Major A Research Proposal

Rachael Jones - s3564449

(Stillman & Stillman 2018)

Table of Contents:
1.0 Abstract 1

2.0 Introduction & Rationale 2

2.1 Introduction 2

2.2 Rationale 4

3.0 Research Aim & Objectives 4

4.0 Literature Review 5

5.0 Framework 19

6.0 Research Concepts 22

6.1 Research Methodology 22

6.1.1 Qualitative Research 22

6.1.2 Quantitative Research 23

6.1.3 Secondary Data 23

6.1.4 Primary Data 24

6.1.5 Data Triangulation 24

6.1.6 Validity 25

6.2 Proposed Research Design 25

6.2.1 Information Required 25

6.2.2 Data Collection Techniques 26

6.2.3 Limitations 27

6.2.4 Access 27

6.2.5 Ethical Procedures 27

7.0 Gantt Chart and Budget 28

7.1 Gantt chart for Research Project 28

7.2 Budget for Research Project 29

8.0 References 29

1.0 Abstract

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This proposal is designed to explore and investigate Generation Z and how they are shaping

the retail fashion industry through adaptations in smart technology, strategic orientations and

international strategies.

Throughout the 21st century, retailing has witnessed a major transformation due to the

abandonment of the Multi Fibre Arrangement, the 2008 recession and the rise in

technological advances, impacting consumer behaviour as they are being brought up in a

digital world. This means businesses are having to change and adapt strategies to meet the

ever changing consumer wants and needs, encouraging innovation and personalisation to

give retailers a competitive advantage within the highly saturated and mature market. As

Generation Z demands seamless shopping experiences, retailers are adopting smart

technologies to provide accessibility for consumers wherever they may be. This had led to

the demand of brands operating on an international scale as foreign markets characteristics

need to be met due to the rise in personalisation and market oriented practices. This paper

examines the relationship between Generation Z consumers wants and needs and how that

can be met through smart technologies as they have the potential to improve seamless

shopping experiences and personalised retail experiences. In order for the objective to be

met, strategic orientations and international strategies are explored as retailers may need to

adapt and change their direction on how they market the future consumer in order to stay

successful and foster growth.

The literature review has been conducted by collecting secondary resources such as books

and peer reviewed journals/articles to gather a substantial amount of research for the depth

of exploration.

2.0 Introduction & Rationale

2.1 Introduction

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The aim of this proposal is to determine the motives behind Generation Z consumers’

shopping behaviour and how this impacts international businesses operating in foreign

markets due to the rise in globalisation and rapid technological developments. Throughout

the process of examining Generation Z (Gen Z), smart technology was the key influence and

demand for the future of retailing, improving consumer shopping experiences and creating a

competitive advantage for brands as they can meet specialised needs through customising

social media platforms and providing personalised applications for mobile devices, which

was the most common digital device that Gen Z are appealed to.

The proposal looks at the retail industry broadly as Generation Z is a worldwide movement in

population change, and technological advancements will be impacting not only retail, but

economical, political and environmental factors. Then the proposal looks more in depth at

strategic orientation methods such as market and brand orientation, discussing the

differences between the two and keeping the reader's perspective in mind as to how each

method will benefit retailers in the future with the up and coming Gen Z shopping behaviours

and characteristics. As market orientation works from the outside-in, always having the

consumers wants and needs as the first objective, this will benefit retailers who use this

method and have a strong understanding of their target market to adapt their product mix

consistently as Generation Z are not brand loyal. This is a disadvantage to brand orientation

organisations as their main focus is the values of their brand identity and don’t shift far from

their vision, whereas in the modern age consumer demands, wants and needs are

constantly changing and evolving.

The proposal then looks deeper into international strategies that brands acquire operating on

a global scale through bricks-and-mortar or e-commerce platforms that smart technology has

provided due to the increasing growth in globalisation. Being a locally responsive brand is

becoming more widely recognised and appreciated as the world is becoming more culturally

diverse and expressed. Standardised approaches and formality within business models is

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fading out due to the demand of adapting to one's culture and brands operating in foreign

countries and meeting their localised needs have a competitive advantage. International,

global, multinational, transnational strategies are discussed to demonstrate the slight

differences in approaches of operating in host countries. As Gen Z value personalisation and

self awareness, transnational and multinational strategies are key to a brand success and

growth in the near future and needs to be implemented more throughout the retail industry.

