ARTICLES
What Is Subvertising?
Did you know that a great proportion of outdoor advertising in the UK appears in subway and rail stations, bus stops, and transport hubs? (Thompson et al., 2021). And that Transport for London has one of the most valuable advertising estates in the world?
ADVERTISING SH*TS IN YOUR HEAD.
As they say…
Advertising sh*ts in your head? | A quiet evening on the Elizabeth Line.
I had the pleasure of travelling on the Elizabeth Line a couple of weeks ago. A quick fact about the Elizabeth Line, London’s newest rail line, is that it stretches more than “100km from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield or Abbey Wood in the east” (Heathrow, 2022). What astounded me was the lack of big and flashy ads in your face... Unless there was, I was too tired to notice at the time.
What astounded me was the lack of big and flashy ads in your face... Unless there was, I was too tired to notice at the time.
Ads, adverts, advertisements, whatever name floats your boat, appear nearly everywhere we go. Ads appear in places such as billboards, TV channels, TV shows, radio stations, magazines, social media sites, news sites, YouTube, lesser known streaming sites, clothing, lifts, planes, mugs, websites, doors, vehicles, pens, in and on transport, stations, toilet stalls, and even through your post box. Don’t get me started on those mobile ads where it’s impossible to tap the ‘x’ icon which is smaller than an amoeba. Okay, probably not an amoeba. You get the point. Frustrating.
Advertising sh*ts in your head?
Quite frequently as a Fashion Marketing student, I think back to when the infamous ‘beach body ready’ ads were a thing and rightfully so met with criticism. I think a lot. I also think about the process ads or campaigns like this go through… the money, time, and effort spent.
Recently, fast fashion retailer Boohoo.com breached the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) codes on ‘social responsibility’, and ‘harm and offence’ for a product listing (ASA, 2022). The listing, now banned, featured a model inappropriately posing in a T-shirt stating “limited edition” and thong style bikini bottoms. The complaint was raised because the listing was believed to have been objectifying and sexualising women.
Obviously the main goal of a campaign or ad is to promote a product or service. They can’t make everyone happy. What can one do if they’re not happy? Well, there’s this thing called Subvertising… (I’m not advising you to take part in this).
Subvertising, short for ‘subverting advertising’, is the “illicit practice of intervening into urban advertising space, from graffiti scribbles and removed adverts, to full-blown billboard takeovers and digitally hacked adverts” (Dekeyser, 2021). You may have also heard of the terms brandalism (brand vandalism), adhacking, and adbusting. Many argue that subvertising is wrong, yet others argue that people should be entitled to the freedom of expression. People have the ability to oppose opinions that they don’t necessarily agree with.
Frederick et al. (2016) examined the effect of placing Photoshop disclaimers (e.g., “WARNING, this photo’s been Photoshopped”) on thin-ideal media images of swimsuit models on body image. It was found that adult women exposed to disclaimers did not report higher body state satisfaction or lower drive for thinness than women exposed to unaltered images. In other words, women who saw the disclaimer images did not feel any better about their bodies than women who saw the original images without disclaimers.
Advertising Standards Authority. (2022). ASA Ruling in Boohoo.com UK Ltd. https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/boohoo-com-uk-ltd-a21-1136109-boohoo-com-uk-ltd.html
Dekeyser, T. (2021). Dismantling the advertising city: Subvertising and the urban commons to come. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 39(2), 309-327. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263775820946755
Frederick, D. A., Sandhu, G., Scott, T., & Akbari, Y. (2016). Reducing the negative effects of media exposure on body image: Testing the effectiveness of subvertising and disclaimer labels. Body Image, 17, 171-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.03.009
Heathrow. (2022). Elizabeth Line. https://www.heathrow.com/transport-and-directions/by-rail-or-train/elizabeth-line
Thompson, C., Clary, C., Er, V., Adams, J., Boyland, E., Burgoine, T., Cornelsen, L., de Vocht, F., Egan, M., Lake, A. A., Lock, K., Mytton, O., Petticrew, M., White, M., Yau, A., & Cummins, S. (2021). Media representations of opposition to the 'junk food advertising ban' on the Transport for London network: A thematic content analysis of UK news and trade press. SSM - Population Health, 15, 100828. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100828
Can I Get The Uhhh…
SPAGHETTI STRAP ANYONE?
