1. Consumer Buying Behaviour, Customer Handling, Retail
Marketing and Sales Strategies of ZARA
By:- Seraj and Rajkumar
Submitted to:- Dr. Ruchika Dawar

2. Table of Contents
● Consumer buying behavior
● Importance of Consumer buying behavior
● Consumer buying behavior for ZARA
● Identify gaps in customer handling
● Retail Marketing & Sales strategies
● Learnings

3. Consumer buying behavior
Consumer buying behavior refers to the
decision-making process and actions that
individuals or households undertake when
purchasing products or services

4. Importance of Consumer buying behavior
● Modern Philosophy - To understand needs and wants
● Consumer behavior helps in achieving marketing goals
● Improves performance of the entire distribution network (Dealers and Salesmen)
● More relevant marketing program
● Adjusting marketing program over time
● Predicting market trend
● Consumer differentiation
● Retention of consumers
● More competitive advantages
● Developing new products
● Dynamic nature of market

5. Data Collections
Participant Type Number of Participants
Total Questionnaires Send 550+
Total Responses Collected 102
College Students 33
Working 54
Fast Fashion Market Size & Growth (2023-2028):
● The fast fashion market is valued at US$ 1002.3 Million in 2022 and is anticipated to increase to
US$ 1,401.5 Million by 2028, with a growing CAGR of 5.2% in the next six years.
● Zara's market share is 11% of the worldwide apparel industry, and it enjoys the highest profit
margin of all its competitors
● India Market Revenue - Rs 2,562.50 crore for FY23, 264.30 crore for FY23

6. Consumer buying behavior for ZARA
Consumer buying behavior is influenced by various internal and external factors, including:
● Psychological Factors
○ The human psychology plays a crucial role in designing the consumer’s preferences and
likes or dislikes for a particular product or services
○ These factors are difficult to measure but are powerful enough.
○ Motivation
○ Perception
○ Learning
○ Attitudes
● Personal Factors
○ Age
○ Gender
○ Occupations
● Social Factors - Friends, Family, Officemate

7. Psychological Factors:-
Do you shop from ZARA?
If yes, how frequently.
Do you shop from ZARA? If yes, how
frequently.

8. …cont
Do Zara's product / services meet your
expectations ?
According to the survey conducted, 30.3% people purchase from ZARA, at least once in six months, or
twice a year, 28.1% purchase from ZARA once in 3 months and 19.1% purchase once a month and
19.1% purchase once in 6 months. 13.7% of people out of 102 people do not prefer shopping from ZARA.
Customer perception of ZARA incorporates a multitude of areas that touch upon the customer interactions
with the brand. ZARA has created a brand reputation that instills confidence amongst its customers.
80.4% agreed that ZARA products and services meet their expectations.

9. Personal Factors
Age ?
Gender ? Occupation ?

10. ...cont
The 102 respondents helped us to understand the personal factors such as age and lifecycle
stage, occupation, economic circumstances, lifestyle etc. Even though ZARA accommodates
merchandise for different segments like young & trendy, young professionals, thriving middle
class and also loyalists above 35 years of age. But majorly, the brand caters to the 16-35 age
group. In virtually every society in the world, women have primary caregiving responsibilities.
In addition to buying for themselves, women buy on behalf of husbands, partners, kids etc
and it’s one of the reasons that ZARA sees more female buyers (68.6%) as compared to men
(31.4%). The brand is perceived as a premium brand by the students (32.4%) and working
professionals (53.9%)

11. Social Factors
On a scale of 1-5 how good is customer handling of ZARA

12. …cont
With survey of 102 respondents the social factors were also understood. It includes
groups (reference groups, aspirational groups and member groups), family, roles and
status. The family is maybe the most influencing factor for an individual. With ZARA's
referral policy intact, consumers who purchase from the brand refer to their family and
friends (66.6%).