2.2 Rationale

The aim for the second part of this proposal is to explore in more thorough depth what

motives are behind Generation Z consumers’ buying behaviour as there is a lack of study

and research in this area. It is imperative consumers in older generations have a strong

understanding of the characteristics, wants and demands of Gen Z as they will be our future

employees, colleagues and customers throughout the retail industry. Highlighted throughout

the research was their lack of loyalty to brands, however they demand the brands to come to

them through personalisation. This reflects retailers internal strategies as smart technology

and globalisation has provided the opportunity for many participants to compete for the same

target market, in which their wants and needs will be constantly evolving throughout years to

come, leaving the question if they want to follow the changing consumer demand or keep

true to their values and goals of a brand, relying on their existing customer base to keep

them competitive within the market.

3.0 Research Aim & Objectives

Aim: To determine the motives behind Generation Z consumers’ shopping behaviour and

how this impacts the success of retailers operating on a global scale in the fashion & textile

industry.

Objectives:

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Objective 1: To identify the underlying characteristics and influences behind Generation Z

consumers shopping behaviour.

Objective 2: To analyse what strategies international retailers should adapt and demonstrate

to stay competitive within the fashion & textile industry.

Objective 3: To evaluate what strategies international retailers should adapt and

demonstrate to stay competitive within the fashion & textile industry.

4.0 Literature Review

In the 21st century, the retail industry has gone through immense changes due the removal

of The Multi-Fibre Arrangement contract in 2005, the 2008 financial crisis and the saturation

of mature markets. This has disrupted traditional strategies and models within the industry

as retailers today are fighting for a competitive advantage within the highly saturated mature

market (Caniato et al. 2013). These disruptions happened within a short period of time and

completely changed the way businesses and retailers succeed within the industry, leading to

the acknowledgement of how fast the economy can downfall or develop. These disruptive

phenomenons have impacted the rise in technological advancements, rapidly changing

consumer demand and globalisation providing retailers the opportunity to operate on an

international scale with the support of the World Trade Organisation. As the retail industry is

one of the leading industries worldwide, the ambiguity of the unknown into the future of

retailing is being thoroughly researched due to the increasing demand within the market.

Therefore, this literature review analyses and discusses the main factors that affect

operating businesses within the retail industry in the modern digital age such as; Generation

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Z’s buying behaviour, the use of smart technology in retail, strategic orientations in retail and

international strategies in retail.

Due to ever changing consumer demand, retailers are conducting thorough research into the

up and coming consumer, Generation Z (Gen Z). They currently are aged 12-18 years old,

already making up 25% of the population, greater than any previous generation such as the

Baby Boomers or Millenials (Empson 2016), therefore they hold a great amount of buying

power within the industry. Gen Z will be retailers employees and the target customers within

the next decade, acquiring characteristics of self-awareness, self-reliant, innovative,

entrepreneurial, realists and persistency due to being born in the modern digital age. Due to

their powerful force, businesses are having to change and adopt strategies to meet this

generations wants and needs. They have been brought up as digitally native, this has led to

technological advancements readily becoming available for them, they demand smart

technology to provide them with a seamless shopping experience, thriving off innovation and

creativity as they have a unique relationship with modern technology (Ernst & Young 2015).

Therefore smart technology in retail is explored to provide an understanding on the

relationship between what Gen Z is demanding, and what is readily available for them now in

the industry.

Businesses are adapting and changing strategies within their organisational structure to

meet the needs and demands of changing consumer demand and the upcoming Gen Z due

to them holding the greatest buying power than ever before. Therefore, strategic orientations

is discussed to articulate orientational structures that brands are acquiring in order to market

the future consumer. Many studies have been conducted comparing the two models of

brand orientation and market orientation, to evaluate which is more successful in the growing

industry, particularly due to the rise in globalisation as it has increased competition and

saturation within the market. Due to the rise in globalisation and smart retailing providing e-

commerce platforms for accessibility worldwide, international strategies is further explored

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as there is great amounts of discussion on what strategy is the most effective for growth and

success operating on a global scale. Dimensions such as global integration and local

responsiveness determines the direction for a strategic approach within the market. It comes

down to the brands aim if they want to cut costs and increase economies of scale or meet

specialised consumer needs in different geographical markets.

