The Impact of Social Media on the Fashion Industry

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to address social media as a marketing strategy to manage market shrinkage in fashion and luxury markets. During the financial crisis of 2008, retailers faced a dilemma relating to both the economic environment and psychographic issues: how to convince consumers of fashion and luxury goods to purchase when even the wealthy cut back, and how to plan for spring when sales are declining at retail stores. To understand further social media, as a marketing strategy for managing marketing shrinkage for an upscale segment, a study was conducted on attendees of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York to examine the relationship between social media and fashion and its relationship to fashion week. The author synthesizes extant knowledge on the subject, and provides recommendations for future research.