Have you ever wondered why people are willing to spend hundreds and thousands of pounds on different products?

 

By investigating consumers’ attitudes and values of their purchases, we gain a deeper understanding of the specific consumer segment that companies should market towards (Valentine and Powers, 2013). The current markets are a lot more responsive to marketing terminology using words such as ‘limited time only’ and ‘exclusive release’, this is how a brand builds excitement and a sense of urgency to ensure their products are bought. They push this message to ensure the audience knows that the products are only available for a certain amount of time and the items only have a limited amount of stock. This is how products sell out in minutes and lines of customers range from block to block. The main reason for purchasing these items is a tactic marketers use called ‘hype’. This allows brands to increase the price of their collection because it creates a sense of exclusiveness to the customer, leveraging this public perception of an increased demand versus supply.

Alternatively, brands are inclined to utilise influencer marketing to further drive customer demand for their products. Typically these brands do not advertise in a conventional manner, rather they rely on social media marketing and projects that are bolstered by carefully curated celebrity associations (Remsen, 2017). These celebrities, considered opinion leaders, are capable of heavily influencing the general public (Weisfeld-Spolter and Thakkar, 2011). The influence of the celebrity’s status is what seizes the attention of the consumer. Their fame and desirability build demand for the brands they associate themselves with. This then influences customer behaviour, to the benefit of the brand respectively.

As this current generation has grown up with social media, they tend to look online to see what their favourite celebrities are wearing or doing and then try to replicate it. Influencer marketing has been the best way for current brands to generate traction for themselves, followed by employing exclusivity marketing to create a sense of urgency with the customer. Through this clever combination of marketing techniques, brands are able to create a perception that one might be missing out on an exclusive opportunity if they do not purchase these ‘high in demand’ and ‘low in availability’ products they are being offered, despite the higher price tag.

Sources:

Remsen, N. (2017). Shoot from the hype: the hottest streetwear brands to know. [online] Financial Times. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/a1e66872-7def-11e7-ab01- a13271d1ee9c [Accessed 15 Mar. 2018].
Valentine, D. and Powers, T. (2013). Generation Y values and lifestyle segments. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 30(7), pp.597-606.
Weisfeld-Spolter, S. and Thakkar, M. (2011). Is a designer only as good as a star who wears her clothes? Examining the roles of celebrities as opinion leaders for the diffusion of fashion in the US teen market. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 15(2), pp.133- 144.