Generation Z

Generation Z is anyone born between 1995 and 2010, following the Millennials who are

offspring to the baby boomer generation. This group were born into the modern digital age,

unlike millenials who saw the introductory stages. They are brought up in a technologically

driven world, entitling them to demand innovative technology from retailers that adapts to

their consumer behavior. Therefore this generation drives creativity, innovation and change

due to the ambiguity of the unknown in marketing them in the retail world as they are the

target consumers of the future (Priporas et al. 2017). By 2020, Generation Z will make up

40% of the population in the United States of America, approximately 160 million of the

nations consumers, as the U.S. is the largest economy in the world, therefore the generation

is expected to heavily influence the retail industry (Empson 2016). Furthermore the

understanding of their shopping behavior and patterns will determine retailers success as

the generation has immense buying power in the industry, influencing retail marketing

strategies from product-specific and a technological point of view. Generation Z consumers’

expectations and interactions with retailers and products are different between other

demographics such as Generation Y and the millenials category as they are seen as

optimistic, Gen Z is seen as pragmatic, this may be due to them being more highly educated

and innovative as they deal with things in a realistic and practical manner.

(Wood 2013) suggests there are four trends or themes that characterize Gen Z’s consumer

behaviour; (i) High interest in innovative technology, (ii) The demand on a seamless

experience/ease of use, (iii) The desire to feel safe and lastly (iv) The appeal to temporarily

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escape modern day realities they are facing. Due to their encounters being brought up in a

confronting political, economical, social, technological and environmental world, they are

facing many challenges throughout their lifetime such as the biggest recession, worst

employment rates, the repercussions of 9/11 and global terrorism. The generation is

currently in the phase of going to school where it is supposed to be an environment of

growth and stability, schools are perceived as a place of danger as 43% of 7-13 year-olds

think school shootings and violence will be the largest impact on their generation (Ernst &

Young 2015). Furthermore, this reflects their desire to feel safe and the want to temporarily

escape the realities they are facing due the extent of the threats from emotional and physical

abuse they face as it follows them everywhere through technological devices and social

media platforms. However, Generation Z has grown amongst this and has been brought up

in a more socially and culturally conscious world as gender equality is on the rise, LGBT is

expressed and America grew up with an African American President. This has made Gen Z

to acquire the personality traits of being more self-aware and self-reliant as they

demonstrate an emphasis on their responsibility and efforts to improve the world and they

seek to create their own solutions which drives innovation (Merriman 2015). From their great

intuition, they value authenticity and realism from brands, who are appealed to

personalisation and an overall seamless shopping experience in-store and online.

As Generation Z are perceived as the greatest segment to come that reply on technology as

a way of living, they value the concept of integrating and engaging with brands as the digital

world has provided many platforms to establish and build an interactive relationship with

them. Therefore, authors demonstrate that smart technologies have a significant impact on

Generation Z consumer buying decisions, being the core influence due to the attraction of

innovation. According to Zhitomirsky-Geffet & Blau (2016), Generation Z show the highest

level of social application via the use of smartphones above Generation Y & X. This was a

measure of emotional and social-environmental factors, reinforcing their attachment to

engage with people and brands they see online in a deeper level than other generations

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through social media. Although according to EY Redefining Loyalty For Retail Report, Gen Z

are less loyal to retailers due to their entrepreneurial characteristics, only 30% of them are

appeal to loyalty programmes (Merriman 2015). Gen Z expects brands to get the product to

them in the most efficient way, putting immense pressure on retailers to get their attention

and authentically connect with them. Generation Z value smart technologies through

physical store experiences as (Priporas, Stylos & K. Fotiadis 2017) suggests that they are

appealed to self-checkouts, informative touch points, digital signage, and seamless payment

methods e.g. Yogo Wallet via their mobile device, therefore they do not use direct use of

their cards. Regarding online shopping experiences, they are appealed to social media

platforms and personalised mobile device applications that provided by the individual brands

themselves. Reinforcing numerous authors demonstrating their desire to be provided with a

seamless and speedy shopping experience that is accessible wherever they go through their

smartphone, however they demand a platform or application that is personalised to the

individual themselves due to their high level of self direction and purpose, with a great level

of security as smart technology will be further developed in the near future.

Smart Technology in Retail

Technological advances are rapidly changing the world of retail. Smart retailing has been

defined as ‘an interactive and connected retail system which supports the seamless

management of different customer touch points to personalise the customer experience

across different touch points and optimize performance over these touchpoints’ (Roy et al.

2017, p.3), highlighting a key theme of enhancing customer experience through the use of

personalising technology. Enabling consumers to make more informed decisions by

receiving more specific and beneficial offers and being provided with faster customer service

(Grewal et al. 2017). Innovative electronic processes provide faster transactions, ultimately

curating a seamless shopping experience (Priporas et al. 2017). As consumers today are

being brought up in a digital world, this has led them to become very dependent on

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technology. The objective is for brands is to come up with innovations that shift traditional

physical in-person employee services to adaptations of technological self service machinery.