A couple of days ago, I had sent my little (17 year old) sister to Boots to get our mum a birthday gift. I told her to get anything that she thought mum would like. A couple of hours later when I came home, she was sat on the sofa, gift-less. “Oseye, I have something to tell you,” she said. “I didn’t find anything because there was too much to choose from”.
If you think about how beauty stores are designed, there is in fact a lot of choice. Choice is more abundant than it has ever been. Later on that day we had settled on getting mum a nail polish. She likes pink, but which shade of pink do we decide to get? Boatloads of Love? Stretch Your Wings? Spring Awakening? Sew Gifted? Spaghetti Strap? Eternal Optimist? It reminds me of ordering at a restaurant… or even dating for that matter… “Hello, can I get the uhhh…”
I’d like to talk about the psychology of choice and what our endless options mean for us.
What motivates consumers to buy?
According to Chernev et al. (2015), there are four key factors that motivate consumers to purchase goods: 1) When people want to make a quick and simple choice; 2) when the product is complex; 3) when it’s difficult to compare alternatives; and 4) when consumers don’t have preferences.
In a health and beauty store (Boots) | If I make this picture black and white, this may explain why it’s so hard to choose a shade of nail polish.
In a health and beauty store (Boots) | If I make this picture black and white, this may explain why it’s so hard to choose a shade of nail polish.
Excessive choice makes us feel overwhelmed.
Excessive choice is termed choice overload. The choice overload hypothesis states that an increase in the number of options we have to choose from may lead to negative consequences, i.e., a decrease in motivation to make a choice, and a decrease in satisfaction when finally choosing an option (Scheibehenne et al., 2010). Iyengar and Lepper (2000) carried out a study using an assortment of jams. In a food market, the researchers set up a table displaying 24 attractive and high quality jams.
After that, the researchers only placed 6 of the jams on display, limiting the choice of shoppers. Try and guess what display experienced more purchases. The researchers found that although shoppers were more interested in looking around the 24 jams, they were more likely to make a purchase from the display of 6 jams (up to ten times more). This indicates that shoppers are more likely to make a purchase if they have less to choose from (Iyengar & Lepper, 2000). What is more, the larger display of jams led to lower customer satisfaction than the smaller display. What’s your favourite jam flavour? Mine is strawberry.
Shoppers are more likely to make a purchase if they have less to choose from.
The rejection mindset.
Endless choice can also have a negative impact on online dating. According to Pronk and Denissen (2020), the more dating profiles people see, the more likely they are to reject them.
Brands have a large impact.
Misuraca et al. (2019) found that choice overload only appears in the absence of brand names, and disappears when all options present are brand names. Participants expressed more positive feelings such as higher satisfaction and higher enjoyment towards familiar brands, rather than unfamiliar brands, or no brand. Familiar brands were also associated with lower perceived task difficulty and decreased regret. This research implies that consumers prefer branded items when making a choice.
Later on, Misuraca et al. (2021) wanted to see if these results were similar among adolescents. The researchers found that choice overload disappeared among adolescents when facing either a large or a small amount of brand name options. However, when no brand names were present, adolescents reported choice overload (greater dissatisfaction and regret with larger assortments). Misuraca and colleagues suggest that current recommendations for displaying a smaller assortment of choice may not be as effective as it is thought to be.
Choice deprivation vs. overload.
Choice deprivation refers to when we have less choice than desired, and is the opposite to choice overload. Reutskaja et al. (2022) studied choice deprivation and overload across different countries; collectivistic (prioritises groups) and individualistic (prioritises individuals). The researchers found that choice deprivation was more likely to be experienced in collectivistic countries such as Brazil and India, and less so in Japan, China, and Russia. The USA, an individualistic country, was however associated with choice overload more than choice deprivation.
The findings of this study indicate that choice deprivation has a larger negative impact than choice overload on choice satisfaction. Participants reported that they preferred having an ideal amount of choice; not too much, and not too little, therefore the researchers suggest that marketers should focus on displaying the right amount of choice to consumers rather than too much (e.g., websites should show a set amount of products and consumers can be given the option to see less or more if they want). What is more, the researchers state that there should be great efforts made on lessening deprivation for those who live in scarcity.
Participants reported that they preferred having an ideal amount of choice; not too much, and not too little.
