Sammy Roggeman

M2A

The consequences and implications of the most recent developments on the world’s fashion industry.

Open any kind of magazine, turn on the television, just look outside or even in your own wallet: the financial crisis is all around us. It’s influencing everyone from high-end managers to the smallest child on the street. This trying state of the economy is changing society like never before. The fashion industry is not what it used to be with big developments in consumer behavior. People handle their money differently which asks for new business approaches. The fashion industry needs to react in the right way to conquer this current economic crisis in order to keep their valued customers.

In the February issue of ADMAP magazine, Richard Storey describes his survey on how customers react and behave in times of recession. Studying consumer behavior is very important in order to create new marketing strategies or which strategy should be used in times like this. Through quantitative and qualitative segmentation methods, he was able to divide several consumer types with their own strategy to handle this crisis. The majority makes a division between the things that are too important to leave behind and the goods that can be saved on and buy less of it or the cheaper equivalent. Some save on big expenses while others cut out weekly small costs. You have people who try to change their spending behavior but fail. Others start making up rational or irrational motives to fully maintain their lifestyles. And a small group gains from the crisis by buying expensive things on huge discounts.

However the different reactions of the consumer, no one is happy about the situation. Their buying power has shrunk and there is a common anger in the world. The same amount of joy after Barak Obama’s inauguration is now transformed in anger towards many