Hence, retailers have acknowledged the changing consumer behavior by adapting in-store

experiences by replacing face-to-face service interactions with self-service technologies

(SST’s) equipped with radio frequency identification systems such as; self-checkouts,

informative touchpoints, self-display touch screens, digital signage, interactive kiosks and

applications for smart technologies, most commonly mobile phones (Pantano &

Timmermans 2014). Recently, retailers have acknowledged the rise in Virtual Reality and

Augmented Reality, offering a seamless shopping experience through virtual store layouts

where consumers use their smartphone devices to locate and purchase products as they

walk through the store (Pantano & Timmermans 2014). Retailers such as the Spanish

Pickbe have been acquiring virtual reality through ubiquitous computing, a software where

computing is made to appear anytime and everywhere, allowing consumers to access stores

and products directly from their mobile phones (Pantano 2014). The use of smart

technologies in retailing requires adaptations to organisational processes such as identifying,

selecting and applying the best technology as well as creating smart relationships between

the business and consumers. Therefore, the application of new technologies can benefit

both the consumer and retailer as these advancements can improve the communication and

exchange of information from consumer to employee, enhance consumer in-store & online

behaviour with decision making, and open doors for the development of products and

services (Pantano & Migliarese 2014).

Not only smart technologies in retail are efforts to improve the consumer shopping

experience, Vrontis et al. (2016) highlighted that smart retailing is changing customer

behaviour and patterns throughout the stages in the decision making process e.g. search,

purchase, utilization and after-sales stage. Furthermore, with rapidly evolving developments

in technology, marketers and advertisers are using modern digital channels to promote their

brands message through email marketing, search engine marketing, social media marketing,

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digital display advertising and mobile marketing whereas in the early digital age brands have

used marketing strategies through print, TV, radio and mainstream internet media (Demetris,

Alkis & Monaliz 2016). You can see marketing retail through technology has adapted due to

the changing interests of the modern day consumer, as the younger and more dominating

consumers stream television shows and films through online networks such as Netflix

instead of watching traditional TV, they download music applications on their mobile devices

instead of listening to the radio and refer to online blogs and articles instead of appealing to

physical print. Experiences are becoming more personalised and engaging in the

technological world of retail, mobile marketing has revolutionized advertising towards

primary communication objectives such as establishing a loyal relationship with consumers

as a business can target the consumer from any geographical location worldwide, whilst

providing the brand with psychographic characteristics on the consumer to build a profile on

their needs and preferences to encourage future purchases.

Smart technologies has been used by retailers to understand the different segments within a

market and predict future trends and purchasing patterns as it is a fundamental factor for

innovation and creativity of a brand. Advanced technologies provide opportunities for

achieving this challenge as they gather updated information on consumers shopping

patterns and behaviour through purchased products and visualised products that the

consumer did not purchase. This data gets extracted and collected into database systems

that is integrated with informative systems where the brand has access to the interactions

between the customer and the computer in order to customize marketing strategies for future

point of sale techniques. Thus, it is critical for retailers to monitor and predict trends and their

consumers behaviour through technological resources as it is the key to success.

The amount of investment for smart technologies in retail may propose a certain level of

risks and the ambiguity of the unknown that the current technique may not have full effect as

the change may not be applied quickly enough to meet the markets expectations in the

rapidly developing industry. Technological systems that do not require big monetary

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investments are; email marketing, social media marketing, search engine marketing and

mobile applications. However, smart technologies such as Augmented/Virtual reality, digital

signage and self service touchpoints are constantly being adapted which requires larger

monetary investments, putting a challenge against small to medium retailers and a

competitive advantage for larger firms as they have the financial support. Thus, firms are

conducting thorough research to understand the effectiveness of smart technology for the

modern day consumer, adapting Technology Acceptance Models (TAM) to develop

strategies and predict the effective consumers usage (Pantano & Di Pietro 2012).

As technology is being pushed in the retail industry and demand is being pulled, the

objective to acquire a competitive advantage is conducting significant research and

development, the ability to develop new strategies that enables them to predict consumers

acceptance and usage of technological advances.