The eyes tell no lies.
It is likely that in the future, that more and more studies concerning choice may implement eye-tracking technology. Eye-tracking is a common procedure in marketing and retail research because it can measure a consumer’s attention. Eye-tracking technology can tell researchers where a participant’s attention is drawn to, how long they look at objects for, and how many times they look at an object (Bialkova et al., 2020). What is more, eye –tracking technology can be used in both the lab and in the field (i.e., stores, supermarkets, desktops, mobile phones, etc.), and it is non-invasive.
Fast fashion choice overload.
Fast fashion stores offer a lot of clothing. A lot. Due to this, Hwang et al. (2020) propose that there needs to be research carried out on what factors can decrease choice overload in fast fashion stores. Although consumers enjoy having options to explore, efforts should be made towards improving store layouts to help consumers navigate themselves around the abundance of products, and in order for consumers to not have to think too hard.
We ended up taking mum shopping on her birthday.
Bialkova, S., Grunert, K.G., & van Trijp, H.C. (2020). From desktop to supermarket shelf: Eye-tracking exploration on consumer attention and choice. Food Quality and Preference, 81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2019.103839
Chernev, A., Böckenholt, U., & Goodman, J. K. (2015). Choice overload: A conceptual review and meta-analysis. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 25, 333-358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2014.08.002
Hwang, J., Tung, T. & Cho, H. (2020). Too Many Choices? Consumer Behavior in Fast Fashion Stores. International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings, 77(1). https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.12129
Iyengar, S. S. & Lepper, M. R. (2000). When choice is demotivating: Can one desire too much of a good thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(6), 995-1006. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.79.6.995
Misuraca, R., Ceresia, F., Teuscher, U., & Faraci, P. (2019). The Role of the Brand on Choice Overload. Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, 18(1), 57-76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11299-019-00210-7
Misuraca, R., Ceresia, F., Nixon, A.E., & Scaffidi Abbate, C. (2021). "When is more really more? The effect of brands on choice overload in adolescents". Journal of Consumer Marketing, 38(2), 168-177. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-08-2020-4021
Pronk, T. M. & Denissen, J. J. A. (2020). A Rejection Mind-Set: Choice Overload in Online Dating. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 11(3), 388-396. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550619866189
Reutskaja, E., Cheek, N. N., Iyengar, S., & Schwartz, B. (2022). Choice Deprivation, Choice Overload, and Satisfaction with Choices Across Six Nations. Journal of International Marketing, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069031X211073821
Scheibehenne, B., Greifeneder, R., & Todd, P. M. (2010). Can There Ever Be Too Many Options? A Meta-Analytic Review of Choice Overload. Journal of Consumer Research, 37(3), 409-425, https://doi.org/10.1086/651235
What’s The Deal With T-Shirt Slogans?
I found myself in the men’s section of H&M with a mission to look for a new white T-shirt (not like I own a handful already). You can’t go wrong with a crisp white T-shirt… tucked in, ironed sleeves. Well at least that’s what my girlfriend says. On that note, my girlfriend also says that I’m incapable of buying clothes for myself, which is certainly untrue. As I walked around the store looking for a simple plain white T-shirt, I could not find any existence of a plain white T-shirt, but instead was trapped in a sea of T-shirts and hoodies with all of these cute, positive, inspiring, and motivational quotes.
YEAH, YOU TELL ‘EM
“Do Good & Be Nice: The Wave of The Future”. How does this slogan make you feel? How do you interpret it? What exactly is it referring to? Does it actually inspire you? In my opinion, I totally dig this slogan. It makes me feel encouraged to be a good and wholesome person, help others out, pet puppies, to stop taking 20-ish minute showers, and to recycle (although these feelings last for a brief moment).
You can be, to put it politely, the most annoying individual on earth, yet spread positivity to others just by wearing a T-shirt with a slogan.
These T-shirts have got me thinking, is there any point in having slogans on our clothing? Do these slogans actually get a message across or is it just for the purpose of style? Why might someone choose to wear an article of clothing featuring slogans? How do others interpret our T-shirts in particular?
What is a slogan? A slogan is a short phrase or sentence that is usually memorable and commonly adopted by sportswear and fast fashion brands, and their products, in order to create a positive image and differentiate themselves from competitors. Indeed, there is a point to clothing with slogans – slogans can help us say things (important or not) and can help us to make a statement (to express an opinion on a matter of great importance, not a fashion statement), without us having to open our mouths. Slogans can also help us to express our individual style.
