Target Audience Research

For the past few days I started to do research on who my target audience is, and what type of trends they are associated with. I had decided that I was targeting women between the ages of 18-25, who are most likely in college, or beginning their professional careers. This means that these women, for the most part, are not economically independent, which means I should probably stay away from discussing high end clothing and products, like Vogue does. However, I still needed more insight as to what my audience is interested about, in case any of my predictions prove to be false.

 I first began researching beauty products, and the first thing that I found was an article by the Huffington Post , discussing a survey that was done a couple of years ago concerning makeup trends with women ages 18-25. What I discovered was that even though makeup sales have been steadily increasing over the past few years, 67% of women between the ages of 18-25 use 0-3 makeup products everyday. However, that percentage is just a general average, but there are many factors underlining why that was the most common response, since results varied by region and age. The study pointed out that East Coast women living in cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Boston were more likely to wear more makeup than West Coast women living in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. In addition, they noticed 21 year olds, on average, used 8-12 products daily, while 25 year olds used 0-3 products daily. This means, that the older women get, the less likely they are to use more makeup products.

Another study I found done by LIM College , showed me that the number of people that shop online is being highly overestimated. In reality, 68% of the 18-25 surveyed said that they rather shop in person than online, since they are able to feel the texture of the clothes, and are also able to try them on. However, it was revealed that 66% did use the web to search for clothes and compare prices. I could use this information, to possibly provide access to a website that does the comparison for customers, or offer a column that gives the audience online tricks that makes shopping easier.

My favorite piece of information, is a PDF file that personifies women's shopping trends and styles based on age, socioeconomic status, and style preferences. For my target audience, (ages 18-25) they were labeled into five different categories: Ana, Katie, Natasha, Tammy, and Annabel

Ana

Ana- Young, urban women with confident style and mid-range spending habits
-Tend to live in urban flats, upmarket areas, and most likely have roommates
-Buy for themselves, full price is paid
-2.32% of total females
-Major emphasis on individuality expressed through clothing
-Fashion conscious & Style Driven
-Favorite stores include Gap, H&M, Next Directory and many small boutiques

Katie

Katie-  Young women who are keen fashion followers and who skillfully crafted their wardrobes from within their budgets

-Live at home with parents, low income

-Buys latest trends, below average overall spend

-7.76% of total females

-Fashion conscious, style driven, and high spend

-Favorite stores are H&M, Top Shop, Dorothy Perkins, River Island

Natasha

Natasha-  Young women who care about fashion but who can only afford a few items
-Share flats, live in urban areas, low income
-Buy budget basics, fewer items
-2.95% of total females
-Experimental with fashion, style-driven
-Favorite stores are Top Shop, H&M, River Island, TJ Maxx

Tammy

Tammy-   Young women who achieve peer approval through clothing on a very limited budget
-Live with parents, low income, low-value housing
-Lowest spending, fashion is very important, brand and style matter

Annabel

-6.15% of total females
-Low spend and quality driven

-Favorite stores are River Island, New Look, Top Shop, Dorothy Perkin





Annabel-  Young women with a high spending capacity who dress in the best labels
-Often living with parents, wealthy homes, high disposable income-Very high spend per
purchase, Designer brands, use sales
  -4.55% of total females
-Fashion conscious, high price, quality driven
-Favorite stores include Gap, John Lewis, River Island, and Independent shops



    Based on the information that I have gathered, I will use some of the trends that apply to all five categories in order to address all of my target audience equally. I will also be addressing back to the PDF a lot, since it offers me a variety of information I can use.


Fashion Segments. (n.d.). Retrieved March 16, 20017, from http://www.experian.co.uk/assets/business-strategies/brochures/fashion_segments_handbook_females_small[1].pdf

College, L. (2015, April 09). LIM College Study of Shopping Trends Among 18-25 Year-Olds Reveals Millennials Not Loyal to Fashion Brands. Retrieved March 16, 2017, from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lim-college-study-shopping-trends-among-18-25-year-olds-reveals-millennials-not-loyal-to-fashion-brands-300062949.html

Krupnick, Ellie. "Study: Young Women Aren't Actually Using That Many Beauty Products." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 28 Aug. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.