consumer behaviour assignment on assessing the role of the internet towards fashion consumer purchase choices

Question

Task: How to assess the role of the internet towards influencing consumer purchase choices using consumer behaviour assignment research techniques.

Answer

Introduction
The consumer behaviour assignment aims to discuss and reflect on the role of the internet and its impact on changing consumer behaviour. The essay compared and contrasted the changing attitude of consumers toward online and offline shopping. The consumer attitude towards the bricks and mortar stores and online stores and their difference is illustrated in the essay in the context of the literature view. In future, the increasing trend of consumers for online shopping and the preferability of online stores will replace the high street shops regarding the fashion items.

consumer behaviour assignment Topic 1
In the context of Misra, Baranwal and Jha(2017), the online shopping channel provides convenient availability to the customers and a 24/7 availability that allows customers to search for items whenever they need them.The consumer behaviour assignment research shows the growth of online shopping platforms has increased over time due to online retailers like Jabong, Myntra, Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc. The change in consumers' attitude, and behavioural changes affected the brick and mortar stores, and these stores are making their growth at a comparatively lower pace. The consumer behaviour assignment study of Wood et al. (2021) reflects that the pricing strategy of online retailers that provide fashion items is one of the central aspects of attraction that allows the consumers to shop more conveniently through online shopping channels. In the context of omnichannel and digital retailing, the pricing strategy plays a significant role, and it allows the retailers to set dynamic pricing that attracts different group of customers.

In the era of big data and online transactions, the dynamism principle is helping the online retailers to respond to real-time pricing data, changed conditions, data related to competitors and the willingness of customers to pay. Consumers who shop online are able to get more transparency about product prices, and they can compare the price between brands. The better deals appear more prominently from time to time on online shopping platforms that keep the consumers updated about the latest offers and services. While setting prices for online products, it is important for online retailers to assess consumer expectancy. One of the pricing strategies used by online retailers is silent repricing, which is implemented to gain target consumers' attention. Regular promotions are also crucial to keep the consumers engaged. The regular update about the products and prices and more availability of products allows the consumers to shop more conveniently through the online shopping channels. Compared to the offline shopping channels, the online channels allow the consumers to get a wide variety of products as well as in the price range. The pricing tactics used in online platforms are one of the reasons behind the perceived value of consumers for online shopping channels, and they feel online shopping is more convenient. consumer behaviour assignment research shows that online shopping is becoming widely accepted by consumers due to distinct product categories.

consumer behaviour assignment Topic 2
Due to the speedy growth of technology, businesses have swapped over from the traditional process of selling goods into an electronic procedure of selling goods. In contemporary times, organisations use the internet as the chief source to conduct commercial transactions. One of the primary benefits of the online store is that it does not have constraints regarding space which facilitates the display of the wide range of products on the organisation's website. This assists the analytical buyers in buying a product after a productive search. Online shopping provides convenience to buyers in terms that they can purchase items from the comfort of their own houses or their workplace. The process of shopping is made exponentially convenient and easy for the consumers through the internet, and it is also extremely easy to cancel any transactions.

As per the consumer behaviourassignmentresearch, retailing has witnessed a massive transformation due to the rapid advancements and developments in technology. Retailers all across the world have been using smarter technologies to stay competitive and improve the customer shopping experience. The embracement of technology on such a massive scale by retailers all across the world is due to the changing expectations of the customers. A retail setting that is smart has been stated to be a valuable way for corporations to produce greater business and customer value. The contemporary age, specifically Generation Z, who are young adults that are born in or after 1995, are massively educated, creative, innovative, and technologically savvy. This generation is the first generation that has been born into a digital world and fundamentally engages and integrates with its favorite brands. Generation Z belongs to the age of technology and uses it as an essential instrument in their day-to-day lives. This generation brought in a wave of changes in the traditional brick and mortar stores and made for a wave of online stores, which reaps massive benefits for the customers as well as the organisation due to its ease and accessibility.

consumer behaviour assignment Topic 3
The emergence of the World Wide Web led to the process of purchasing goods and services via the Internet. This is referred on consumer behaviour assignment projects as Online Shopping which has gained immense popularity among the masses over the years. Online retailing began in the early 1990s and has taken over a vital segment in the global market economy. Consumers gain various benefits through online shopping mode since it is a time-consuming process that buyers can enjoy at the convenience of their homes. There is a wide plethora of products and brands marked at amazingly reasonable prices and discounts. Buyers can generate detailed information and compare the prices as well as products over the Internet. The expectations and demands of consumers are increasing, and they prefer utilizing multi-modes of online shopping. There are various advantages of multi-channel modes of online shopping; for instance: Consumers tend to spend more money on an average, indulge in more frequent buying activities, the lifelong customer value is also enhanced, and they have a positive shopping experience. The selection of channels depends on the type of goods or services that consumers wish to purchase. The Online Shopping experience offers the customers values such as hedonic and utilitarian (Blazquez, 2014). Value refers to the reflection of the consumer's entire shopping experience. Hedonic Shopping value refers to the perception of value through emotive, sensory aspects while shopping. In contrast, Utilitarian value refers to the non-emotive aspect of shopping that is task-oriented. A consumer will receive utilitarian value when he purchases the product, and the value of the product is enhanced in the process. Online shopping offers the utilitarian benefit wherein customers can compare the prices of the product or service on various websites and online stores. One of the mains reasons for this observed on this consumer behaviour assignment is they get to choose from a wide range of products and rationally plan their purchase.

consumer behaviour assignment Topic 4
The theory of generational cohorts depicts that individuals can be categorised into diverse groups on the basis of their generation and the era they were born in (Dang et al., 2020). People that are born in the same space and time tend to share parallel beliefs, values, and life experiences. It is clear through the consumer behaviour assignment investigations that different generations have distinct expectations, views, and characteristics due to their experience to distinct social circumstances. Hence, a generational cohort can be described as a group of people that are born during the same time and practiced similar life and social events which moulded their attitudes, distinctive values, and behaviours.