Smile again? You what?
So, is there research on T-shirt slogans? Yes there is, who knew? Recently, Tong and Su (2022) examined lots and lots of T-shirt slogans (500+ slogans from 180 clothing brands) and found that young people love slogan T-shirts. The findings of the study also suggest that T-shirt slogans for strong brands are generally better liked than slogans for weak brands. My favourite slogan from this study has got to be “Shoes & Spaghetti” by H&M.
There’s also recently been a study on Turkish language teachers’ awareness of T-shirts (i.e., Savaşkan, 2022). The teachers were asked questions about their opinions on T-shirts. When deciding to purchase a T-shirt, colour and style were the most important factors, whereas less than a quarter of teachers cared about a T-shirt’s text. Many teachers were fond and familiar with the T-shirts they owned. If they were to wear a T-shirt with text on it, it would need to be sensible. If the text was in a foreign language, they would make sure to find out what it meant in case it was inappropriate. If the text was ridiculous, they wouldn’t bother to wear it. The researcher recommends that consumers should be more mindful of what slogans say on their clothing because it can leave a bad impression or send the wrong message to others, especially if the wearer doesn’t know what it means.
On that note, wearing a T-shirt with text or graphics can affect how people will interact with you. Gurung et al. (2018) set out to find whether graphics on clothing influence our perceptions and behavioural intentions. The researchers found that participants were less likely to want to interact with those dressed in sexually suggestive T-shirts compared to those in athletic, ‘nerdy’, or blank T-shirts.
Now, all I wanted was a simple white T-shirt. But has there been research on white T-shirts? Yes, Tassell et al. (2022) conducted a study on the consequences of wearing a T-shirt either labelled as ‘sustainable’ or ‘unsustainable’ on our wellbeing. A group of participants were to wear a plain white T-shirt either stating “this T-shirt is UNSUSTAINABLE/SUSTAINABLE”. Participants who wore the ‘sustainable’ T-shirt reported a higher level of positive feelings compared to those wearing an ‘unsustainable’ T-shirt. This implies that wearing sustainable clothing has the potential to make us feel more positive.
Still haven’t found a plain white T-shirt yet, nope.
Gurung, R. A. R., Stoa, R., Nelson, A., & Schultz, D. (2018). The influence of T-shirt graphics on perceptions and behavioral intentions. The Journal of Social Psychology, 159(3), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2018.1491471
Savaşkan, V. (2022). Are We Aware of What We Wear? The Awareness of Pre-Service Turkish Language Teachers About T-Shirt Catch-Phrases. Education Quarterly Reviews, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.31014/aior.1993.05.01.418
Tassell, C., Bardey, A., & Schat, A. (2022). How to wear happiness: Impact of wearing clothing labelled sustainable or fast fashion on subjective well-being. International Journal of Sustainable Fashion & Textiles, 1(1), 63-80. https://doi.org/10.1386/sft/0004_1
Tong, X. & Su, J. (2022). Exploring T-shirt slogans by content and thematic analysis. International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/17543266.2022.2032383
Revamping Retail
I’m a Gen Z, and over the years I have found that my preference for shopping at shopping centres and malls is greatly diminishing. I would say it’s due to ridiculous car parking costs, nowhere interesting to eat (Maccy D’s is not going to cut it), crowds, closed down stores, trampled clothes all over shop floors, graffiti, metres of shopfront shutters, and long queues. Why bother to go to a mall when you can shop from the comfort of your sofa… and not have to interact with a single soul?
Y’ALL STILL SHOP IN PERSON?
When I talk about shopping centres, I am collectively talking about shopping centres, malls, and areas that people can shop. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have visited many shopping centres over my lifetime. Each have their own interesting qualities and dare I say, vibes. I recently had the pleasure of going to a handful of shopping centres in Europe. Totally different vibes compared to shopping centres in the UK. There were things to do, there were a variety of stores for all ages, the customer service was generous, clothes weren’t scattered all over the floor, the food courts had actual vendors, and there were functioning toilets! What can shopping centres do in the UK to win my affections once more?