Strategic Orientations in Retail

Every independent and international brands adapt a form of strategic orientation in order to

articulate a long term plan that the organisation intends to present themselves and approach

their specified market. Satisfactions of consumers needs and wants is the fundamental

objective within any organisation, as that is the key indicator that leads to a brands growth

and success. This is reflective specifically on the strategy of market orientation, although the

organisation using this strategy may develop an unconditioned response to the wants and

needs of the consumer, losing their brand identity in the process and a sense of

structuralisation, interfering with consistency and the overall management of the brand

(Urde, Baumgarth & Merrilees 2013). However, in contrast to market orientation, brand

orientation may be used as a strategic resource and dominating factor within the market if

they have a positive brand identity. Generally, this strategy of brand orientation means the

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brand acts at a superordinate level, displaying a high level of generality, although still

meeting the wants and needs of their consumer.

In theory, brand orientation strategy evaluates their product mix within the market depending

on what their brand identity stands for as they use an inside-out approach that values what

they stand for using the concepts of; corporate name and identity, trademark, product, target

group, brand vision and positioning within. Urde (1999) found that brand orientation is a

long-term strategy that revolves around the “creation, development and protection of the

brand identity” Urde (1999, p.119) with a consistent engagement with the specified target

market in order to achieve a lasting competitive advantage of developing brand equity

through their brand or brands. The overall goals, values and objectives are demonstrated

through the brand as they acquire an emotional and symbolic value that leaves a symbolic

mark on the market share. The strategy reflects the overall organisation structure of the

brand as the value and promises within the identity are kept at core focus. This guides how

the firm behaves and impacts decision making processes within the business functions, the

core values also shows an understanding of customer values and what the offering will be to

meet their wants and needs that is a reflection of what they stand for, integrating an external

view into the process. Overall, brand orientation increases performance as they have a well

established management structure, being a brand-driven organisation that demonstrates

great amounts of transparency and authenticity

Market orientation uses an outside-in approach, valuing their brand image and perception

from the public eye as they constantly adapt to their target consumers wants and needs to

ensure great satisfaction within the market, the objective of working backwards from the

customer, clearly demonstrating the point of departure of to create value (Amazon 2010).

The Market Orientation philosophy focuses on objectives such as; consumer orientation for

understanding and predicting future consumer wants and needs, behavioral patterns of

consumers, competitor orientation to analyse competitors strategies and interfunctional

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coordination to distribute the gathered information across all departments within the

business (Lewrick et al. 2011). The main objective it so satisfy the wants and needs of the

consumer, focusing on external factors such as analysing competition to ensure they stay

ahead and meet customer demands that competitors may not acquire. Within the strategy,

there is constant development of products and services to meet the constantly changing

consumer demand, key factors that implement this strategy are; product & service

development, segmentation and positioning to measure their competitive advantages within

the market (Urde, Baumgarth & Merrilees 2013). Nonetheless, behavioural perspectives of

market orientation is described as market segmentation and customisation. As the approach

gives an unconditional response to changing demands, the retailers may satisfy the

customers, however they the brand may not be strengthened as a strategic response.

Therefore market orientation is not a long-term growth strategy as the business model is

constantly changing and evolving to meet the trends within the current market at the time

which demonstrates short term adaptations. On the contrary, it is hard for retailers to acquire

strong brand identity and loyalty with their customers as brands who adopt market

orientation tend to be agreeable with whatever perception the customer is appealed to,

theoretically leaving the decisions and forecasting down to consumers and adopting

whatever is popular at the point in time. However, the up and coming future consumer,

Generation Z, don’t tend to be brand loyal, this puts market orientation retailers at a

competitive advantage as they efficiently meet their wants and needs and provide them with

a personalised shopping experience, going outside the boundaries as it is constantly

changing.

International strategies in Retail

Due to the increasing rise in globalisation, this has provided brands to operate on an

international scale through E-commerce platforms, creating a customer base in many

different geographical locations where they may not operate bricks-and-mortar stores. Over

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the years, the number of consumers shopping online has dramatically increased from the

accessibility to the global internet (Liu et al. 2013). The smart technology and digital world

has provided retailers the opportunity to operate on an international scale through expansion

of stores and online presence. Many international strategies have been adopted to support

the growth and success of these brands in a highly saturated industry such as; multinational,

international, transnational and global. However, in the modern day of retailing it is critical for

retail organisations to be locally responsive to market different cultural segments wants and

needs, having direct representatives to understand and meet these demands for the end

consumer. However, there is a vast amount of fast fashion retailers that have the pressure of

operating internationally to meet high economies of scale by acquiring high amounts of

purchasing and logistic costs (Swoboda, Elsner & Morschett 2014).

Bartlett & Ghoshal (1989) identifies how global organisations consider their external

environments when conceptualising their strategies to approach an international market.

