Fashion brand preferences among young consumers

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International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Fashion brand preferences among young consumers
Margaret K. Hogg Margaret Bruce, Alexander J. Hill,
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International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 26 Issue: 8, pp.293-300, doi: 10.1108/09590559810231742
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“Playground fashion envy [e.g. for replica
football club kits; and for branded sporting gear
such as shorts and trainers from Nike and
Adidas] is threatening to undermine the tradi-
tional children’s clothing market by hi-jacking
hundreds of millions of pounds of spending a
year” – commentary on Verdict Retail Report
on the Children’s Clothing Market (Bucking-
ham, 1997, p. 21)
Introduction
Young consumers play an important part in
the market place as they exert enormous
influence over the allocation of spending
power across a growing number of product
categories (Gregan-Paxton and Roedder
John, 1995, p. 567) including clothing and
footwear. However, extensive research on
adult consumers’ brand recognition has not
been paralleled by the same level of research
among young consumers (Gregan-Paxton
and Roedder John, 1995, p. 567; Hite and
Hite, 1994, p. 185). Understanding the age at
which brand names become important may
provide “the foundation to better predict the
evaluative judgements and purchase decisions
made and influenced by children, as well as
the decisions made by those children when
they become adults” (Hite and Hite, 1994:
p.185). This study investigated the perception
and evaluation of branded fashion goods
among young consumers in the 7-10 age
group; and the role of social influences
(including advertising, celebrity endorsers,
peer groups and family) in affecting young
consumers’ perception and evaluation of
fashion brands.
Understanding young consumers
Decision-making strategies and product
categorization
Gregan-Paxton and Roedder John (1995, 
p. 567) argue that the only evidence for 
marketing managers, about how young 
consumers evaluate and choose products,
suggests that “decision-making skills emerge
throughout childhood, with the complexity of
strategies developing in tandem with age”. In
their study of preference formation and brand
choice among very young children Hite and
Hite (1994, p. 185) suggested that brand
reliance is “firmly established in children as
293
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 26 · Number 8 · 1998 · pp. 293–300
© MCB University Press · ISSN 0959-0552
Fashion brand
preferences among
young consumers
Margaret K. Hogg
Margaret Bruce and
Alexander J. Hill
The authors
Margaret K. Hogg is Lecturer in Consumer Behaviour,
Manchester School of Management, UMIST, Manchester, UK.
Margaret Bruce is Professor of Design Management and
Marketing, Department of Textiles, UMIST, Manchester, UK.
Alexander J. Hill is Marketing Executive at Enterprise
Rent a Car, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Abstract
Although there has been some research into young
consumers, for instance their approaches to product
categorization; their decision-making strategies; and their
role in family decision making, considerable work remains
to be done to understand how young consumers develop
brand loyalty, brand preference and reliance. This paper
reports the initial findings from an exploratory study of
over 200 young consumers (aged 7-10) which examined
perceptions of branded fashion clothing; and the impact of
social influences on young consumers’ evaluations of
branded fashion products. The findings indicate that
product/brand imagery is clearly established among young
consumers, particularly for branded fashion sportswear;
and the results suggest that research design must take
account of both age and gender differences when choos-
ing methods for eliciting data from young consumers.
The authors would like to thank Collette
Blanchfield and Asda Superstores plc for their
support for this study.
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young as two years old.” Our study examines
young consumers aged 7-10.
Evidence from research in developmental
psychology suggests that between the ages of
four and nine children change the basis on
which they form categories (Roedder John
and Sujan, 1990, p. 452). Roedder John and
Sujan (1990) demonstrated that younger
children rely more on perceptual and non-
functional attributes (e.g. visual cues such as
the shape and colour of products and pack-
ages) in their product categorisations, while
older children tend to utilise underlying,
functional attributes (e.g. taste). Other
research findings suggest that younger 
children “tend to use fewer dimensions to
compare and evaluate brands…, use simple
choice mechanisms based on single attributes
rather than employing compensatory choice
strategies…, and tend to rely on dominant
perceptual features (versus functional 
features) of products in gathering information
and making choices…” (Gregan-Paxton and
Roedder John, 1995, p. 567). We aimed to
establish which attributes and dimensions are
used by young consumers in evaluating cloth-
ing brands.