Be pleasant and welcoming
In general, what draws people to shopping centres is a variety of stores and a pleasant environment (Calvo-Porral & Lévy-Mangín, 2018). It has been found that in the UK, those who find their shopping experience pleasurable and enjoyable at their local shopping centre are more likely to return/have the desire to return some time in the future (Hart et al., 2007). No surprise there. Who would want to revisit somewhere with limited accessibility, restrooms that are unclean, poor customer service, and unappealing stores? I would like to see signs, cool attractions, abundant lighting, greenery, places to sit, bins, wide corridors, nice smells, and nice views.
Encourage me
It has been found that the longer it takes for a shopper to get to a shopping destination, the longer they are to spend at the shopping destination (Baghaee et al., 2021). It makes sense. Therefore, shopping centres that I don’t live near should encourage me to travel to them. Put ads out, look nice, tell me what makes you different to all the others, and give me benefits. I’ll find a way to visit you.
Think about younger shoppers
Bawa et al. (2019) explored young shoppers’ experiences of mall shopping. Young shoppers are likely to spend, at most, 3 hours shopping at a time. That’s quite a lot of hours. Young shoppers greatly appreciate the convenience of having everything under one roof. Having everything under one roof means that everything is accessible in one place, and that poor weather can’t interrupt the shopping experience. “Oh, you want to go to that Thai restaurant? It’s not in the centre, it’s a twenty minute walk and you’ll have to cross 3 and a half roads.” Choice is also super important for young shoppers in terms of being able to access a variety of brands. Young shoppers also greatly appreciate the hedonic aspects (joyful experiences) associated with malls such as browsing, play areas, spending time with friends and family, and viewing shows and exhibitions. I always liked the smell of popcorn lingering around. A shopping centre should be a fun and exciting place to hang out and do different things.
The closer, the better
It has been found that consumers with limited access to shops purchase more online (Maat & Konings, 2018). By shopping online, no time or money is spent on travelling to shopping destinations. Therefore, it would be great if shopping centres could open locally to stop me from opening up my MacBook and clicking away.
Don't bother me (too much)
When I go shopping, I don’t generally like to be approached by others nor approach others myself. I like to avoid kiosks at all costs. If I see someone that looks like they’re going to approach me, I will pretend I can’t see them and speed walk away. Runyan et al. (2012) found that the presence of kiosks in malls can negatively affect a shopper’s shopping experience. Obviously if I run away from you, you can’t sell a product to me. If kiosks are to be present, they should be positioned near stores that offer similar goods (Runyan et al., 2012). In contrast, according to Medrano et al. (2016), many shoppers find courteous attention an important aspect of shopping. Therefore the researchers recommend that stores should train their staff to acknowledge shoppers and be able to offer them a personalised and professional service without getting too intimate (Medrano et al., 2016).
Baghaee, S., Nosratabadi, S., Aram, F., & Mosavi, A. (2021). Driving factors behind the social role of retail centers on recreational activities. Cogent Business & Management, 8(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2021.1905218
Bawa, R., Sinha, A. & Kant, R. (2019). Emerging Mall Culture and Shopping Behavior of Young Consumers. Advances in Anthropology, 9, 125-150. https://doi.org/ 10.4236/aa.2019.93010
Calvo-Porral, C. & Lévy-Mangín, J.-P. (2018). Pull factors of the shopping malls: an empirical study. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 46(2), 110-124. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-02-2017-0027
Hart, C., Farrell, A. M., Stachow, G., Reed, G., & Cadogan, J. W. (2007). Enjoyment of the Shopping Experience: Impact on Customers' Repatronage Intentions and Gender Influence. The Service Industries Journal, 27(5), 583-604. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642060701411757
Maat, K. & Konings, R. (2018). Accessibility or Innovation? Store Shopping Trips versus Online Shopping. Transportation Research Record, 2672(50), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198118794044
Medrano, N., Olarte-Pascual, C., Pelegrín-Borondo, J., & Sierra-Murillo, Y. (2016). Consumer Behavior in Shopping Streets: The Importance of the Salesperson's Professional Personal Attention. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 125. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00125
Runyan, R., Kim, J. & Baker, J. (2012). The mall as bazaar: How kiosks influence consumer shopping behaviour. Journal of Marketing Management, 28, 1, 85-102. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2011.621442
Have You Seen A Plus-Size Mannequin Before?
