People
The perspective consumer can hugely alter the way in which marketers go about marketing. As a consequence of this marketers divide the consumers into segments based on age, gender, hobbies, ethnicities, religion etc. The age of a consumer can significantly impact the way a brand makes decisions to attract them.
Generation Z are known as digital natives, being exposed to advanced technology at a very young age. They tend to experiment with their identity and will not associate with one stereotype. Surprisingly, 76% of Gen Z are religious however they are far more liberal than previous generations an example of this is that 60% of Gen Z believe same-sex couples should be able to adopt which is ten percentage points more than other generations do. (Francis and Hoefel, 2019). This exemplifies to us the open-minded values that this generation holds and how as consumers they would like to see this reflected within brands, through inclusivity of genders, sexuality and ethnicities.
To attract Gen Z it is important for a brand to hold values in equality and sustainability. The younger generations (Morgan, 2022) have both decided against a fashion brand if that brand did not reflect their values.
This clearly presents to us that brands will need to be a part of the shift towards inclusivity and cultural appreciation to attract the younger generations. A notable example of brands moving towards this change is Maria Grazia Chiuri who has released collections for Dior which strongly engage ideas of diversity including feminism, gender equality, race etc. Her most recent collection, Dior Cruise Collection of 2023, is based in Seville, she involves local craftspeople who have been taught hand embroidery through family generations involving people from the place in the concept and development of the pieces (Christian Dior, 2022)
People tend to scrutinize a lot from a company from the sustainability record to its inclination to offer flexible working environments, making it very important for leaders within brands to have a strong retention strategy. This involves workers within the company to have meaningful work and creating a strong sense of belonging. Also giving employees access to training to help them grow within their career. At Farfetch when recruiting they seek out more diverse talent and broadening the set of demographics and people from socio-economic backgrounds (Butler-Young, 2022). This presents to us that a positive work environment directly impacts the quality of staff who will continue to work for that brand.
Bibliography
Butler-Young, S (2022) “The State of Fashion 2022” pp. 109-111. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/retail/our%20insights/state%20of%20fashion/2022/the-state-of-fashion-2022.pdf Accessed: 16 Oct 2022
Christian Dior (2022) “Dior Cruise 2023 and the global story of a Spanish shawl” Youtube: Dior Cruise 2023 and the global story of a Spanish shawl
Accessed 16 Oct 2022
Francis, T and Hoefel, F (2019) “‘True Gen’: Generation Z and its implications for companies.” https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Consumer%20Packaged%20Goods/Our%20Insights/True%20Gen%20Generation%20Z%20and%20its%20implications%20for%20companies/Generation-Z-and-its-implication-for-companies.pdf Accessed: 16 Oct 2022
Moran, G (2022) “Gen Z and Millennials 2022” https://www.drapersonline.com/guides/gen-z-and-millennials-2022 Accessed: 16 Oct 2022