Social influences: the family context
The development of children as young 
consumers has also to be understood within
their social context, notably their family
milieu and reference groups (including 
“significant others”). Hite and Hite (1994, 
p. 186) argued that it is difficult to separate
the dual influences, of parental example and
advertising, in encouraging young consumers
toward repeated choices of leading brands;
and thus in affecting the development of
children’s brand preferences and choices.
Reflecting on child development theory it is
suggested that children’s consumer behaviour
is absorbed at veryyoung ages from familial
examples (Hite and Hite, 1994, p. 187). If
parents repeatedly choose a brand the child
perceives it to be “good” (Hite and Hite,
1994, p. 187). Earlier research investigated
children’s influence in family decision making
and suggested “that children have little 
influence over how much to spend, where to
make the purchase, and the final decision”
(Beatty and Talpade, 1994, p. 332). Our
study examined the role of parents and 
advertising in influencing young consumers’
perception and evaluation of clothing brands.
Product symbolism
The general product category chosen for this
study was fashion (clothing and sportswear)
since brands in these product categories have
been demonstrated to have important sign
value for consumers regardless of age, gender
or class. Clothing can be classified according
to the Bearden and Etzel (1982) model as a
public necessity where reference group 
influence on the product category is weak, but
where reference group influence on the brand
choice is strong. Fashion clothing was 
perceived to be a product category where
children would have particularly strong views
about brand image. Not only is the image of
the product determined by its physical
characteristics, but it is also formed by other
associations, such as stereotypes of the 
generalised or typical user, and this would be
investigated for this product group among
young consumers. Branded fashion goods can
also fulfil emblematic functions (Hoyer and
MacInnis, 1997) e.g. denoting membership of
a sub-group such as football fans. The associa-
tion of some manufacturers of sporting goods
with different sports, either through sponsor-
ship (e.g. sporting events) or football clubs
(e.g. supply of strips or boots); or through
using sports stars for product endorsement
and advertising, also demonstrates the role of
“significant others” (such as sporting stars) in
the transfer of symbolic meaning via products
to the consumer (Mowen, 1995, p. 385).
Research design
Research objectives
The purpose of this study was to investigate
brand recognition of fashion goods among
young consumers (7-10 years old). The
research objectives were to examine the
dimensions used by young consumers when
comparing and evaluating clothing brands; to
identify the dominant product features 
(perceptual versus functional) used by young
consumers in evaluating and choosing 
clothing brands; and to explore how social
influences (including advertising, celebrity
endorsers, peer groups and family) affect
young consumers’ perceptions and evaluation
of clothing brands.
Research methodology
A mixed-method approach was adopted for
this study for the purposes of complementarity
(Greene et al., 1989); and Peracchio’s (1991)
294
Fashion brand preferences among young consumers
Margaret K. Hogg, Margaret Bruce and Alexander J. Hill
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 26 · Number 8 · 1998 · 293–300
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seven specific guidelines for designing experi-
mental procedures that are congruent with a
child’s cognitive capacity informed the design
of this study[1]. The research design involved
three stages. 
Sample
Two hundred and thirty-seven children, aged
between seven and ten years, were drawn
from a purposive sample[2] of five school sites
in a city in north-eastern England. The
schools were chosen to represent the geo-
graphical and socio-economic characteristics
of the city. Two schools (A and B) were from
largely working class areas on the south-
eastern side of the city; two schools (G and H)
were located in more affluent middle class
areas, in the south west and the north west of
the city respectively; and one school (W) was
in a socially mixed area (working class and
middle class) on the northern side of the city.
165 boys and 69 girls took part[3]: (see Table
I for percentage breakdown). These age bands
were chosen because they overlapped with
earlier studies of child consumers (Belk et al.,
1982; Belk et al., 1984; Roedder John and
Sujan, 1990; Roedder John and Lakshmi-
Ratan, 1992); because work in developmental
and cognitive child psychology suggested that
these age groups are capable of concrete
operationalization, and would therefore be
able to cope with the experimental tasks; and
because these age groups would “be respon-
sive to the presence of explicit cues” (Roedder
John and Sujan, 1990, p. 455).
