GENDER DIFFERENCES IN BRAND LOYALTY TOWARDS FASHION BRANDS AMONG GENERATION Y STUDENTS

Yıl 2017, Cilt: 9 Sayı: 2, 52 - 68, 01.06.2017

Heleneze-tiane Lues Natasha De Klerk

Öz

The purpose of this study was to determine African Generation Y male and
female students’ brand loyalty towards their preferred fashion brands. In South
Africa, the African Generation Y cohort (individuals born between 1986 and
2005) represents an important market segment particularly to fashion marketers,
given the size of this market segment and their spending on products such as
clothing. The increase in the number of international fashion brands available in
South Africa has given these consumers more brands from which to choose. This,
of course, means that the competition among fashion retailers and brands is more
intense than ever before. As a result, effective differentiation such as branding is
increasingly essential in targeting consumers, including Generation Y consumers.
In addition, fashion marketers and brand managers need to understand their target
markets’ preferences and how to earn brand loyalty. A self-administered
questionnaire was used to collect the data from a convenience sample of 750
students registered at three South African public higher education institution
campuses in Gauteng. The collected data were analysed using descriptive
statistics, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. The findings
suggest that for African Generation Y male students, brand awareness and brand
association predict their brand loyalty, whereas with female students, perceived
quality, brand awareness and brand association predict their brand loyalty. As
such, marketers should focus on enhancing brand awareness and brand association
of fashion clothing when targeting both male and female students, as well as on
improving perceived quality when targeting female students

Anahtar Kelimeler

Fashion brands, brand loyalty, South Africa, African Generation Y students, gender