The shop window can be seen as a “microcosm of consumer culture that reflects it’s changing ideals and also how those changes might affect the desires of the consumer” (Engdahl & Gelang, 2019). Behind these shop windows we can usually find mannequins which are more than just a block of moulded fibre glass and plastic.
I AIN’T NEVER SEEN A PLUS-SIZE MANNEQUIN BEFORE.
Whilst wandering through a department store, I happened to come across a not so typical male mannequin. “Is that a plus-size male mannequin?” I gasped under my breath to my cousin. (Yes, we all get excited over different things). The thing is, I had never seen a plus-size male mannequin in person although I have an active interest in body image research as a third year Psychology student. It was a big deal to me because it’s a sign of progression and inclusion in a very promising, yet under-delivering, fashion industry.
Plus-size is a term predominantly used in ‘the West’ (North America and Europe) and typically refers to a size of clothing designed for people who are larger than average (according to the Cambridge Dictionary as of mid-2022). There is generally a lack of consensus on the definition of plus-size and also what size range plus-size applies to. Presently, plus-size research has mainly focused on women, whether it be women’s experiences of being plus-size or on women’s plus-size bodies in the media. Despite this positive progress, many consumers, models, and supporters of body positivity question why similar research concerning plus-size men hasn’t gained traction as of yet when plus-size men certainly exist (Thompson & McKinney, 2020). Many of those who regard themselves as ‘plus-size’ feel rather neglected by clothing retailers in terms of genuine representation and accessibility to quality clothing.
Back to the topic of mannequins, after conducting a study on the size of mannequins used in high street fashion retailers in the UK, Robinson and Aveyard (2017) highlighted that on average, female mannequins were underweight, potentially promoting unrealistic body ideals. In comparison, a number of male mannequins appeared to be unrealistically muscular.
What is more, mannequin research also suggests that female mannequins have negative consequences for both male and female consumers low in appearance self-esteem (Argo & Dahl, 2018). Consumers who are lower in appearance self-esteem evaluate products displayed by mannequins more negatively compared to those with higher appearance self-esteem. If a consumer cannot reach the unattainable beauty standard of a mannequin, why bother wearing what it’s wearing too?
There is one reason why plus-size mannequins aren’t mainstream – and it may be due to stigma towards plus-size and obese models. According to research by Aagerup (2022), individuals’ implicit associations towards obese models do not reflect the positive attitudes that they openly express. In other words, people may say, “Yeah, I’m okay with plus-size models, love ‘em”, but it may not be reflective of how they really feel.
Recently, research has shown that the use of models with diverse body sizes in fashion advertising can have a positive effect on brand attitude (Joo & Wu, 2021). That being the case, Aagerup (2022) posits that brands only use (a handful of) untraditional models to not only project an inclusive and relatable image, but to also reduce the likelihood of criticism from consumers and body positivity activists.
Aagerup, U. (2022). Men’s and women’s implicit negativity towards obese fashion models. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 13(3), 273-288. https://doi.org/10.1080/20932685.2021.1977164
Argo, J. J. & Dahl, D. W. (2018). Standards of Beauty: The Impact of Mannequins in the Retail Context. Journal of Consumer Research, 44(5), 974-990. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx072
Engdahl, E. & Gelang, M. (2019). The changing ethos and personae of shop-window mannequins within consumer culture: Expressions of gendered embodiment. Journal of Consumer Culture, 19(1), 21-46. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469540516668228
Joo, B. R., & Wu, J. (2021). The impact of inclusive fashion advertising with plus-size models on female consumers: The mediating role of brand warmth. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 12(3), 260-273. https://doi.org/10.1080/20932685.2021.1905021
Robinson, E. & Aveyard, P. (2017). Emaciated mannequins: a study of mannequin body size in high street fashion stores. Journal of Eating Disorders, 5, (13). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-017-0142-6
Thompson, M. L. & McKinney, E. C. (2020). “The Men’s Plus Size Apparel Market: Bigger, but Not Better”. International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings, 77(1). https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.12036
How To Design A Shoe Store?
This is a shoe store (if you haven’t guessed already). You may either find it eerie and clinical due to its bareness and white interior, or you may just find it your cup of tea… neat and orderly. Because all of the shoes are so tidily positioned, it would feel wrong to just pick one up and take a look at it as if a security guard will approach you immediately and tell you to leave the store. Certainly, the lighting makes it even eerier.