The study
Procedure: stage 1: pre-testing
A small pre-test (five children) was used to
determine general attitudes towards, and
perceptions of, different brands of clothing.
Pre-testing was also used to discover which
individual items of clothing (e.g. jeans,
sweatshirts) were the most coveted in the
children’s wardrobes; and to identify which
media sources were to be used for the con-
struction of collages. The majority of leisure
reading reported in the pre-test centred on
sports pages in newspapers and comics.
However, four magazines were selected to
represent the range of interests expressed
during the discussions: Total Sport (“Britain’s
biggest sports magazine”); GQ Active
(health, fitness, lifestyle magazine with some
sport); The Face (aimed at the teen market
with features on pop music, fashion and
sport); and ID magazine (with articles on
fashion, music, clubs and design).
Product items
Pre-testing established that the main
wardrobe items included sweatshirts and T-
shirts, and therefore this product category
was chosen for the study. These garments
were worn universally; they were familiar to
all the respondents; and they spanned the
categories of children’s fashion clothing and
sportswear. Sweatshirts and T-shirts, in a
variety of colours and designs, were selected
from three major manufacturers of branded
sporting goods (Nike, Reebok and Adidas);
from two high street outlets (Marks &
Spencer and Adams); and from a supermar-
ket chain (Asda), as stimulus material for the
study.
There were six products in all: first, a
green Nike sweatshirt, with yellow trimmings
on the collar, sleeves and cuffs, and a
“swoosh” on the front; second, a navy blue
Reebok sweatshirt with the name across the
chest in white, and with white and light blue
trimmings at the waist, cuff and neck; third,
a red Adidas sweatshirt with an embossed
logo on the front; fourth a navy blue Marks
& Spencer sweatshirt with stripes and trim-
mings in yellow, white and blue on the
sleeves, collar and chest; fifth, a plain blue
Adams sweatshirt with lime green stripe on
the neck and cuffs; and finally an orange
Asda T-shirt with a lot of writing on the
front. These clothing items were used to
provide the children with a visual cue for the
branded products. 
Procedure: stage 2: main study
The main part of the study began with a
small pilot study, followed by a series of
group exercises which involved the use of
products as visual prompts and stimulus
material, and also projective techniques
(collages); group discussions of the collages;
and a self-report questionnaire with seman-
tic differential attitude scales (adapted for
the age group of the audience). 
295
Fashion brand preferences among young consumers
Margaret K. Hogg, Margaret Bruce and Alexander J. Hill
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 26 · Number 8 · 1998 · 293–300
Table I Data collection – overall percentages (gender/age)
Age Boys (%) Girls (%) All children (%)
7 5 2 7
8 19 10 29
9 22 7 29
10 24 11 35
Total 70 30 100
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Stage 2:1 Pilot study
The tasks for Stage 2 were piloted with a class
of 16 boys (Year 5, age 9-10). The only diffi-
culty which was identified from the pilot study
was associatedwith the presentation of 
magazine stimulus material[4]. Consequent-
ly, one modification was made to the original
research design. 
Stage 2: 2 Main study: (i)introduction
The main stage of data collection involved
237 children who were divided into 52 small
groups (with an average of five to six 
members). The size of groups was kept 
smaller than traditional focus groups in order
to manage the group activity. The sessions
each lasted an average of 90 minutes.
Table II outlines the session plan. The
moderator’s introduction included an 
explanation of the term “brand” which was
phrased in appropriate language for the 
children’s conversational norms (Peracchio,
1991). The six product items were then
shown to the whole class, and children were
encouraged to discuss which brands they
recognized; and which brands they wore.
Stage 2: 2 Main study - (ii) projective technique:
collage exercise
Two hundred and thirty-seven children
worked in groups to create collages which
represented the projective stage of the data
collection. The children were briefed about
the task before they constructed their collages,
and they were shown product samples for each
of the brands of clothing. Children were
allowed to choose their own partners for the
collage activity so that, wherever possible, they
worked in friendship groups.
Groups were randomly assigned one of
the product items/brands, except where it
was clear that a group did not recognize a
particular brand, in which case they were
allocated a brand with which they were
familiar.
During the exercise each group discussed
the reasons behind the images which they had
chosen to cut out for each particular brand.