This has been narrowed down to two key environmental characteristics of; (i) Local

Responsiveness and (ii) Global Integration. Local responsiveness is when a brand meets the

cultural differences of operating their business in different geographical segments, meeting

the wants and needs of local consumers by adapting the organisations products and

services to the market. Global Integration is a centralised organisational structure, using a

standardized approach or management across all global activities in order to save costs and

have a formalized foundation within the brand (Bartlett & Ghoshal 1989). Commonly used by

brands that have an established positive brand identity where they already acquire a strong

customer base.

Organisations use the two key environmental characteristics to determine their international

strategies when considering the pressures from their external environments, the four key

global strategies follows; International organisations, Global organisations, Multinational

organisations and Transnational organisations. International organisations use skills and

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knowledge developed in their home country to import and export their offerings, having no

investment and integration in host countries therefore they are home based oriented,

resembling an extended variation of parent companies (Hines 2007). Therefore, the foreign

units are highly dependent on the home countries market due to the high skills and

knowledge developed within the market. Global organisations globally implement economies

of scale which results to cost efficiency and saving in return on investment by standardising

their goods and services on an international scale, using their most important resources and

assets. They market their products using the same brand strategy across all host countries,

information flows in one direction from the headquarters based in the home country to the

foreign markets. Multinational organisations operate investment of goods and services in

foreign countries and approach the host market with sensitivity, and localise their offerings to

meet their individual wants and needs. Within the host countries, the foreign subsidiaries are

independent and of the headquarters. Transnational organisations adapt to their host

markets, achieving efficiency and economies of scale simultaneously as the companies

resources, assets, skills and knowledge are implemented across all foreign subsidiaries

specialised between the headquarters to create a back-and-forth flow of information.

Therefore the flow of information and knowledge is communicated between all foreign host

countries and the home country itself (Bartlett & Ghoshal 1989).

Furthermore, many studies suggest that the transnational strategy is the most effect to

conduct business on an international scale because it integrates the benefits from both

global integration environmental characteristics and local responsiveness. As consumer

demand is constantly changing and the upcoming Generation Z values the acknowledgment

of specialised needs through personalisation, this demonstrates retailers would be most

successful if they respond and meet localised markets wants and needs, whilst operating on

a global scale to increase economies of scale and stay competitive within the overall market

share.

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The future of retailing has proposed many uncertainties for retailers in the fashion industry

due to the future consumer’s high demand in technological advances and smart technology,

providing them with a seamless shopping experience as they expect the retailers to come to

them. This means the essence of bricks-and-mortar stores will slowly start to dye out of

trend as e-commerce platforms and applications for digital devices provide consumers with

the ability to shop at any time from anywhere in the world. Smart technology such as

Augmented and Virtual reality will provide consumers the emotional authenticity to visually

see how products and services can fit into their lives through a digital screen, where they

don’t have to go into store to physically see the product. Many businesses are having to

change and adapt their models and strategies to meet the changing consumer demand and

conduct more personalised and seamless shopping experiences through smart technology

and becoming a less centralised organisation. Transnational and multinational strategies are

being researched more thoroughly recently as they meet characteristics of wants and needs

that Generation Z is demanding such as personalisation, innovation and worldwide

awareness. However, more thorough research is to be conducted as to how brands may

connect with Generation Z and keep them appealed as they will be less brand loyal due to

their high intuition and drive to take charge. They expect brands to be highly innovative,

adapting the latest smart technology to provide them with a seamless shopping experience

wherever they go, and don’t have the patience to go into store. This leaves the question for

retailers if they should have the focus of being brand orientated or market orientated as

consumers wants and needs may be the answer for future business decisions that will foster

growth and success within the highly saturated and mature market. As personalisation is

becoming increasingly more important within organisational structures, standardisation and

formality is being questioned as it leaves little room for innovations and change, dimensions

that is the future of the retail fashion industry.

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5.0 Framework
WHO WHAT WHY HOW

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Generation Z -Their personal characteristics -As they are the Face to Face,

consumers and behavioural traits future consumer Skype, Phone

(anyone born after -Their motives and influences holding the most Call, Email,

1997) when shopping buying power in the Online survey,

-Their values in a brand industry The questions

-Their use in smart technology -It determines how within the

-What they want out of retailers should survey are a

retailers operate mixture

- What they see as the future - Determines the between open

in retail strategies and closed

- If they shop department organisations need question, Focus

stores online & in store or if to adapt groups

they prefer individual brand - To see if they

websites value brands that

- If they value brands that meet localised

meet localised needs or if they needs or shop at a

shop at brands due to their brand that has a

strong brand identity and don’t standardised

care approach because

of its constant look

Employees of -What makes them different to - To measure if Face to Face,

international other e-commerce retailers demand for Gen Z Skype, Phone

organisations that -Do they have more customers is more Call, Email,

operate solely as in generation Z shopping now concentrated online Online survey,

an e-commerce than in previous years within or in-store The questions

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retailer the age group of 12-18 -To measure the within the

