Fashion Marketing

Introduction

This essay evaluates theories of e-marketing within a fashion context and discusses the models which a marketing manager should consider when developing an e-marketing strategy. It introduces and defines e-marketing and the internet, as marketing managers should possess a basic knowledge of this when taking on an e-marketing manager role. It will focus on the characteristics of the internet and its implications on fashion retail with particular focus on interactivity, individuality and integration. It moves on to discuss the impact which the internet can have on consumer behaviour within fashion retail, concentrating on three main consumer behaviour models; the information-seeking model, the multi-channel buying model and the trust-based model. Some critique will be given of these models and the paper will conclude by summarising the benefits and challenges of e-marketing.

Introduction to E-Marketing

Internet marketing and e-marketing is defined as “achieving marketing objectives through applying digital technologies...and the use of electronic communications technology” (Chaffey, Ellis-Chadwick, Mayer, & Johnston, 2009). The internet is constantly evolving, and through this evolution it transforms business and marketing objectives (Hines & Bruce, 2007). E-commerce is becoming an increasingly large platform for transactional purposes within the UK and the US, with particular focus on the fashion industry which leads to the need for e-marketing (Jones & Kim, 2010; Mintel, 2011b). The internet currently has over 2 billion users ("Internet World Stats," 2011), and is therefore an essential platform for fashion businesses to market to their target audience by displaying their product and brand through digital media forms (Hines & Bruce, 2007). When a marketing manager is creating an e-marketing strategy specific tactics must be utilised in order