These discussions were all recorded on tape.
During the discussion the participants talked
about their role in the purchase of their clothes
and the relative degree of influence they felt
that their parents, brothers, sisters, and friends
had on the product and brand choice.
After all the groups in a class had completed
their collages, then each collage was discussed
by the class in turn; and this whole class 
discussion was also taped and transcribed.
Stage 2: 2 Main study - (iii) administration of
questionnaire
The final part of the second stage involved the
administration of the questionnaire to 234
children[5]. Before beginning on the 
questionnaires, the moderator used the black-
board to illustrate and explain the five 
“smiley” faces, and to check that everyone
understood what each face meant. The 
questionnaire consisted of a series of semantic
differential scales for each brand, which had
been modified for this particular group of
participants; and also questions about who
influenced the decisions when choosing
clothes. The moderator took the whole class
through each question in the questionnaire in
turn. The objective of the questionnaire was
to elicit more systematically aspects of the
perceptions and evaluations of the brands at
the individual level, which would complement
the less structured expressions of attitudes to
the brands obtained using the group-based
collage exercise.
Procedure: Stage 3: questionnaire for parents
The third stage of the study was the circula-
tion of a questionnaire to parents of the 237
296
Fashion brand preferences among young consumers
Margaret K. Hogg, Margaret Bruce and Alexander J. Hill
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 26 · Number 8 · 1998 · 293–300
Table II Main study plan: introduction, collages, questionnaire
Time
(approx.) Phase Activity of groups Moderator’s role
10 mins Introduction Listening Introduce project
Defines/discuss “brand”
45 mins Projective Assembling collages Discussing collages with
exercise Discussing collages the groups/class
15 mins Clearing up Tidying Supervising
20 mins Questionnaire Completing semantic Directing individual completion
differential scales (“smily of class questionnaire (using
faces”) blackboard)
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participants for self-completion. The objec-
tive of this questionnaire was to examine how
parents viewed the relative influence of 
children and parents on brand choice for
children’s clothing in the family setting; the
role of the parents in the purchase of clothes
for their children; and the degree of influence
they believe their child had over the decision
making.
Findings and discussion
The substantive findings are reported in full
elsewhere (Hill, 1997). A summary of the
main points is offered here.
For the data collection, all the group 
commentaries and the class discussions were
taped, generating over 57 pages of transcript
(approximately 11,000 words). Sixty-five
collages were completed in all. Table III
shows the breakdown of collages by brand,
age and gender. Content analysis was used to
identify themes from the collages, and from
the taped commentaries which accompanied
the collages. Two hundred and thirty-four
questionnaires were submitted by the 
children[6]. Eighty questionnaires were
returned by the parents, which represented
over 33 per cent of the parents surveyed.
Production of collages
The initial analysis suggests that the older age
groups produced collages which were richer
in detail; and were able to offer more 
extended commentary on their collages, and
their reasons for the material which they had
chosen in representing the brand images. The
collages from the younger children tended to
be less detailed; and the commentaries were
more limited in scope. However, for all age
groups their views of the brands tended to be
established and the sportswear fashion brands
were generally held in higher esteem than the
high street store brands. There were clear
negative and positive aspects to their inter-
pretation of the brands and of the images
which they associated with the brands. For
instance the collages for Nike featured the
widest range of associations with sports; the
Nike “swoosh” was widely recognized; many
of the images in the Nike collages referred to
speed, endurance and the ability to push
oneself through the pain barrier; and there
was little or no confusion or mixing of brands
by the focus groups which produced the Nike
collages. In contrast, the collages for the high
street stores were not dominated by sport,
which suggested that the young consumers
did not associate the high street stores with
branded sports fashion goods; and many of
the collages featured people wearing non-
branded clothing.
There were some gender differences in the
approach to the task; to the collation of 
material for the collage; and to the inter-
pretation of the brand image both pictorially
via the collages and verbally via the commen-
taries. The girls tended to produce more
detailed collages, often covering the whole
area with pictures, and overlapping the 
pictures to create the effect of a mosaic. The
girls also tended to offer more varied insights
when interpreting the collages (e.g. associa-
tion between Adams’ clothing and “nursery
themes”) whereas the boys tended to focus
almost exclusively on the associations
between sportsmen and women, and the
general sporting theme, when creating and
discussing their collages.