13. Gaps in ZARA’s customer handling & Suggestion for filling the gaps
● Brand Value
● Customer Services
● Integration of Online and Offline sales services
● Social Media Presence
● Customer Handling

14. Brand Value

15. …cont

16. …cont
As per the primary data collected, Price, Collection and Variety are three things’ customers want to
improve. The least bought categories are Sportswear, Innerwear and Home and Furnishings should
be worked on. ZARA has already expanded its retail experience in India.
However due to the COVID-19 hit, every brand had to take a step back. This is a result of insufficient
funds to invest at the moment. In such a scenario ZARA should look at specialty stores that cater to
one single category such as only menswear, only women's wear and so on.
This can be achieved by either converting a few existing stores or reopening new stores in this
format. Following such a format ZARA can utilize the same store sizes to display a wider variety of
merchandise for a given category.

17. Customer Service

18. …cont
75-80% respondents think that ZARA meet their
expectations as well deliver the same products just as
looked in online websites. 51% respondents preferred
other brands over ZARA and this is something the
company needs to focus on and do the competitor
analysis.

19. Integration of offline and online sales services
In order to be on par with its competitor and allow customers a hassle-free sales process, ZARA
should incorporate the integration of offline and online sales services. This will encourage even
online customers to come to the retail outlet. This will not just bring new customers to the ZARA
store but will also encourage more sales as customers are likely to purchase more when they
experience a retail sale rather than in comparison to web sales. The above data from our primary
survey also states customers prefer in-store more than any other channel. Even though ZARA
has a lot of other options, people usually do not prefer purchase from other channels and an
integration of channels will bring more comfort to customers and make retail selling easier.

20. Social Media Presence
Even though ZARA marketing strategies are on par and have good follower count
as per respondents ZARA is unable to motivate customers to follow them on social
media channels. Company updates their offers and new arrivals through social
media and customers missing on that is a huge gap that is supposed to be worked
on.

21. Customer Handling

22. …cont

23. …cont
Even though the staff is helpful and courteous and the sales person has in depth
knowledge of the products in store. However, the sales staff does not inform the
customers about the loyalty program when asked about discounts.
The global loyalty program has started in year 2020 and has 10 lakh customers enrolled
under it. The loyalty program is used by customers as a mere way to avail discounts,
mentions a former employee at ZARA.
Therefore, the company should leverage this approach of customers and encourage more
customers to join the loyalty program. This needs to be done at the retail level by the
sales executives. Such information will not only act as a driver to retail sales but also help
the company gain a pool of customers which it can further engage by constant
promotions.

24. Retail Marketing and Sales Strategies
● Localized Market Research - Conduct thorough market research to understand the preferences,
buying behaviors, and fashion trends of Indian consumers. This will help identify the target
audience, determine the most popular product categories, and tailor the marketing and sales efforts
accordingly.
● Buy Online - Try Offline - Take/Exchange Offline
● Localized Marketing Campaigns - Incorporate elements of Indian culture, festivals, and
celebrations into advertising and promotional activities
● Collaboration with Local Influencers
● Data-Driven Decision Making - Analysis of “online purchase data” with “offline purchase data” to
know the customer better.
● Target Tier 2 cities - Zara currently operates 21 stores across 11 cities. Conduct specific market
research focused on Tier 2 cities to understand the preferences, buying behaviors, and fashion
trends of consumers in these areas. Identify the local influencers, popular fashion styles, and
cultural nuances that resonate with the target audience in Tier 2 cities.

25. Learning…
● Consumer behavior is complex and can be influenced by various factors. Cultural and individual
differences further contribute to variations in consumer behavior
● Needs, Wants, and Demands - the distinction between needs (basic requirements for survival),
wants (specific desires shaped by culture and individual personality), and demands (wants backed
by purchasing power).
● Decision-Making Process
● Internal Influences - the psychological factors that influence consumer behavior, such as
perception, motivation, learning, attitudes, beliefs, and personality traits
● Social Influences
● Consumer Research - Surveys, focus groups, interviews
● Consumer Attitudes and Perception - How consumers form attitudes toward products and brands
and how these attitudes influence their purchasing decisions
● Influences of Marketing and Advertising
● Consumer Satisfaction and Loyalty
● Ethical and Sustainable Consumer Behavior - concerns about social and environmental issues
influence their purchasing decisions