In order to find the reason behind individual shopping habits and consumer demands, I first asked what various students consider to be their personal style. While I expected answers such as "preppy" or "hipster", I was surprised to learn that very few college students identify with a defined dress code.
"I don't have a style; it comes down to whatever looks good. I mean,
i'm wearing a 'Muppet Show' T-shirt right now..."
-Joe D.
"I don't know... I wear hoodies, tees, jeans, the occasional thermal... I really don't have a style. I used to always wear button-ups and nice shoes but being formal was too time consuming."
-Mike R.
"I don't really know. I like retro clothes, like I think they're cool, but I don't wear them. I also like to look girly and dress up but normally I just wear jeans and a T-shirt. I don't really think I know anyone with a specific 'style'. Most people just wear whatever."
-Lauren S.
"I want to say 'things that look nice' but really I just throw on whatever is in my closet."
-Jennie D.
I then asked where various students shop for clothes and why and received a wide range of answers:
"Thrift stores, generic stores like Bob's Footwear and stuff,
American Eagle if I have a gift card and anywhere on-line."
-Matt T.
"On-line? i don't know, I kind of shop all over the place."
-Marygrace N.
"The funny thing is, up until last year my mom bought all of my clothes for me. I mean... well... she still does but when I actually do buy clothes I go to Kohl's."
-Luke A.
Judging by the previous quotations, one may begin to assume that college students do not put too much emphasis on specific store brands. However, I did encounter many loyal customers of stores such as Forever 21 (11 participants), Urban Outfitters (13 participants), GAP (17 participants), and PacSun (18 participants).
"The GAP is classic. They have everything from stuff I wear to the beach to like, funeral pants. They have such a wide range of clothes that are generally really cute."
-Erica E.
"I buy all of my clothes at Forever 21. Everything is so amazingly cheep and adorable. Everything in my closet is from that store and I'm perfectly okay with that."
-Rachel S.
"I don't know, I guess I like the laid back style. Plus [PacSun] is
apparently going out of business so everything is like, free almost."
-Dan U.
Numerous subjects mentioned low cost as a motive for buying clothing from a specific store, so I inquired further to see just how large a role money plays in product consumption by asking if higher cost generates a better or more valuable product. It turns out, the vast majority of students feel that the lower the cost, the better. High price held very little appeal.
"Cost absolutely plays a role, butI buy clothes that are cheep. If two items are
comparable and one's brand name and one's cheeper, I'll go with the cheeper one."
-Chris H.
"If it costs more, it's of no higher quality to me. I mean, I'll still buy expensive
things if I like them, but I wish everything would cost less."
-Alyssa A.
"Nope. The best socks I've ever had came in a pack of 10 that only cost me two bucks. Then again, my boots... well, most of my shoes actually, cost me like, $200.00. It just happens that way though. If I want something and it's expensive, I'll buy it."
-Mike A.
"If it's cheep, I'll buy it, which is actually a problem sometimes. Like, I'll buy crappy clothes or clothes that I don't like as much as more expensive ones just because they're cheeper. Unless I have someone there to tell me to buy the nice one, I probably won't."
-Heather C.
I then inquired as to how prominent brand names are when buying products. While one may think that wearing products by a cool or popular company would be appealing, all but two of my subjects disagreed. In fact, brand names often generated a negative effect.
"Most of the time, names make things cost more so I don't buy them. Like, a shirt that says 'ABERCROMBIE' across it, I wouldn't buy. I think thats obnoxious."
-Victoria W.
"Brand names don't make anything more valuable to me. If I could buy 3 generic polos or one like, Ralph Lauren polo, ill obviously buy the three cheap ones."
-Tim H.
"There are name brand stores I'll shop at... like, I guess it's cool to have an American Eagle symbol on your shirt? I don't know. I only shop in some brand name stores that have good quality though. I don't really care about the name itself."
-Kevin C.
"I could honestly care less less. Kohl's all the way."
-Christie P.
Since advertising is understood as having a monumental role in consumer psychology, I inquired as to how strongly my peers are affected by various advertisements and got a wide range of positive and negative results. It seems that most studies on this subject are correct: everyone is effected by advertising, but in a variety of ways.
"I am very aware of advertising and I try to avoid it. If I see an advertisement with a message that I disagree with, then I wont buy it regardless of its quality. Like, if I walk by Abercrombie and Fitch and theres a half-naked guy and a half-naked girl who don't even look like real people, then that's a message that I don't agree with."
-Samantha L.
"The only way advertising effects what i wear is in movies. Like, if I see a character wearing a cool jacket, then I'll be like, 'I want that jacket.' Other then that, I don't think I have ever looked at an advertisement and been enticed to buy something clothing wise."
-Andrew R.
"Well if a see a mannequin wearing nice clothes, I'll buy it, or at least try it on. I feel like, even if you don't realize it, advertisements influence you. Like, if I see a cool clothing commercial, I'll want to buy that stuff. You buy clothes that advertise the look you're going for."
-Alex A.
"If I see something nice on a commercial and I see people wearing it and it looks cool, then I'll be like 'I want that too.' I feel like everyone does that, really. It's the whole idea of fitting in."
-Joey Y.
Since my range of results for each question were predominantly wide, as my final question I asked what specifically has the greatest effect on what each individual buys and wears. Surprisingly, this broad question had the fewest response variations.
"I guess how it looks... like, how it fits me."
-Mary F.
"Personal taste? I guess that effects what everyone wears
but i buy things in accordance with my own style."
-Mike S.
"Color and how it pertains to my style."
-Conor W.
"How clothes look on me determines if I buy them."
-Jacquie D.
"Um... probably colors. I like colorful things."
-Mala M.
So there you have it. Surprise surprise, a good number of college kids hate spending money on things, are affected by the media, and dress, not based on style, but on personal preference and color. Though this study does not lessen my love for shopping, I now have a better understanding of the reasons behind my drive to buy things, and of consumer psychology as a whole.
No comments:
Post a Comment