ASSESSING BRAND EFFECTIVENESS IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY : A

CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE STUDY

RAUNAK PANDEY UNDER THE GUIDANCE

OF
Research Scholar Dr. YOGESH PURI

Student of MBA 1st year STEP-HBTI, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh

ABSTRACT:
Customer now-a-days have become brand conscious. They prefer branded products over non-
branded products. Branding is the process of assigning a distinctive name to the product by
which it is to be known and remembered. It is used to distinguish the products from that of
competitors. This study is aimed at analyzing the impact of branding on consumer buying
behavior in relation to fashion industry with different income groups and occupational level of
the respondent. The purpose of the study is to have an in depth knowledge of what actually is
branding and consumer behavior. To study relationship between brand and consumer buying
behavior the following methodology is opted: consumer survey on the effect of brands on their
buying behavior through questionnaire. The key results of the study are: students and working
class people are more brand conscious than other occupation. Brand was the major attribute
that consumers gave most importance and most of the respondents believe that Brands in
fashion industry became a status symbol.

INTRODUCTION
Branding plays an important role in enhancing any commercial performance and is a closed tool
that can positively change people’s buying behavior. Brand these days have become a status
symbol. Customers all over the world now prefer branded products. Brand holds a great
importance in consumer’s life. They choose brands and trust them like the way they trust their
family members. The study is aimed to investigate the factors that affect the consumer
purchasing behavior in case of fashion industry. Along with this, the purpose of the study is to
have a depth knowledge of what actually is branding and consumer behavior.

All the study has been conducted with reference to fashion industry in India. Firms in fashion
industry are competing to increase their profit share in the market and among these firms;
branded clothing and accessories has shifted the environmental style and interest of people.
Marketers use brands as to get the competitive advantage on other competitors playing an
imperative role in the success of companies. India has a successful growing economy and the
Fashion industry of the country has advanced tremendously in the recent years. The increasing
use of fashion goods and apparels has intrigued foreign as well as local brands to provide
services to its customer.

UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Studies on consumer behavior include how to select, buy, use or discard products, service ideas,
or experiences to meet their needs and desires. The environment of the consumer affects how
consumers feel, think and act environmental characteristics, such as comments from other
customers, advertising packaging, price, product appearance, etc.

It also tries to access the influence on the customer from groups such as family, friends,
reference groups and society in general. There are several factors affecting consumer buying
behavior which can be broadly classified as:

Personal factors: These include factors which are unique to a particular person which
influence purchase decision such as demographic, life style, situation etc.

Cultural factors: These include factors which determine what we eat and wear, we reside and
travel. It also influences how we buy and use products.

Social factors: These includes factors that other people exert on buying behavior such as
roles and family, reference group, opinion leader, social classes etc.

Psychological factors: These are the factors that operate within individuals and determine
their general behavior such as perception, motives, learning, attitudes, personality etc.

UNDERSTANDING BRANDING: Products are what companies make, but customers buy
brands. Therefore marketers go for branding in order to distinguish their offerings from similar
products and services provided by their competitors. Additionally, it carries an inherent
assurance to the customer that the quality of a purchase will be similar to earlier purchases of
the same brand. Branding is a process, a tool, a strategy and an orientation.

• To build long term relationship with the customers.

• Used as a differentiation strategy when the product cannot be easily distinguished in
terms of tangible features.
• A conscious customer satisfaction orientation process.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Khasawneh and Hasouneh(2010): The authors in their study conducted a research to examine
the factors that affect their purchase decision and also examine the relationship between the
awareness of brand and demographic characteristics of the respondents and found that
customer prefer branded products with higher prices because they considered that branded
items have more quality than non-branded products.

Khare, A. (2010): The author conducted a research on youths of Indian colleges to examine and
understand the determinants of fashion clothing involvement of Indian youth. He found that
consumers are becoming conscious of fashion brands and they are involved with branded
fashion wear. Also they examined that there was no significant difference in the involvement of
females and males towards fashion clothing.