Brand recognition
The purpose of this study was to investigate
the development of brand recognition among
young consumers. Brand recognition
emerged clearly among all the age groups,
297
Fashion brand preferences among young consumers
Margaret K. Hogg, Margaret Bruce and Alexander J. Hill
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 26 · Number 8 · 1998 · 293–300
Table III Breakdown of collages per brand by gender, year group/age
Boys Girls Mixed
ages ages ages Total
Collage/brand 7-8 8-9 9-10 7-8 8-9 9-10 7-8 8-9 9-10 collages
Adams – 12 2 – – – 1 2 8
Adidas 2 1 2 2 – – – 1 2 10
Asda 2 1 1 1 – – – 1 2 8
Marks & Spencer 2 1 2 1 1 1 – – 2 10
Nike 2 3 1 – 1 – – – – 7
Reebok 4 1 3 – – – – – 1 9
Total collages 12 8 11 6 2 1 – 3 9 52
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notably for the sportswear manufacturers
(Adidas, Nike and Reebok). The collages
showed clear evidence of the recognition of
brand names and logos; and the children used
symbols (such as the three stripes from 
Adidas, and the “swoosh” from Nike) to
represent the brands in their collages. The
young consumers’ perceptions of brand
imagery of sweatshirts was also clearly repre-
sented in the collages, as illustrated by the
discussion of Nike above. In their collages
children (particularly the boys) made strong
associations between sportsmen and different
sportswear brands. A variety of sporting
themes were evident in both the Adidas and
Reebok collages (e.g. football, boxing, tennis)
although the range of sports was narrower
than for the Nike collages. This confirms
Mowen’s view of the role of celebrity
endorsers in product promotion:
When a celebrity endorses a product in an
advertisement, associations are formed so that
the culturally derived meanings may be trans-
ferred to the product (Mowen, 1995, p. 384).
The collages demonstrated clear links, for
instance, between the boys’ support of their
local football teams (in the Premier League
and the First Division respectively) and 
certain football stars. Other stars, such as
athletes and tennis players, also appeared in
the collages associated with sportswear
brands. The association with prominent
sportsmen was an important attribute which
the children used in classifying and evaluating
the different brands. Again images of speed
and endurance emerged clearly in the brand
associations for Adidas and Reebok. 
In contrast the collages for the high street
stores were not dominated by sports. There
was brand recognition for the sweaters from
the high street stores and for the T-shirt from
the supermarket. However, the brand imagery
was not always as pronounced nor as clear cut
for these store brands as for the sportswear
brands. The brand imagery was linked to
other themes such as children’s images and
characters (e.g. the Teletubbies), which 
elicited mixed feelings from the participants.
One group of girls identified Adams as a
chainstore for children’s wear, and carefully
chose a range of “nursery” images to reflect
their picture of this brand (including pictures
of the “Teletubbies”). In some cases, the
imagery associated with the store brands was
quite negative. For instance one young boy
respondent described a store product as
“pants”[7], and then went on to look in the
magazines for a picture of a pair of men’s
pants, which he cut out and stuck in the group
collage.
There was also evidence of more indirect
associations between the product brands and
children’s perceptions. Some children used
colours to represent their image of the brands,
for instance white was associated with Nike;
and red with Adidas. 
Symbolic consumption
The data supported the importance attached
to clothing by young consumers; and their
awareness of the symbolic and emblematic
meanings of clothing and fashion goods, 
particularly the meanings attached to the
sportswear brands. The boys showed particular
facility in interpreting the symbolic meanings
attached to the sports brands which were
associated with different sports stars (such as
footballers, rugby players, athletes and tennis
players) and with different sports (e.g. football
and rugby).
Social influences on young consumers
The social influences exerted by families and
peer groups on children’s decision making
and product choice confirmed the findings of
the Beatty and Talpade’s (1994) study that
there are different perceptions of the influence
of children in family decision making. Parents
believe children overestimate their influence
in decision making, including in the choices
made in the product category of clothing.
Family influence relates clearly to perception
of brands as Hite and Hite (1994) indicated.