-Do they offer loyalty use of smart survey are a

programmes? If so, is it retailing used in e- mixture

popular commerce between open

-At what cost do they provide experiences and closed

shipping question, Focus

- Do they operate their groups

merchandise through

acquisitions in international

locations for greater market

share

-Do they offer same day

delivery for speedy efficiency

-Do they use any smart

technology throughout their

website

- Do they provide an

application for mobile devices

- Do they acquire social media

platforms

- Do they provide styling or

personalisation services

Employees of -Have they noticed any -To get a better Face to Face,

international decrease in foot traffic understanding of Skype, Phone

organisations with -Do younger generations the demand in Call, Email,

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bricks-and-mortar come into store less often than bricks-and-mortar Online surveys,

locations previous generations of the locations The questions

past -To measure the within the

-Do they have an e-commerce use of smart survey are a

platform retailing used for mixture

- Do they use any smart in-store between open

technology within their store experiences and closed

-Do they have social media - To see if they use question, Focus

platforms omni-channel groups

-Do they provide same day strategies

delivery

-Do they provide styling or any

personalisation services

-Do they express

internationally and if so at

what cost

- Have they had a decrease in

loyalty programme users

-Do they provide an

application for mobile devices

General Public - What they would like to see -As the existing Online Survey.

in the future of retailing consumers are still The questions

- If they prefer shopping online important to within the

or going into store retailers to ensure survey are a

- If they would like shopping their wants & mixture

experiences to be more needs are still met between open

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 personalised and closed

- If they value brands that questions,

adapt to localised needs or if Focus groups

they shop at retailers that have

an established brand identity

6.0 Research Concepts

6.1 Research Methodology

Research methodology are the steps and actions to be taken in order to investigate a

research objective for the application of specific procedures or techniques. Therefore

identifying and analysing information to understand the problem, being able to critically

evaluate the validity and reliability of the study (USC, n.d.).

6.1.1 Qualitative Research

(i) A type of exploratory research method using unstructured data and small sample

collection procedures, specifically designed to identify hypotheses, possibly for later

testing in quantitative research. The most popular examples of qualitative research

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include in-depth interviews, focus groups, and projective techniques (Baines, Fill & Page

2011).

(ii) In the social sciences there are two broad approaches to enquiry: qualitative and

quantitative or unstructured and structured approaches. Qualitative research is based

upon the philosophy of empiricism, follows an unstructured, flexible and open approach

to enquiry, aims to describe than measure, believes in in-depth understanding and small

samples, and explores perceptions and feelings than facts and figures (Kumar 2011).

6.1.2 Quantitative Research

(i) Research designed to provide responses to predetermined, standardized questions

from a large number of respondents involving the statistical analysis of the respondents

(Baines, Fill & Page 2011).

(ii) Is a second approach to enquiry in the social sciences that is rooted in rationalism,

follows a structured, rigid, predetermined methodology, believes in having a narrow

focus, emphasizes greater sample size, aims to quantify the variation in a phenomenon

and tries to make generalizations to the total population (Kumar 2011).

6.1.3 Secondary Data

(i) Information that comes from previously published sources (Poloian 2003).

(ii) Data compiled both inside and outside the organization for some purpose other than

the current investigation (Pride & Ferrell 2013).

(iii) Data available from one or more existing sources (Egan 1952).

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 (iv) Sometimes the information required is already available in other sources such as

journals, previous reports, censuses, and you extract that information for the specific

purpose of your study. This type of data which already exists but you extract for the

purpose of your study is called secondary data (Kumar 2011).

6.1.4 Primary Data

(i) Data collected through original research pertaining to the particular research question

asked (Albaum & Duerr 2011)

(ii) Information compiled to address specific research issues (Poloian 2003).

(iii) Data observed and recorded or collected directly from respondents (Pride & Ferrell

2013).

6.1.5 Data Triangulation

(i) Data triangulation is the use of multiple methods, mainly qualitative and quantitative

methods in studying the same phenomenon for the purpose of increasing study

credibility (Huissen 2009).

(ii) Triangulation is the combination of at least 2 or more theoretical perspectives,

methodological approaches, data sources, investigators or data analysis methods

(Thurmond 2001).