Rajput, N and kesharwani,S(2012): The authors in their conducted a research to examine the
factors that affect the consumers in choosing the product or brand to buy. They found that
brand is not the only factor that influences the consumers to make their buying decisions but
also price, quality, comfort, expectations that affect their purchase decisions. They also found
that the gender differences exist with respect to building attitude towards fashionable apparels
and brands. Males tend to spend more time and money on branded products than females.

Bhuvan Lamba(2013): The author conducted a research to examine the influence of brand on
consumers buying behavior and the key factors that affect the consumer’s involvement towards
trendy branded products. This paper analyzes the branding factors that highly influence
consumer involvement in the product purchase.

Sarwar, Fatima & Aftab & Iqbal, Muhammad &, Iqbal. (2014): The author in their research
conducted a survey on 88 respondents to analyze the factors and examine the relationship
between these factors and the demographic profiles of the respondents and found that the
consumers are now more brand conscious and family and online media plays an influential role
in attracting the consumers towards the brand. Also they analyze that gender is the only
variable which is not statistically significant.

Neyati Ahuja(2015): The author conducted a research to analyze the effect of branding on
consumer purchasing decision. She examined the relationship between brand and consumer
purchase behavior and found that the degree of brand consciousness goes on decreasing in
higher age groups, price and brand were the most important attributes that customer’s gave
importance and also she found that 80% of the respondents believe that brands in fashion
industry have become a status symbol.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
• To study the concepts of branding.
• To study the factors affecting consumer behavior.
• To study the effect of brands on consumer buying behavior in relation to ready to wear
garments.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1. Sampling Design:
A structured questionnaire was administered for the purpose of research on 100
respondents. The data was collected using Google form method. The data was collected
using likert scale 5 point. (1= Strongly agree, 2= Strongly disagree, 3= Agree, 4= Disagree,
5= Neutral).

2. Method of data collection:

Primary data: Primary Data was collected from 100 respondents through questionnaire
by Google form method to analysis whether branding has an effect on consumer
purchasing decision or not.
Secondary data: substantial data was collected from various books, published nationals
and international journals, various websites, etc.

3. Limitations of the study:

The present study suffers from the following limitations:
• The results in the present are based on sample of 100 only, which is comparatively very
small as compared to the overall population.
• The ability and unwillingness of respondent to answer the questions.
• The respondents might have given biased opinion.
• To select sample, the present study has used the convenient sample. So, the results may
be influenced by sampling error.

QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
1. Age: 83% Respondents belonging to the age group of 15-25 are the most brand
conscious group and prefer following their desired brands on social networking sites.
 16% belonging to 26-40 are also brand conscious & the degree of loyalty towards brands
is high among this group. The degree brand of consciousness goes on decreasing in
higher age groups.

Age group

26%

15-25
26-40

83%

2. Work Status: Work status greatly influenced the choice, preference and habit of a
person. Work status influences a person’s fashion choices.
Students and the working class are more brand conscious as compared to the other
groups. Students prefer branded casual wear & accessories, whereas the working class
likes more branded formal wear.
 work status

4%

25%
working
student
retired
self employed
married

69%

3. Household Income: Household income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, and other
forms of earning received by a household during a given period of time.
Data indicates that 43% belong to income category of Rs less than 10000 and 38% fall
between Rs 10000-50000. Then 12% fall between categories of 50000-100000. And
another 7% under income group of 1000000& above. Household income highly
influences the consumer behavior towards fashion goods; families having income above
Rs 50000 monthly prefer more of branded fashion apparels & accessories as compared
to families having income less than Rs 50000 a month.
 monthly household income

7%

12%
< 10000
43%
10000-50000
50000-100000
>100000

38%

4. Factors affecting the purchasing decision: Study reveals that brand, fashion/trend,
cloths type were the major attributes that customer’s gave most importance to while
purchasing readymade garments, followed by other attributes.

who influence the purchasing decision

8%

27% cloth type

color

27% brand
fashion/trend
price
availability

35%

5. Who influence purchasing decision: Study reveals that most of the people were self
influenced to purchase the brand. 48% people were self influenced to purchase the
brand, 19% people were influenced by family, 17% were influenced by advertisement,
 14% were influenced by advertisement.

