EXERCISE 1: Choose a trend and consumer segment and find an article
- Search for a trend for your report
- Identify which consumer group or demographic is most influenced by this trend
- Using the resources listed below, find and access current industry news related to the trend (basically, why is it an important trend)
- Also look for social, economic, environmental and other factors that influence the trend
- You will need to identify 3 relevant articles from at least 2 different sources of information for a class assignment, so start early!
Finding Current Trends and Fashion News
Your first task is to identify a trend you would like to use for your final project. You can do this by looking at fashion resources like Stylesight, searching or browsing fashion publications on the Web or via databases like Business Source Complete (which contain thousands of popular and industry magazines like WWD), or just looking around you!
Below are links to some resources to get you started.
- Retail Information NewsYou must sign in to read some articles. Includes sections such as case studies, reports, news.
- Business of FashionToday, the website has grown to leverage a network of savvy writers and fashion insiders in style capitals around the world, delivering fashion business intelligence on emerging designers, disruptive technologies and global brands that are making their mark on the industry at a time of unprecedented change.
- Pew Research CenterPew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. They conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research.
- National Retail FederationNRF is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and Internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries.
- The Robin ReportThe Robin Report is published monthly for senior executives in the retail, fashion, beauty, consumer products and related industries. The mission of The Robin Report is to provide new strategic insight and meaningful perspective into the retail industry. It is intended to be provocative, opinionated, and lively, providing an inside-out report on the major issues, events, and trends in the retail sector.
- WWDFormerly Women’s wear daily, this is browsable online. Use link under "Full text available from Women's Wear Daily: 05/22/2002 to present Connect to full text." for original publication.
- Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle MonitorThe Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor provides a range of marketing data and analyses to better inform decision makers on the global cotton supply chain.
- Business Source CompleteBusiness Source Complete provides full text for scholarly business journals and other sources, including full text for more than 1,800 peer-reviewed business publications. Coverage includes virtually all subject areas related to business. This database provides full text (PDF) for top scholarly journals, including the Harvard Business Review. It also includes industry and country reports from Euromonitor and company and industry reports from Datamonitor.
Picking a Consumer Market Segment
For your project, you'll not only need to pick a trend to research but also a consumer market to target. Though fashion magazines and other media sometimes emphasize young or relatively affluent consumers, there's a whole world of customers that you can cater to and should not ignore. The resources below can help you decide what consumer segment to focus on.
- Mintel AcademicOffers yearly market research reports covering UK, Europe, US and International consumer markets for products, markets and demographics. Analysis includes market sizes and forecasts, market trends, market segmentation, competitive context, broken down segment performances, retail channels, consumer demographics and survey results, leading companies, brand share, marketing strategies, and more.
- PassportExcellent resource for international industries, countries, markets, and products. Market research reports, statistics, and analyst reports cover consumer market sizes, country market data, forecasts, consumer lifestyles, companies and brands, and many product & location specific reports.
- SimplyAnalyticsSimplyAnalytics is a web-based mapping application that allows you to create thematic maps and reports using demographic, business, and marketing data for the United States. Excellent source for locating demographic and marketing data for specific geographic locations.
Examples of Trend and Consumer Market Segments
You can choose a trend and consumer segment of interest to you such as:
I'm interested in the market for fashion mobile phone accessories for younger kids
- TREND: technology/mobile phone accessories
- CONSUMER SEGMENT: Kids from 8-12 (aka Tweens or Gen Z) and their parents
Journal Databases and Key Journals
Next, you'll want to get an idea of the external factors that might affect your trend and consumer segment. For example, the economic downturn affects retail businesses; demographic changes can affect your market; and new advances in textile technology can affect your bottom line. You can look at current news sources like Business Source Premier or textile databases like Textile Technology Index to search for this information.
- Business Source CompleteBusiness Source Complete provides full text for scholarly business journals and other sources, including full text for more than 1,800 peer-reviewed business publications. Coverage includes virtually all subject areas related to business. This database provides full text (PDF) for top scholarly journals, including the Harvard Business Review. It also includes industry and country reports from Euromonitor and company and industry reports from Datamonitor.
- Periodicals Index OnlineIndex to thousands of periodicals in the arts, humanities and social sciences across more than 300 years, covering each periodical from its first issue. Every article is indexed. The scope is international, including journals in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and other languages. Previously known as Periodicals Contents Index (PCI).
- FactivaFull-text online service for international news and business information. Covers over 28,000 sources in 23 languages in more than 150 countries. Some company and market research is included. Factiva includes full-text coverage of the Wall Street Journal.
- Textile Technology IndexTextile Technology Index provides extensive coverage of the scientific and technological aspects of textile production and processing. First published in 1944, the collection traces the body of knowledge in textile science and technology as far back as the 1800's. The Textile Technology Index contains indexing and abstracting for over 400 periodical titles, and for thousands of titles drawn from sources such as books, conferences, theses, technical reports, and trade literature. Extensive and thorough coverage is given to subjects such as manufacturing techniques, textile end products, chemicals and dyes, the properties of natural and synthetic fibers and yarns, environmental issues, and the related areas of chemistry, biology, and physics.
- Harvard Business ReviewThis magazine, produced by the Harvard’s Graduate School of Business Administration, reviews current trends. For current issues, use the Business Source Complete link.