AM I ALLOWED TO MOVE A SHOE OR WILL YOU LIKE… GET MAD AT ME?
A store’s design can greatly influence a consumer’s shopping experience and buying behaviour. There’s a lot of thoroughly thought about factors that come into play concerning a store’s design (including visual merchandising), so that items can be seen at the right place and time for you to pick up and put in your basket, consequently increasing the store’s profits. A good store design will use space efficiently and guide consumers where to go.
Much existing consumer research on store design has mainly focused on food retail and not fashion. Research concerning store design in a fashion context is slowly beginning to crop up however. For example, Jang et al. (2018) found that consumers respond differently to visual complexity in a fashion store design depending on their level of fashion involvement. The visual complexity of a fashion store’s design can affect a consumer’s arousal state. A store high in visual complexity is sure to be decorated with patterns on walls, floors, ceilings, and fixtures, and has freely arranged furniture and displays as opposed to a grid-like layout. Jang and colleagues (2018) suggest that regardless of a consumer’s involvement with fashion, stores with high visual complexity are likely to have a positive impact on consumers’ arousal. The researchers found differences between those highly involved in fashion to those who aren’t so keen. Consumers who are greatly interested in fashion feel pleasure when exposed to highly complex visual store designs. However, consumers with little interest in fashion were found to have greater pleasure in a store with low visual complexity than in a store with high visual complexity. There are drawbacks to not having a passion for fashion it seems. In addition, a really boring and plain store environment will make consumers bored and uninterested.
Concerning visual merchandising displays themselves, what is noticed by a consumer is generally subliminal and is influenced by personal preferences, gender, display quality, and contextual and sensory characteristics (Hefer & Cant, 2013). Consumers are attentive to well designed and logical displays that take colour, design, scents, sounds, and space into account. If an item is in an odd place or a consumer cannot find an item displayed in store, it’s not likely to make a consumer particularly happy. Whereas women are more observant of all factors in a store’s design, men tend to focus just on signs to help them find products in a store (Hefer & Cant, 2013).
What is recommended to positively enhance a consumer’s shopping experience in a store? Stores should consider adopting visual merchandising elements known to attract consumers and stimulate arousal such as a communication factor (e.g., digital screen displays) to provide useful information for consumers and advertise products, new product displays, logo signage on an interior focal wall to enhance consumers’ brand engagement, seating, and a welcoming entrance/exterior featuring signage, interesting lighting, and props such as plants (Kim & Lee, 2021).
Interestingly, research has been carried out on shoe stores specifically (i.e., Allahdadi & Shokri, 2018). Consumers find places to sit one of the most important factors of a shoe store… that makes sense. Along with that, wide space between displays are also appreciated. The researchers also make note that it is beneficial for shoe stores to implement ‘cool tone’ colours such as greys, blues, greens, and violets to let the shoes shine.
Allahdadi, M. & Shokri, P. (2018). Interior design of shoe stores and its impact on customer satisfaction. International Conference on Design (Interaction between Industrial design and Interior design).
Hefer, Y. & Cant, M. C. (2013). Visual Merchandising Displays Effect On Consumers: A Valuable Asset Or An Unnecessary Burden For Apparel Retailers. International Business & Economics Research Journal, 12(10), 1217-1224. https://doi.org/10.19030/iber.v12i10.8132
Jang, J. Y., Baek, E., Yoon, S. Y., & Choo, H. J. (2018). Store design: Visual complexity and consumer responses. International Journal of Design, 12(2), 105-118.
Kim, N. & Lee, H. (2021). Assessing Consumer Attention and Arousal Using Eye-Tracking Technology in Virtual Retail Environment. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 665658. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.665658
How AI Can Be Used In Fashion
SUMMON.
Fashion and AI. They're in their honeymoon phase. What will the fashion industry become with AI?
If you've been on YouTube recently, you might have seen 'By Balenciaga' AI generated videos depicting characters from popular franchises such as Star Wars and The Avengers, to Disney Princesses and Resident Evil.
The original video, titled Harry Potter by Balenciaga (demonflyingfox), is mesmerising. The 54 second video features characters from Harry Potter who are rather modelesque, tilting their heads as the camera pans towards their faces. These visuals are accompanied by an electronic track called "Lightvessel" by Thip Trong.
