Think about your personal buyer behavior and what fashion or even beauty brands you have loyalty to. These are the brands who have items you habitually purchase and repurchase. For some, it may be brands such as Abercrombie or Aritzia for good basics, Lululemon and Alo for activewear, and Sam Edelman or Dolce Vita for fun shoes. Now, take it a step further. Did you become loyal to your favorite brands of your own accord, or was there some sort of “influence” that pushed you towards these behaviors? This is where buyer psychology comes into play, while you might not even realize it. How you feel about your favorite fashion brands and where you first learned about them is all part of your personal buyer psychology. Believe it or not, continually going back to your favorite influencer’s TikTok page to look for the next fashion trend you want to participate in builds on your buyer psychology. And as a fashion marketer, I can learn more about consumers’ buyer psychology through watching engagement on Influencers social media pages.
It’s important to recognize the distinction between buyer behavior vs. psychology in order to better understand how you personally go through the purchase decision process and your personal spending habits. When you’re starting the purchase decision process, recognizing a potential need or desire comes first. For example, if you know fall and winter are coming soon, you may recognize on your own that you need a new pair of jeans or boots to keep you warm for the oncoming cooler weather. This is what we’d call an internal stimulus. But seeing an influencer on TikTok posting a fall clothing haul of trendy boots and sweaters that you “must have” would be an example of an external stimulus. In today’s times more often than not, we’re constantly bombarded by external stimuli much more than internal. It’s important to take extra time in the need recognition stage of the purchase decision process now to avoid overconsumption and to narrow in on your own personal style. This is where influencer culture can be considered harmful.
On the contrary, social media and influencers can be really helpful in the need formulation stage, where you’re researching in depth about maybe the quality of a clothing Item. You might go to TikTok to see if someone already went through this process and found the perfect structured pair of denim that doesn’t stretch out to quickly, or someone who bought the best pair of boots and went a half size up to avoid crowding.
Fashion marketers today can utilize social media influencers to get brands better recognition in these first two stages of the purchase decision process, to hopefully get them to the third stage of the buyer’s decision process of need fulfillment, a mutually beneficial exchange, and brand loyalty.
To learn more about the influencer effect, click here.
To learn more about Buyer Psychology & The Purchase Decision Process from marketing expert, Anthony Miyazaki, click here.
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