Young Consumers’ Fashion Brand Preferences. An Investigation among Students in Romania

Abstract

The literature contends that youth are particularly fashion- and brand-sensitive, and they mostly prefer fast fashion brands; however, up to now, there has been little empirical data regarding Romanian youth’s fashion brand preferences. In order to fill this gap, the article presents the results of an exploratory research based on mixed methodology which was realized among students in Cluj-Napoca, Romania in connection with their fashion brand preferences. The online survey showed that a little more than half of the students do have a preferred fashion brand, and these are indeed mostly fast fashion brands. However, taken relatively, i .e. compared to other cues, the brand of the apparel is less important for the students. The most brand-sensitive individuals are those who are fashion involved, early adopters of trends, and less price-sensitive. The narratives of the focus-group research enriched the insight about students’ brand preferences.