Effects of Covid-19 On Customer Purchase Behavior in Fashion Industry (A Case of Twin Cities)

Abstract

The sector of retail has been developing rapidly in the past few years. Retailers are putting in more effort and are working day and night to improve their sales and productivity. Besides the efforts, they are acquiring more resources well. By mixing the efforts and resources they are using, a significant development is observed. Retailers are providing multiple channels to sell their products. With the advancements in technology retailers and customers, are using different platforms to acquire their desired results or products. For this, different changes and developments are faced by both (retailers and customers). The platforms they both acquire are online or offline. Online platforms are growing day by day. The latest developments in the online sector are observed in the Covid-19 pandemic. This pandemic emerged tremendously without any prior notice. The shift in customer buying behaviour from offline to online platforms was due to the restrictions imposed by the government of Pakistan. Moreover, this change was also due to individual social responsibility to keep social distancing. The customers start adopting digital platforms to fulfil their needs and wants. However, immediate needs were still fulfilled by using offline platforms (nearest markets). This new customer purchasing pattern was observed due to Covid-19. The study is based on exploratory and constructive nature. The study focuses on developing a great knowledge on the fact of changing customer behaviour due to Covid-19 in the retail sector (Fashion industry). The purpose of the study is to explore, identify and analyze the new Behavioural changes that could lay a great emphasis on the Pakistani millennials in selecting from online and offline platforms for shopping. Throughout the study, the abductive approach is followed along with mixed-method analyses. The mixed-method research (qualitative and quantitative) was used to accomplish the purpose and to meet the goals of the study. Moreover, the research is followed by a sequential exploratory design. The empirical data is collected from four focus groups sessions with a total number of 20 participants. Five in each group. The data is also collected by viewing the literature and by closely observing the behaviours of the customers