Purchase of ZARA Products Essay (Essay Sample)

How consumer motivation, perceptions, learning and attitude formation could influence the purchase of ZARA fashion products
Table of contents
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1. Executive summary  PAGEREF _Toc389296735 \h
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2. Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc389296736 \h
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3. Segmentation/ Targeting/ Positioning  PAGEREF _Toc389296737 \h
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4. Consumer behavior and decision making  PAGEREF _Toc389296738 \h
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5. Consumer motivation  PAGEREF _Toc389296739 \h
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6. Consumer perception  PAGEREF _Toc389296740 \h
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7. Consumer attitude and learning  PAGEREF _Toc389296741 \h
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8. Conclusion and Recommendation  PAGEREF _Toc389296742 \h
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9. Reference list  PAGEREF _Toc389296743 \h
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Executive summary
Zara is Spain’s best known fashion brand. Zara products are used in many parts of the world and have a global recognition. Zara has achieved unique levels of marketing; cloth designing, quick and efficient delivery of finished products in various parts of the world and proper communication among its workers which are core to the success of Zara fashion brand. This report will focus on how consumer motivation, perceptions, learning and attitude formation could influence purchasing of Zara fashion products.
Introduction
Zara’s achievement gives some informative lessons on how to produce and maintain a successful strategy. ZARA’s most remarkable thing is that it has managed to identify differences that have impact on consumers and differentiated itself from other competitors in the fast fashion industry by carrying out key activities in different ways. This differentiation has created challenges for competitor companies who find it hard to meet Zara’s position. Such an accomplishment has offered Zara a continuous competitive advantage over its competitors.
Segmentation/ Targeting/ Positioning
ZARA is a fashion brand and its fashion stores were set up in 1975 in Spain by Amancio Ortega. ZARA competitors include Bershka, Oysho, Pull and Bear and Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius besides other brands. In the past two decades, ZARA has increased its profits and stores and currently is ranked as the third major retailer globally (Zhang, 2008). ZARA has over three thousand designers situated in its main production site in Spain who design over forty thousand fashion products yearly from which only a few of the designed products are chosen for production (Li, 2009). In addition to that, ZARA has several production sites in the United Kingdom. Unlike its competitors, ZARA has more than fifty percent of its fashion products being produced in Europe and not in South America or Asia (Bruce and Daly, 2006). ZARA has high quality products with relatively low price and figure below on ZARA’s positioning among its competitors proves that.


Figure 1. Zara positioning among its competitors
Consumer behavior and decision making
For companies to market their products or services successfully, an understanding of how consumers behave and make decisions is necessary (Poon and Joseph, 2001). There are several theories that relate to this area, including economic theories as well as psychological theories. Earlier studies in theories concerning consumer behavior were developed through economic theory, for instance the conception where consumers advance rationally to make best use of their satisfaction in the process of buying. More recent research shows that consumers are influenced by different types of reference groups, such as family, friends, advertisers and role models. Terms like impetuous purchase, mood, situation and emotion are applied more commonly in concerns concerning the behavior of consumers. A combination of these factors forms a complete model of consumer behavior which portrays emotional characteristics of consumer decision-making (Solomon et al., 2009). Consumer behavior has been described by Assael (1994) as the practice of recognizing and evaluating various constituents of a purchase and further explains that there are two wide influences that decide consumer’s preferred choice.
Firstly, the individual consumer’s wants, awareness of brand distinctiveness and consciousness to alternatives choices are of significance in consumer decision-making. Other factors which affect the brand choice are peer influence, lifestyle and individual qualities. Secondly, the surrounding has a vital role in consumer behavior. Environment is composed of culture, membership groups and the social class; all these strongly affect consumers’ buying intentions. Assael (1994) also describes the reason why information about consumer behavior is imperative for a company like ZARA to be aware of, which can thereby improve its marketing tactics and increase the chances of consumers purchasing their products. Consumer behavior is explained by Krugman (1965) as the actions, thought process and perceived result, in collaboration with environmental factors, during the course of making a decision, which leads to a purchase. Some of the factors that are striking in consumer behavior are the environment, age and likes and dislikes, which are subjective to the consumer’s motives and beliefs (Li and Zhang, 2002).
Consumers base and make their decisions on expected results. One theory states that consumers are seen as rational individuals who have the ability to estimate the results of different decisions made and thereby selecting the most lucrative one. This theory is known as utility theory. Though consumers are comparatively good at approximating the results of an occurrence, not all consumers are completely coherent, dependable or aware of all aspects in the decision-making process. For this reason, the utility theory has been criticized, but despite its insufficiency, the theory is still well thought-out as a main case in the concerns of decision-making. A new and simpler theory called satisficing had a different approach, instead of, as the utility theory, finding the best result, this theory allows the consumer choose what satisfies his/her needs and then stops the decision making process. An example of this could be the process of finding a house. A more psychological approach has been used in the research of consumer decision-making. This involves the development of prospect theory which has extended the two existing theories and has incorporated psychological factors by adding worth and endowment (Richarme, 2001).
The probability with which a consumer buys a given product is depended on perceived product value and also on the product cost. The importance of price and quality to the consumer, aspects of brand loyalty and influence from reference groups are important to the consumer who decides to purchase or not to purchase. For example, if there has been any previous purchases of the ZARA products by the consumer, or if other persons have influence on the consumer, he or she is likely to purchase the products (Bettman et al., 1991). Gordon Foxall (1999), who has performed a considerable amount of research in the field of consumer behavior and decision making, has created a model of purchase and consumption, more known as the Behavioral Perspective Model (BPM). It relates an outline of consumer decision-making to various kinds of backgrounds. To begin with, initial consumer behavior happenings take place, which form the behavioral setting which incorporate physical and social elements leading to generation of a specific behavior. Furthermore, earlier behavior of the consumer is put into consideration and this may result to negative or positive approaches to the purchase of the given commodity. Foxall (1999) explains when describing the model, is the consumer’s state variables. These variables portray the consumer’s state, such as mood, monetary ability and health.
Consumer motivation
Customers are the main stakeholders of any organizations and any company will endeavour to attract consumers. A variety of methods can be used by ZARA to attract consumers. One way of motivating customers is by offering benefits to the customers (Goodwin et al., 1990). Customers can also be attracted to ZARA fashion products if the company offers executive compensations to its customers. Executive compensation refers to provision of bonuses, customers’ service benefits, discounts, stock rewards, stock grants, stock options or establishment of other long-term incentives by ZARA to match firm`s interests with the interests of its consumers, managers and directors. Customers are important to any organization aimed at profit making and their interests should be taken in account first. Putting their interests into consideration motivates them and this can increase their level of purchase. Executive compensation as a mechanism of internal corporate governance increases the likelihood of companies like ZARA getting various anticipated outcomes and increasing their customer base (Fiore et al., 2004
Companies like ZARA looking forward to expand their profits and sales spend considerable amount of time searching for new consumers locally and globally. To attract more customers, they advertise their fashion products through the media organize trade fairs and also use any other applicable means to ensure that information is communicated to their potentials consumers. Getting consumers for the first time is always very hard because the company is being introduced to the market for the first time and majority of people are reluctant to be first time consumers. This makes processes such as advertizing to go on a...