It has been posited by generational theorists that generational allies develop similar beliefs and attitudes. Millennials, Gen Y and Gen Z, will become the biggest customer segment for industries all across the world (Bilgihan, 2016). With the emergence of mobile technology and social media, customers have started to share their assessments and thoughts and unsatisfactory or satisfactory experiences of service without spatial or temporal constraints. Generation Y is a unique group that many organisations have invested heavily in order to understand their behaviours and attitudes. Generation Y in the hospitality industry represents a precedence market segment that cannot be ignored by organisations. For instance, in highly developed countries, this generation eats out double as often as the remaining part of the population. Generation Y is also predicted to become the highest influential segment of the market in the hospitality industry since their behaviour indicates how customers will behave in the near future. The Hotel and Hospitality industry has attended to the consumption behaviours of Generation Y, but there is no in-depth research on this focus group. Dissatisfaction in the industry has been an outcome of service failure. This has led to a reduction in customer base, and hoteliers have acknowledged the need for strategic planning methods to mitigate this problem.

Consumer behaviour assignment Topic 5
The modern retail environment is difficult in nearly every respect as a consequence of the price competition posed by discounters, the disruption of the market posed by companies operating online, and the improved pricing transparency enjoyed by customers. Traditional methods of differentiating oneself from rivals in retail, such as offering a distinct assortment or using smart pricing and promotions, are not as successful as they previously were because of how readily they can be replicated by other businesses. However, the difference is still feasible via the use of customised techniques, in which shops offer one-of-a-kind experiences specifically catered to the needs of particular consumers.

When supplied to millions of unique clients, highly individualised customer experiences that make use of private data are tough for rivals to mimic. When properly carried out, such experiences not only help organisations to distinguish themselves from their competitors but also establish a competitive edge that is sustainable. In addition, the results of various studies have proven that providing customers with individualised experiences increases not just customer loyalty but also revenue(Bilgihan et al., 2016).

Personalisation is so important that some people even refer to it as a "hygiene element." Consumers take it for granted, but if a merchant fails to provide it, those customers may go elsewhere for their shopping needs. Once restricted only to targeted offers, personalisation has now expanded to include the whole of the consumer experience. This indicates that consumers want their experiences with a shop to be individualised throughout the whole of those encounters, with several unique touchpoints that provide them the ability to budget their time and money in accordance with the preferences they have. The most successful customised experiences are those in which merchants include the client in the conversation and use data to provide a one-to-one level of customisation.

The four components that make up an individual's level of trust in the context of internet business are their propensity to trust, their trust in institutions, their trusting beliefs, and their trusting intents(Pappas, 2018). Here, the emphasis is placed on the relationship between the client and the business; hence, trust refers to the concerns and beliefs that customers have about an online vendor's ability to operate in a manner that is to the customers' advantage while using customised online services.

Conclusion
It can be said that both trust and privacy are essential components of online services and play an important part in the majority of financial and social transactions, in addition to their significance in the development of customised online services. Online shopping can be identified as a more convenient method for customers. This consumer behaviour assignment concludes that the effect of technology has been significant on the online shopping behaviour of people.

References
Bilgihan, A. (2016). Gen Y customer loyalty in online shopping: An integrated model of trust, user experience and branding. Computers in Human Behavior, consumer behaviour assignment 61(61), 103–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.014

Bilgihan, A., Kandampully, J., & Zhang, T. (Christina). (2016). Towards a unified customer experience in online shopping environments. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 8(1), 102–119. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijqss-07-2015-0054

Blazquez, M. B. (2014). (PDF) Fashion Shopping in Multichannel Retail: The Role of Technology in Enhancing the Customer Experience. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270686522_Fashion_Shopping_in_Multichannel_Retail_The _Role_of_Technology_in_Enhancing_the_Customer_Experience

Dang, V. T., Wang, J., & Vu, T. T. (2020). An integrated model of the younger generation’s online shopping behavior based on empirical evidence gathered from an emerging economy. PLOS ONE, 15(5), e0232213. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232213

Misra, P., Baranwal, S., & Jha, M. (2017). Brick and mortar store vs. online shopping experience: a study. International Journal Of Information Technology And Management, consumer behaviour assignment 16(2), 133. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijitm.2017.083862

Pappas, I. (2018). User experience in personalized online shopping: a fuzzy-set analysis. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325392653_User_experience_in_personalized_online_shopping _a_fuzzy-set_analysis

Priporas, C.-V., Stylos, N., & Fotiadis, A. K. (2017). Generation Z consumers’ expectations of interactions in smart retailing: A future agenda. Computers in Human Behavior, 77(1), 374–381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.01.058 Wood, S., Watson, I., & Teller, C. (2021). Pricing in online fashion retailing: implications for research and practice. Journal of Marketing Management, consumer behaviour assignment 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257x.2021.1900334