15 A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Segment:

Females aged 18-30 (roughly), with an interest or need in fitness apparel

Interview 1: my roommate, a 21-year-old girl

For this buyer, quality and style mattered the most. When shopping for activewear, it was important that she got good quality products, that also fit her unique style. For her, price was not much of an issue. She mentioned one of her favorite brands being LuluLemon. Though their leggings start at around $100 a pair, in her opinion they last forever (and come with a lifetime warranty, so they will replace them), are cute and comfortable, and you can get them hemmed for free. In her opinion, she liked having a few pairs of more expensive items that she really liked, than multiple pairs of cheaper ones. She also said she did most of her shopping online, even though there were some Lulu stores, they never had the unique fun designs available in store. I mentioned when buying things online, there are things like sezzle and after pay, that let you make monthly payments of the purchase rather than buy it in full. She said that she did not use these options, and just paid for her items in full. Her post purchase evaluation mostly consisted of how long the product lasted. Did it start fraying after one or two washes, did it hold up well in the gym and doing different workouts, etc.

Interview 2: my friends mom who is a yoga instructor

For this interview I wanted to speak to someone a little bit older. For her, comfort and affordability were the most important. She did prefer to buy her clothes in store, but did shop at more popular brands that she knew of online. For her, she did not mind spending a bit more on items if the quality was worth it. Being a yoga instructor, she had specific criteria of how she wanted things to look, feel, and perform. She was very open to trying different items, and often found that the primary thing that determined her decision was how the items felt/fit. She wanted comfort the most, and because of this did majority of her shopping in person. Like stated previously, she has shopped online before, but preferred to do that with reputable brands that she has either tried before or heard good things about. Her post purchase evaluation was mostly how well the items held up though out the day. She teaches multiple yoga classes each day, so how comfortable and how well the items performed during these long days were the key factor in decided whether or not it was a good purchase.

Interview 3:  a girl that works at the gym, 19

This buyer found that she cared a lot about brand name items. She believed this was because these well-known brands carried items that fit all the criteria she looked for, versus buying others she felt like she may have to give up one of things she found important. She wanted good quality, things that were sweat proof during workouts, squat proof for the leggings, and things that lasted a long time. She also wanted comfort, things that were comfortable during the workouts, and stayed in place, so she wasn't having to constantly pull things up/down. She also wanted things that were stylish. She liked having nice outfits to wear to the gym, so she wanted more than just simple designs. Due to all of these things, she did not so much look at price, but definitely does take advantage when her favorite brands have sales. A lot of the brands she likes were online so that is where she did most of her shopping. However, she does like buying in store and found that there are certain items she tends to buy in stores rather than online (tops and shoes). Her post purchase evaluation consisted of how well the items held up during her workouts. To her nothing else mattered if she felt like the items did not suit her workouts well. 

Conclusion:

Overall it seemed like most of the people in this segment care about the quality of the product. Many of the women here were willing to not look at price if they felt as though they were receiving higher quality. Many of them also liked style and comfort as well. I would say that the people in this segment mainly look at quality, style, comfort, and then price last when making these purchases. Because these are typically smaller purchases, the segment does not have to worry about taking out loans or anything like that, and mostly just buy their products outright. Majority of them used the same post-purchase evaluation and that was how good the quality of the products were- did they have a long life, did they perform well during workouts, etc.