CHAPTER 6: FOCUS GROUP FINDINGS
6.2 Shopping Habit Questions
6.2.9 What discourages you from purchasing clothing from a particular store?
The purpose of this question was to give the researcher further insight into what is regarded as very important to the focus group sample in terms of influencing their choice of clothing store and hence further identify attributes which these Generation Y consumers apply when choosing between clothing retailers. By asking the participants what discourages them from patronising certain retailers, and by asking them to think from a negative perspective, in other words what they do not like, the researcher is able to identify what they do look for when choosing a store.
Furthermore, the researcher was also able to make connections between certain stores and attributes, enhancing the findings of this study.
The points below briefly describe each code as part of the analysis of the question “What discourages you from purchasing clothing from a particular store?”
59.5
70.3 70.3
29.7
48.6 27
35.1
64.9
94.6
62.2 64.9
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
98 1. Too popular/Common: Many of the focus group participants strongly asserted that a store being too popular definitely acts as a deterrent when choosing a clothing retailer. The students explained that they find it embarrassing and frustrating to be wearing items of clothing which seem to be worn by everyone. Accordingly, they avoid purchasing obvious pieces from such stores. For example, in this case Mr Price, “everybody wears the same thing from Mr Price”, making the merchandise too common and widespread. A few other quotes were as follows: “Mr Price, everyone shops there, mainly students as well, the people you see everyday, because it‟s affordable”; “I would never buy something that says anything because everyone would wear it, or I‟d never buy something like a dress, you want a nice dress but every girl will wear the same dress, I hate it”; “everybody wears the same thing from Mr Price”; and “I‟ll never buy a dress from Mr Price to go out in because guaranteed like three other people will have on the same one...and then I‟ll just be embarrassed”.
2. High Price: Many students explained that High Prices play a very significant role in their avoidance of certain clothing retailers, such as Woolworths, YDE and Truworths. This is particularly the case when they feel they may be able to get similar merchandise, if not the same, from cheaper stores. For example, a respondent said that “Woolworths is expensive for me personally”, while another said “YDE, it‟s a no-go area for me because of price”.
3. Proximity/Location Convenience: A student felt that the location of the clothing retailer and its proximity to you is a very important attribute which influences whether or not he/she will patronise that retailer, so much so that the stores which are regarded as being too far away will not be visited, even if a specific item from the store is required. This is illustrated by the quotes:
“position is a big thing, sometimes there‟s a store in the Pavilion where you need to get something but you not going to go to the Pavilion „cause it‟s far away”, and “location is crucial”.
4. Parking Availability: A focus group participant explained that the availability of parking or the lack thereof often causes him to avoid certain clothing retailers, for example he said that “to go to 50 Durban Road some days is just a nightmare „cause there‟s no parking”.
5. Store Reputation: A few of the participants felt that the reputation of a store and word-of- mouth can exert a strong influence with regard to clothing retailer selection. For instance, the students may visit those stores which are recommended by their peers and ultimately avoid those they oppose.
6. Poor Quality Clothing: Participants also explained that they regard poor quality merchandise very discouraging and tend not to patronise stores selling clothing of such a low quality, as was said by a respondent “poor quality, if you know its gonna be cheap but you
99 going to wash it once and the colours are going to fade, I wouldn‟t want to go to a store like that”. This is especially the case as they do not want to be spending and wasting money on items which are going to rip, tear, fade or discolour. For instance, a participant said that “if somebody says to you it‟s really bad quality, it looks fine but you wear it once and it runs or it fades very easily, whether it looks good or not, you know you what you‟re getting”.
7. Too Trendy: One of the focus group participants said that, with regard to YDE, “some of their ridiculous fashion things that they do, it‟s beyond me, I don‟t understand it” and added that YDE was a “no-go” area for him as its merchandise is too trendy and outlandish and he therefore finds it very perplexing and ultimately avoids this clothing retailer altogether.
8. Bad Layout: Certain focus group participants disclosed their aversion to stores with poor layouts which are messy and untidy and “you don‟t know where to start looking”, making it very difficult for them to find what they are looking for.
9. Poorly Fitting Clothing: A couple of the focus group participants asserted that they regard poorly fitting clothing as an important attribute discouraging them from patronising certain retailers, such as Mr Price where the clothing “never fits properly” and YDE which doesn‟t seem to cater for “bigger people, they always sell these skimpy low tops”.
