyle Monitor™. have not succeeded in enticing consumers to buy at full price.
Consumers' desire for information about the apparel they buy has only increased over the past eight years. Although clothes shopping is not as important to consumers in 2002 as it was in 1994, today's shoppers want to be better informed. This quest for information tends to manifest itself as consumers age.
Since 1994, the Lifestyle Monitor has recorded significant increases in the percentages of consumers wanting to know a garment's price, fabric content, laundry instructions, and brand name, and whether it is environmentally friendly. Eighty percent of today's consumers say it is critical to know an item's price before purchasing it (compared with 68% in 1994). However, the importance of brand name has increased little over the eight-year period, and the percentage of consumers wanting to know where an item was made or manufactured has declined slightly, suggesting acceptance of imported apparel.
The need-to-know mentality is less prevalent among younger than older consumers for information such as laundry instructions, fabric content, and environmental friendliness. As consumers age and gain experience in taking care of their clothing, their specific interest in both laundry instructions and fiber content increases significantly, as the two items are closely related. Knowing whether an item is environmentally friendly also has become more important, especially among consumers over the age of 39Ñsuggesting an increase in altruism and concern about their legacy to future generations.
Consumers' use of apparel idea sources has grown significantly since 1994. From 1994 to 2002, use of each source shown in the table on page 4 increased among almost every cohort of consumers, suggesting that shoppers want more ideas from almost anywhere they can get them. The most notable increases were in percentages of consumers looking inward for apparel ideas—that is, seeking ideas from what they already own or from family members. These changes, noted among all consumer cohorts, are consistent with a trend toward "cocooning," identified by futurist Faith Popcorn as the desire to surround oneself with what is familiar and safe.
For clothing retailers and advertisers, it's just as important to know where consumers are not getting their clothing ideas. Celebrities and store personnel remain at the bottom of the list of idea generators, and their impact is essentially minimal as consumers age. Based on this analysis, marketing strategies that rely on celebrities should be undertaken with care. Furthermore, it appears that retailers could make more effective use of their in-store personnel, by training them in customer-friendly marketing approaches. |
