Brand Loyalty in Fashion and Consumer Behavior

One of the greatest questions I have asked myself as a fashion major is: what is it so big about popular name brands that cause people to choose to buy in a certain store due to its name rather than the designs and quality? Not to say that most name brands are not high quality or designed beautifully, but surely there are less commonly known brands whose quality is high, sustainable and just as incredible. 

Andrea from Durability Matters listed and stated the following brands as high quality, affordable, stylish and sustainable lesser-known brands: Everlane, Outdoor Voices which focuses on activewear, Cuyanna, Able whose brand focuses on economical support and opportunity for everyone, Alternative Apparel, Kotn, American Giant, etc. 

Fashion is used as a way to send a message and express ourselves, but it can also be used to establish a certain status. 

With a wide range of fashionable and sustainable brands, one may wonder: why then do most people opt to shop at more commonly known fashion name brands whose sustainability can still be debated? One of the main reasons is that consumers know what to expect from name brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, GAP, Guess, Nautica, among others. Most of the brands can be considered high-end fashion which immediately makes a consumer think that by paying a higher amount of money, they will be investing in long-lasting and high-quality material. 

While this may be true in some cases, there surely are fewer known brands who can offer the same benefits, especially with no questionable sustainable practices. One of the main reasons for consumers to opt for shopping at commonly known name brand companies is that these companies have gained a lot of consumer loyalty, and most of this earned loyalty has not only just happened because of the quality and style of products but because people are loyal to the brand simply because of the popular name. There have been constant debates about popular name brands lowering the quality of their garments, yet sales still remain at their peak because of consumer brand loyalty.

Another common reason why consumers tend to choose popular name brands as stated by Neill Kokeuller, a writer for Small Business Chron, is that sometimes consumers choose to shop at popular name brands because they want a sense of acceptance in society. Fashion is used as a way to send a message and express ourselves, but it can also be used to establish a certain status. 

Using popular and expensive name brands tends to help consumers develop confidence in what they were as well as the way they present themselves to society. Not that there's anything wrong with this, in fact, this just shows how incredible it is to be aware of consumer behavior in order to run a successful business. Providing confidence to consumers is important, but it is even more impressive when consumers feel confident when using clothing from a certain name brand, rather than feeling confident because of the design and style of the clothing they have chosen to wear. 

That is why in fashion as well as marketing, the importance of making a brand known and popular is crucial. Consumer choices, behavior, and loyalty are equally important but also quite mysterious and intriguing. How so? Well over the years, some popular name brands have lowered the quality of the material used in the production of their products, yet in most cases, consumers still choose to purchase these products even when quality has lowered and all of that is because of a consumer’s loyalty to a brand. 

I believe that sometimes popular brands take advantage of their consumers because of their loyalty, consumers don't mind spending money on products that will be worth it and if a brand has been known for exceptional quality and this has become the reason why their brand name has become so popular, then brands should also remain loyal to their consumers and continue providing top quality services and products. While brands choose to maintain high-quality products in the market or not can really make a difference, but once consumers have opted for shopping based on brand loyalty then it can be difficult for consumers to shop elsewhere because they are comfortable with the feeling of familiarity. That is why in the fashion industry, brand loyalty and customer satisfaction are one of the most important goals.