Netnography in the Fashion Industry

With the world becoming more digital by the day, advertisers and marketers have begun to adapt more and more. As a result of every consumer become more in tune with the digital world, advertisers have had to do the same. this has resulted in an increase of technological research methods. These methods aim to hep companies create a clearer picture of exactly who their main consumers are. With the help of this technology, it has become easier and easier for advertisers to both identify their target audience, as well as figure out what their target audience likes and dislikes. Among these technologies used by fashion companies, Netnography has became one of the most useful and important tools in the industry. 

What is Netnography  

According to Robert Kozinets, “Netnography is the brach of ethnography (the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures) that analyses free behavior of individuals on the internet that uses online marketing research techniques to provide useful insights.” In other words. Netnography gathers and interprets data about the behavior of the consumer. One of the main advantages of Netnography is the data is collected freely. 

“Today, customers are constantly connected to the internet through computers and an array of mobile devices; the younger generations especially share many of their opinions, experiences and everyday activities online. Thus, the evolution of netnographic research is closely linked to the evolution of the internet and information technologies (e.g. social media, internet of things, social networking sites and mobile technology). The abundance of traces left by customers on various online platforms is valuable data for researchers and managers” (La Rocca et al., 2014; Baron and Russell-Bennett, 2016).

This is important as marketers have started to shy away from research methods such as polls or surveys, because consumers are known to answer such methods inaccurately. As a result of this knowledge, marketers have found that Netnography is both easier, more practical, and most importantly more accurate then other methods. 

Where is the Data Collected From

The main goal of Netography is to get an idea of what the majority of consumers are like, so that the company has a better idea of how to advertise towards that group. As previously mentioned Netnography is a form of Ethnography. Ethnographers usually do things such as conduct interviews, observe participants, and complete surveys with participants. Most of these things are either conducted in person, or on paper. Netnography however, is data collection that focuses more on the internet side of things. More specifically, social media. With this rise in social media use, it has become imperative for companies to look at certain consumer practices in the social media realm. As a result Netnographers gain most of their information from several places. Blogs, Tweets, Facebook posts, Pinterest posts, Snapchat trends, Instagram posts, and analysis of Youtube. In addition to these social media trends, Netnographers also pay close attention to online forums such as Reddit, Trip Adviser, and CabinCrew.com. As a resullt, they are able to paint an accurate picture of the consumer. 

What Data is Collected in Fashion Netnography

Netnography collects very specific data of it’s consumers. This is important as it saves valuable time and energy that can be used to asses other parts of advertising. One of the things that is researched by Netnographers is trends. For example, if many people of a certain demographic are Tweeting about a certain product such as a new fashion piece, this would be something of importance for the company. As a result, this data would be collected. 

In addition to data such as what was just mentioned, Netnographers, also get all of the demographic data of the consumer. This includes age, gender, spending habits, browsing habits, liked items and bought items. These things are very beneficial as they begin to both paint a picture, and show a pattern of what most of the consumers like and dislike. This is a big help when a fashion company such as Louis Vuitton or Off White are deciding what direction their next campaign should go. As you know these are just two example as Netnography covers a wide scope and has many more examples then just the ones mentioned. 

Why is Netnography Beneficial

A study done by Gustav Medberg in the studies of services marketing journal  gave a detailed description of the benefits of netnography as follows. “Netnography offers several benefits over other research methods. First, netnographic data are often described as rich and naturalistic, with the ability to accurately depict the lived realities of customers (Kozinets, 2002; Sandlin, 2007; Rokka, 2010). In contrast to ethnography, netnography can be conducted in an unobtrusive manner, offering researchers a view of customers’ everyday lives (Giesler and Pohlmann, 2003). Especially in the case of sensitive research topics, the unobtrusiveness of netnography might be necessary to elicit relevant data (Langer and Beckman, 2005; Keeling et al., 2013). Second, netnography is an adaptable and flexible qualitative method that has proven useful in various research settings (Kozinets, 2015). Netnography is also compatible with other research methods, such as interviews (Walther and Sandlin, 2011), ethnography (McGrath et al., 2013) and even surveys (Adjei et al., 2010). Finally, netnography has the advantage of being faster, simpler and much less expensive than traditional ethnography (Kozinets, 2006).”

Conclusion 

In this extremely digital world, netnography has a very important role in the fashion industry. While brands are still shuffling to find the next big thing, it is also important to remember that the consumer is always first. With this in mind, netnographers are able to pinpoint what consumers like and most importantly what thy feel indifferent about. As a result, they are able to make more accurate decisions and have better success than without netnography. With the amount of new companies, it is no secret that netnography will grow as the digital age keeps going. 

Jeffery Gordon

Baron, S. and Russell-Bennett, R. (2016), “Editorial: the changing nature of data”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 30 No. 7, pp. 673-675.

Giesler, M. and Pohlmann, M. (2003), “The anthropology of file sharing: consuming napster as gift”, Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 30, pp. 273-279.Kozinets, R.V. (1997), “I want to believe: a netnography of X-philes’ subculture of consumption" Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 470-475.

Kozinets, R.V. (1998), “On netnography: initial reflections on consumer investigations of cyberculture”, Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 366-371.

Sandlin, J.A. (2007), “Netnography as a consumer education research tool”, International Journal of Consumer Studies, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 288-294.

Heinoinin K “Netnography as a tool for understanding customers: implications for service research and practice”