High-End Fashion Brands Need to Tap Facebook, FourSquare and Other Social Media to Connect with their Highest-Value Customers

Unity Marketing's latest research highlights the importance of social media in selling luxury fashion brands

What kind of fashion brand customer is influenced by social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and FourSquare?  If you guessed that only students and young adults with minimal budgets to spend on fashion frequent these sites, you might be surprised.  And if you are a luxury fashion brand making this assumption, you may be damaging your brand, according to new research on the high-end fashion customers from Unity Marketing.

>> The study, entitled The Fashionable Affluent,  gives insights into how affluent consumers shop for fashion, including how social media influences their fashion choices.

While the data does show that young consumers are more likely to use social media, it also gives a very different income and overall demographic profile than one might expect. The research study was headed up by Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of the new book, 

Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury:  How New Consumer Values Are Redefining the Way We Market Luxury.

"Without a doubt the population using social media skews young, but luxury fashion brandsneed to be aware that these media are powerful influencers of shoppers with a great deal of discretionary income and high-net-worth. The study found that nearly half of the ultra-affluents (incomes $250,000 and above) and HNW ($1 million or more in investible assets) fashion customerssurveyed were spurred by information gathered via social media to visit web sites, shop in retail stores, and to make a decision about which luxury fashion brand to purchase,"  Danziger explains.

"Ultra-affluents and HNW fashion shoppers were far more likely to be influenced by social media than were HENRYs (High Earners Not Rich Yet, $100k-$249.9k) and low-net-worth shoppers (less than $1 million investible assets)."

"Fashion marketers need to make strategic use of social media to build powerful relationships between their brand and these high-value customers. That will translate a shopper's 'like' of a brand or becoming the 'mayor' of a retail location into added revenues and profits," Danziger says. 

During this most recent survey, Unity Marketing interviewed a total of 1,237 affluent consumers with incomes of $100K or more who bought luxury in the second quarter of 2011. Some 65 perecnt of all those surveyed  (avg. income $301.8k; net wealth $856k (median); avg. age 45.3 years; male 46%/female 54%) reported buying one or more high-end designer brand shoes, handbags, clothing or other fashion accessories in the past year. The interviews took place from July 6-13, 2011, and the data gathered gives insight into affluent consumers' preferences and buying behaviors when it comes to fashion, including the demographic profile of the best customer for each fashion category. 

In the survey, affluent shoppers were asked about purchases of clothing and apparel, shoes, handbags, and other fashion accessories, including the role of the designer in their purchases.  Key data collected includes:

• What fashion items they buy

• How much they spent in total on high-end apparel, shoes, handbags and other fashion accessories

• What influences them in their fashion choices

• Where they like to shop

• Role of social media in influencing their purchases 

Special Subscription Offer for Two 'Must-Have' Reports on the Luxury Fashion Consumer & Social Media

"Unity Marketing has just released The Fashionable Affluent, and for a limited time we are offering a discounted bundle of this report and Affluent Consumers and How They Use the Internet, Social Media and Mobile Devices, for $1,250, which is $250 off the price of both purchased separately," says Danziger.

"Now more than ever, luxury fashion brands need to know the market and these two reports give critical perspective on the luxury customersthat fashion brands need to understand," Danziger says. 

For media:  Danziger available for interviews. Charts, tables and graphs detailing major findings in the report also are available.

About  Pam Danziger and Unity Marketing