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6.1.6 Validity

(i) A condition that exists when a research method measures what it is supposed to measure

(Pride & Ferrell 2013).

(ii) The ability of a measurement instrument to measure exactly the construct it is attempting

to measure (Baines, Fill & Page 2011).

(ii) The concept of validity can be applied to every aspect of the research process. In its

simplest form, validity refers to the appropriateness of each step in finding out what you set

out to. However, the concept of validity is more associated with measurement procedures. In

terms of the measurement procedure, validity is the ability of an instrument to measure what

it is designed to measure (Kumar 2011).

6.2 Proposed Research Design

6.2.1 Information Required

The research design will be conducted through various primary and secondary sources. The

primary sources will be conducted through interviews, focus groups and surveys.

The interviews and focus groups will be directed at men and women born in 1997 and over

that fit in the Generation Z category. The purpose of interviewing this set of age

demographic is to gather information and knowledge on their buying behaviours and the

motives and influencers behind their purchasing decisions. I will also be conducting

interviews and focus groups on employees that work in the retail industry in bricks-and-

mortar stores and e-commerce platforms to gather information on their perspective of

demand within the specific department and their view on the future of retailing in the fashion

& textile industry. I will use these findings to analyse and evaluate strategies international

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retailers should adapt to stay competitive within the market. These interviews and focus

groups will be conducted by face-to-face, over the phone, via skype or email.

The survey will be conducted through Qualtrics or Survey Monkey, directed at the general

public which majority would be the existing consumers of the now for retailers as their wants

and needs in the fashion & textile industry still need to be met.

This proposal is directed to the broad audience of RMIT University, retail organisations and

academics. This audience will find interest of the proposal as it highlights the underlying

characteristics of Generation Z consumers behavioural patterns and influences behind their

buying decisions. Supported by the rise in smart technology as it is their key demand in

retail. Strategic orientations and international business strategies are also explored to

investigate how organisations are approaching the current marketplace and if the future of

changing consumer demand is proposing changes in the area.

6.2.2 Data Collection Techniques

The information of data is being collected through surveys, focus groups and interviews. The

surveys will be conducted through Qualtrics or Survey Monkey and will be be distributed

through RMIT Brunswick Campus through emails or social media platforms such as

Facebook. The sample size of the survey will be 150 people and aimed at any gender, age

or location as i am targeting the general public for this specific data collection.

For the interviews and focus groups, data will be collected through face-to-face interviews,

skype, emails and phone calls. The interviews will be Men and Women born in 1997 and

over, being Generation Z. Other interviews and focus groups will be employees who work in

retail bricks-and-mortar stores and through solely e-commerce platforms.

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6.2.3 Limitations

For this research proposal, limitations were time frame, sample size and working around the

availability of interviewees. The scope of 150 surveys is relatively small as it is delivered to

students at RMIT Brunswick campus and to Facebook friends of the author. The time frame

to collect the data and research is limited to four months. Finding a suitable time to talk to

the multiple interviewees and conduct focus groups is another limitation as not all are

available to speak to face-to-face and time management doesn’t coincide with each other.

Another limitation is the limited financial resources being a student.

6.2.4 Access

The surveys will reach the intended audience by being given out face-to-face at RMIT

University Brunswick campus. They will be distributed through email to former and current

peers of the author to their current students. By being uploaded on the Facebook of the

author it will further reach the a wider audience.

To get into contact to all of the interviewees, the author will be contacting businesses in the

fashion industry through phone calls and emails to see if they are interested and available to

be interviewed.

6.2.5 Ethical Procedures

This proposal will be conducted following the principles in the National Statement on Ethical

Conduct in Human Research (2007). This will be done by getting written consent by all

participants involved and knowledge that they will be recorded. Information revealed by

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participants will not be released without their consent. This proposal is represented by RMIT

University and will be taken seriously and done in a professional manner.

7.0 Gantt Chart and Budget

7.1 Gantt chart for Research Project

This Gantt chart provides details about the project schedule that will take place in second

semester, the second half of the year.

Tasks & July (16th- August September October November

Activities - 31st)

14 week

timeline

Mentor X X X X X

Meetings

Survey X

Design

Survey X X

Conduction

Interview / X

Focus Group

Design

Interview / X X

Focus Group

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 Conduction

Digital X

Presentation

Secondary X X X X

Research to

support

findings

Final draft of X

Research

Proposal

Submission X

7.2 Budget for Research Project

The proposed budget for the research proposal is mostly for the printing, binding & travel

costs.

Printing & Binding $35

Travel Cost $10

8.0 References

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