
MAZ marks the second phase of its 2023 Superbrand research process
The unveiling of the Top 200 brands by the Marketers Association of Zimbabwe culminates in the Superbrand Awards at year-end.
BUYING HABITS
By our News Team | 2022
Researchers studying fashion buying habits in the UK find a ‘clear gap’ between consumers’ ideals and what they do in practice.
It’s something that marketers and market researchers have always known – or at least suspected. What consumers do in real life doesn’t necessarily correspond with what they say they will do in questionnaires.
Recent evidence of this comes from an article published by the British Academy of Management, which notes that Generation Z shoppers say they want their clothes to be sustainable, but still regularly buy fast fashion. This demonstrates a “clear gap” between ideals and practice.
Photo by Godisable Jacob from Pexels
Nine in 10 Gen Zed shoppers who were surveyed for a research project bought fast fashion and only one in six could name a brand that made sustainable clothing, the academy’s annual conference at the Alliance Manchester Business School heard.
Women were more likely than men to advocate for sustainable clothing, but less likely than them to actually buy it, the survey found.
Four researchers from the Sheffield Business School, at Sheffield Hallam University, surveyed 56 university students aged 18–24 and four aged over 24. They also interviewed six students in-depth about sustainable clothing, which are items produced without exploiting workers or animals and using lower carbon emissions.
Most were concerned about the implications
The researchers found that 63% agreed they were concerned about the social implications of the fast-fashion industry and 48% said they were concerned about its environmental implications. Only 3% of participants stated that they were not concerned at all – about either its social or environmental implications.
However, 17% of participants admitted shopping at a fast-fashion retailer each week, 62% monthly and 11% yearly. Indeed, only 10% claimed that they had never purchased from a fast-fashion retailer. Less than half of those surveyed (43%) stated that they considered where and how their clothes were made before they bought them.
Five out of the six who were interviewed could not name any brands that produced sustainable clothes. All six said that price was the main barrier to purchasing sustainable fashion.
Dr Marc Duffy from the university told the conference: “Generation Z are increasingly concerned for the planet, with 94% believing that action is needed relative to sustainability, and that we need to come together to solve important issues. All participants had a negative attitude towards the term ‘fast fashion,’ [instead] mentioning words such as ‘unsustainable’, ‘unethical’ and ‘bad quality’.
“But the large proportion who admitted buying fast fashion demonstrates a clear gap between pro-sustainability ideologies and observed behaviour.”
The researchers identified six key barriers to sustainable clothes shopping: price, lack of knowledge, lack of choice, lack of aesthetic choice, scepticism over business transparency, and social desirability.
The unveiling of the Top 200 brands by the Marketers Association of Zimbabwe culminates in the Superbrand Awards at year-end.
While culture and history still permeate the North African consumer experience, it is also a region undergoing a dramatic evolution.
Company says order-fulfilment software from the US digitises and optimises the picking, packing, staging and distribution of online orders.
Placing goods that are not on promotion next to ones that are being discounted can have both positive and negative effects.
AzamPesa mobile money wallet set to close the gap between urban and rural areas in terms of access to financial products and solutions?
Survey finds people spend a month of their lives waiting for call centre agents to pick up. So insurer unveils ‘#StopHoldMusic’ campaign.
Top brands of the future will not be focused on the products they sell, but rather on serving an ecosystem of stakeholder needs.
Growth is expected to resume in 2023 at more than double the rate of last year, with the retail sector being the biggest spender.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are usually associated with celebrities and market volatility. But there is untapped potential for marketers.
Annual Brand Africa study shows the continent’s brands are losing ground to their international counterparts.
Auchan – a competitor to Carrefour – will make Algeria its fifth market on the African continent later this year.