10. Low Value for Money: A focus group participant explained that he avoids stores where he knows that he is being „ripped off‟ in that he is not prepared to purchase expensive merchandise when “you know you can get something just as good somewhere else”.
11. Overly Helpful Sales Personnel: A few of the respondents find it irritating when they are bothered by salespeople and generally only want help when they ask for it, in which case the sales person must be able to assist them. This is indicated by a few of the respondents saying things such as “I dislike in-your-face salespersons, I know what I want, I don‟t need some person on my back” and “they mustn‟t follow you around” “or “rash you”.
12. Lack of Cleanliness: Participants also find a lack of store cleanliness to be very discouraging in terms of impacting their choice to patronise a store and thus tend to avoid stores which are “dirty” and untidy, as was said by a participant “if you walk into a store and it‟s a complete mess, and a bit dirty and stuff, that‟s a bit discouraging as well”.
13. Unhelpful Sales Personnel: A few of the respondents tend to keep away from certain retailers where the personnel are not able or willing to help when asked for assistance.
Respondents said that “if you ask them for help, they can‟t just look at you” and “if you ask then they must be able to help you”.
100 14. Overbearing Security: Two focus group participants find it offensive and frustrating when they feel they are being followed by the store‟s security, so much so that it will cause them to leave the store, as illustrated by the following quote from the focus group discussion, “the worst was when the security guard follows you around, I am not staying in the shop if the security guard is following me”.
15. Speed of Checkout Lanes: A couple of the male respondents regard the speed of the store‟s checkout lanes to be highly important in that they “want to go in, buy it and then leave” and thus will tend to avoid stores which do not offer such a speedy checkout service.
16. Intimidating Sales Personnel: A few students felt that the sales personnel of certain stores can be very “snobby” and intimidating and such stores are thus often steered clear of. For example, some respondents said that “if you looking for stuff for a formal function, some shops can be intimidating” and that “in-store employees sometimes can be quite snobby if you going into a fancy place”, while another added “I‟ll go out if they act like that, so I just walk out and I‟m like, I‟ll find it elsewhere”.
Table 6. 15 Frequency of Attributes Discouraging Clothing Store Patronisation
Code Frequency Percent
1. Too popular/common 10 21
2. High Price 6 13
3. Proximity/Location Convenience 1 2
4. Parking Availability 1 2
5. Store Reputation 2 4
6. Poor Quality Clothing 3 6
7. Too Trendy 1 2
8. Bad Layout 3 6
9. Poorly Fitting Clothing 2 4
10. Low Value for Money 1 2
11. Overly Helpful Sales Personnel 3 6
12. Cleanliness 5 11
13. Unhelpful Sales Personnel 2 4
14. Overbearing Security 2 4
15. Speed of Checkout Lanes 2 4
16. Intimidating Sales Personnel 3 6
101 Figure 6. 12 Frequency of Attributes Discouraging Clothing Store Patronisation
The code 1. Too popular/common had the highest frequency of 21%. The focus group participants clearly did not like being seen wearing the same clothing as their peers and thus avoid stores which are regarded as overly popular and thus selling merchandise which is too common and not unique enough for the participants. Code 2. High Price was also a fairly popular reason or attribute for evading certain clothing retailers with a frequency of 13%, illustrating the students‟ dislike of paying price premiums for items which they felt they could acquire more cheaply somewhere else. The analysis of this question revealed a few key findings: firstly, Mr Price may be avoided by Generation Y consumers because it is too popular and they find it embarrassing to be wearing the same clothing items as their friends; and secondly, stores such Edgars and YDE are regarded by some of the Generation Y respondents as too expensive, causing them to overlook these retailers.
The findings discussed in this chapter were obtained from the qualitative, first stage of the two- stage triangulated research design and ultimately served to enhance and develop the researcher‟s understanding of the topic at hand, with particular reference to clothing store attributes and the meanings thereof. This understanding and the relevant findings were subsequently used to formulate and refine the questionnaire to be used in the quantitative, second stage of this two- stage triangulated research design, the methodology for which will be discussed and explained in the following chapter.
21%
13%
2% 2%
8%
6%
2%
6%
4%
2%
6%
11%
8%
4% 4%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
102