who influence you to purchase the brand

19%

family
friends
advertisement
14%
48%
self
celebrity's style

17%

6. Brand loyalty: Study indicates that only 18.4% is the loyal customers, 41.8% may change
their brand and 39.8% look out for offers before making the purchasing the purchasing
decision if all the qualities are available with the new products.

categories of produsts you would like to have

branded

18.40%

you return to the same brand

39.80%

try out new brands

look out for special offers &

then decide on brand
41.80%

7. Status symbol: Most of the respondents believe that brands in fashion industry have
become a status symbol.
 people's response as brand has now become
a status symbol

26% strongly agree

33%
strongly disagree
disagree
netural
agree
22% 7%
12%

CONCLUSION
Brand is a guarantee, an assurance for a defined standard of quality for the first time and for
every time. Brand is name or logo that plays the role in the mind of the customer. Brands do not
compete in the product area but compete for the mind space of customer. A brand once
established in the mind of the customer become indelible when customer identifies itself with
that particular brand. The study was conducted to examine the relationship between the
occupational level of the respondents and the categories of products that the consumer would
like to be branded. The study reveals that students and service class tend to be more brand
conscious than other group. Also, among the branded products, corporate wear, bags and
accessories are the most important categories which consumers prefer the most. Consumers
are switching from the local products to branded products in order to show their status, power
and wealth. Self awareness, online media, advertisements and word of mouth play an
important role in creating awareness among the consumers about the branded products. From
the overall research we came to the conclusion that brands have an effect on the consumer
mind in many ways like quality, rates, income, age group’s etc. Even in the fashion industries
brand have a significant effect on consumer behavior.
REFERENCES :
1. Neyati Ahuja(2015): Effect of branding on consumer buying behavior: A study in relation
to Fashion Industry. Vol.3. Issue 2.

2. Anupreet Kaur Mokha(2017): Impact of branding on consumer buying behavior in

fashion industry. Vol.5. Issue 3.

3. Aobakwe ledikwe(2020): Determinants of brand loyalty in the apparel industry: A

developing country perspective. https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/oabm20

4. Naser valaei and S.R. Nikhashemi(2017): Generation Y consumers’ buying behavior in

fashion apparel industry: a moderation analysis.
www.emeraldinsight.com/13612026.htm

5. Bhuman Lamba(2013): Influence of brands on consumer’s buying behavior. Abhinav

National monthly Refereed Journal of research in commerce & management.vol.2,issue
no. 11.

6. Saewar, Fatima &, Aftab & Iqbal, Muhammad & Iqbal.(2014): The impact of branding on
consumer buying behavior. IJTNR.Vol2.

ANNEXURE
BRANDING IN FASHION INDUSTRY

QUESTIONAIRE
(Tick which ever applicable)
The following questionnaire is being used for the purpose of a survey on “Assessing brand
effectiveness in the fashion industry : consumer perspective”. The results of the analysis done
of the responses will be used for educational purpose. Thank you for your time.

Contact information:

Name_________________

Age_______________

Monthly household income:

Below 10000

10000-50000

50000-
100000

100000 above

1. How often do you shop for attires & other fashion accessories?
Once in a month
Once in 3 months
2-3 times a month
Once in 6 months
2. Which factor you consider while purchasing a ready to wear garment?
Cloth type
Brand
Color
Fashion/trend
Price
Availability

3. Who influence you to purchase the brand?

Family
Friends
Advertisement
Self
 Celebrity’s style
4. How did you hear about the brand?
TV or Radio Online media advertising
Print media (new paper/magazines) word of mouth
5. Which all categories of products you would like to have branded?
Casual clothes Accessories
Bags corporate wear
Watches all of these

6. Do you follow brands on social networking sites?

Yes
No
7. How much do you agree that social media help in acquiring information
about the fashion brands?

Agree
Neutral
Disagree
8. Which factor you consider of a shopping experience to you?

Price Trend
Brand name Quality
Convenient location
9. Brand has now become a status symbol. Do you agree?
Strongly agree Strongly disagree
Agree Disagree
Neutral
10. Do you think focus on branding while purchasing is correct?
Yes
No
Not sure