The influence of peers and “significant 
others” (such as sports stars) was central to
the acquisition of consumption symbolism.
Clothing was a product category about which
children had strong and clear views of the
images associated with different brands. This
was particularly true of the sportswear goods
rather than of the store brands; and under-
lines the particular significance of the opening
quotation, and the potential impact of sports-
wear manufacturers on established manufac-
turers and retailers in the children’s clothing
market.
Limitations
Some of the limitations of the research reported
here surround the nature of the research design
and sample. For instance the limitations of the
sampling (purposive) places restrictions on the
298
Fashion brand preferences among young consumers
Margaret K. Hogg, Margaret Bruce and Alexander J. Hill
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 26 · Number 8 · 1998 · 293–300
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generalizability – though not necessarily on the
applicability – of the findings. Another limita-
tion is that the findings derive from an
exploratory study which adopted an inter-
pretivist approach to study design, data 
collection and analysis; and this will also restrict
any claims to generalizability which might be
made about the findings. Further research
could extend the range of items examined
within the product category of clothing and
fashion beyond sweatshirts and T-shirts; and
could examine a wider number of brands. 
This was an exploratory study, and one aim
was to examine the appropriateness of a
combination of techniques for eliciting infor-
mation about young consumers’ recognition
of brands. This study confirmed the consider-
able challenges which face researchers collect-
ing data from young consumers. The cogni-
tive developmental stages of young consumers
restrict their ability to understand and move
beyond concrete to more abstract relation-
ships in their environments, and therefore the
methodology in the study design had to take
into account the mental operational skills of
this group. The projective technique of 
collages was specifically chosen to try and
elicit brand imagery from younger consumers
using creative, rather than pen and pencil,
tasks. However, the collages reflected the
different age levels of the participants. The
collages also clearly demonstrated the 
different levels of development (e.g. language
and literacy, spatial, manipulative, and
abstract reasoning) between the boys and
girls, which suggests that gender differences in
research can be as important for these
younger consumers, as for older consumers.
A more systematic approach to the differences
between the genders, and particularly to the
different levels of ability and skills across both
gender and age groups, would have enhanced
the research design, and would have helped in
the analysis and interpretation of the findings. 
Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to investigate
the perception and evaluation of branded
clothing among young consumers in the 7-10
age group and the role of social influences
(including advertising, celebrity endorsers,
peer groups and family) in affecting young
consumers’ perception and evaluation of
brands. We examined the potential contribu-
tion of this methodology for identifying and
exploring how young consumers perceive and
evaluate products and brands. We discussed
the impact of social influences on the forma-
tion of young consumers’ preferences; and we
recognized the importance for both acade-
mics and managersof understanding the
development of brand recognition and prefer-
ences, as well as the interpretation of the
functional and symbolic aspects of product
branding, by young consumers. 
Notes
1 “Ensure that the knowledge domain your task is
tapping is familiar to young children; provide the child
with rich contextual support for encoding and retriev-
ing information by employing familiar objects and
pictures in your experimental task; include only those
elements essential to your task; minimise the 
complexity of the information you present to the child;
employ language that conforms to the child’s conver-
sational norms; use language that highlights the
important features of your task; employ a goal that
will be readily apparent and meaningful to the child”
(Peracchio, 1991).
2 Drawn from the 1996/97 edition of the Guide for
Parents issued by the City Council’s Education Service.
3 In schools A, H and W. only the boys were available to
participate, in schools B and G all the boys and girls in
the age range were able to take part.
4 Some of the participants were distracted by the
articles in the magazines and began to read them in
depth; while other participants spent some time
looking for pictures of naked or scantily clad women –
not for inclusion in the collages, but for cutting out
and taking home. Although the magazines did not
have provocative titles, it was clear that some of the
photographs and images were inappropriate for this
age group. As a result of this, one modification was
made to the original research design. In all the
subsequent sessions, classes were given loose maga-
zine pages which had been shuffled (to exclude the
possibility of reading full articles); and the pages had
also been censored to exclude any provocative
material.
5 Three boys had been excluded for misbehaviour.
6 Three boys were removed by the class teacher, for
misbehaviour, before the questionnaire stage was
reached.
7 “Pants” means “bad”, “rubbish” for this age group.
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