It feels like a real campaign video that a luxury fashion house would make.
How do these videos make you feel? Is it creepy?
When a 'robot’s' appearance becomes a nearly perfect human representation, but is still distinguishable from it, people react very negatively towards it. We feel somewhat repulsed, and maybe even disgust. This is referred to as the uncanny valley (Złotowski et al., 2015).
Balenciaga, if you didn't know already, is a Span- Wait, I mean a French luxury fashion house. At the end of 2022, they stirred up controversy by creating an insanely inappropriate campaign which you've probably already heard of. Balenciaga is owned by Kering, who also own fashion houses such as Bottega Veneta, Gucci, and Alexander McQueen.
The general public already believe that Balenciaga is a large player in driving digital fashion along with other brands not limited to Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Nike (Zou et al., 2022).
AI is short for artificial intelligence.
AI is defined as “the use of computational machinery to emulate capabilities inherent in humans, such as doing physical or mechanical tasks, thinking, and feeling” (Huang & Rust, 2021, p. 31).
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot that answers life's real important questions... Self driving cars use AI so you can do more important things than actually driving...? Alexa uses AI to listen to your secrets...
With the recent advancements in AI, it's important to understand how audiences react to these.
AI is highly likely to become commonplace in fashion.
As of March 2023, Levi's have shared that they are considering to use AI generated clothing models alongside real models in order to 'diversify' and allow their clothes to be seen on a multitude of body types, sizes, ages, and skin colours, rather than on one model only. And I thought there were 8 billion people on the planet...
Recently, fashion retailer Revolve created an AI generated billboard ad because why not?
Metaverse fashion week is a thing because attending events in real life is just so last year.
There are talks of body scanners being developed that accurately assess clothing measurements reducing the need to return items.
Virtual try-on experiences, augmented reality, design methods, and trend forecasting... the list goes on but I don't have all day.
Innovative or a nuisance?
It's a fair assumption to make that consumers who are more positive about AI and technology, and those with higher fashion involvement would be more open to the use of AI in fashion, although they may be wary of it initially (Liang et al., 2020).
Research suggests that we think about virtual fashion rather positively (Zou et al., 2022).
It's a long shot, but AI in fashion could maybe help to reduce some negative environmental impacts of fashion. Less need for deliveries, less travelling to different countries for fashion week in your private jets of course, less clothing returns... AI unfortunately uses a lot of electricity. Do you know where electricity comes from?
AI might help us to convey the exact emotions and characteristics that we want to, to others. Exuberant, innovative, and out of this world designs and concepts can be easier to create and display as they were originally intended to without barriers and limitations such as mechanics, human error, and well... humans. A Barbie doll's head can turn 360 degrees, but a human's can't.
While AI itself may not be able to think outside the box (just yet), AI in fashion can also be used to help aid human imagination and creativity by suggesting creative ideas and solutions.
AI can be very useful for people who cannot engage with fashion easily. Being able to access clothing virtually allows fashion to be more accessible. For instance, it can be useful for people with disabilities, body confidence matters, and help people to step over the boundary of geographic location.
AI gets us talking. As you've seen with the Balenciaga AI video by demonflyingfox, and the video's copycats, we, the general public, are quite accepting and willing to share and talk about AI on social media. The video went viral within a couple of days. We have a great interest in AI and are curious to see its developments.
AI seems to have great advantages for the fashion industry at the moment, but when is enough, enough?
Things are changing... and rather quickly.
Thank you for reading.
Huang, M. H., & Rust, R. T. (2021). A strategic framework for artificial intelligence in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 49(1), 30-50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-020-00749-9
Liang, Y., Lee, S-H., & Workman, J. E. (2020). Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Fashion: Are Consumers Ready? Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 38(1), 3-18. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887302X19873437
Złotowski, J. A., Sumioka, H., Nishio, S., Glas, D. F., Bartneck, C., and Ishiguro, H. (2015). Persistence of the uncanny valley: the influence of repeated interactions and a robot's attitude on its perception. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 883. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00883
Zou, Y., Luh, D-B., & Lu, S. (2022). Public perceptions of digital fashion: An analysis of sentiment and Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modeling. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 986838. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.986838