Are lifestyle brands the future of the

high street?

Joanne Delaney
N0562598
Word Count: 3293

FASH20039
Lucy Stewart
Seminar Group 5

Abstract

High street retailers, such as River Island and New Look, have recently been expanding
their product offer and moving towards becoming lifestyle brands. This report analyses the
success of this rebranding so far and whether or not it would be beneficial in the future for
all brands to make this change. Branding, social media marketing and consumer loyalty
were all examined in relation to the high street brands which are already making this
change to gain a more in-depth understanding of their methods and success. Through
conducting both primary and secondary research, including a survey, focus groups and
interviews, a final conclusion was reached that becoming a lifestyle brand is in fact
beneficial for high street retailers. Recommendations for retailers looking at becoming a
lifestyle brand, as well as for further research into individual high street retailers were also
made, in order to provide a greater understanding of the advantages and disadvantages
for each specific brand.

i

Contents

Abstract i
Contents Page ii
List of Figures iii

1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Aims & Objectives 1
1.3 Research Scope & Limitations 2

2.0 Methodology
2.1 Research Approach 3
2.2 Secondary Research Methods 3
2.3 Primary Research Methods 3

3.0 Literature Review

3.1 Lifestyle Branding 5
3.2 Social Media Marketing 6
3.3 Consumer Loyalty 8

4.0 Research Analysis

4.1 Lifestyle Branding 10
4.2 Social Media Marketing 13
4.3 Consumer Loyalty 16

5.0 Summary
5.1 Conclusion 18
5.2 Recommendations 18

6.0 References 19

7.0 Bibliography 21

8.0 List of Appendices 23

ii

List Of Figures

- Cover Image (2016) Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BMGVWD5hRkL/?

taken-by=riverisland (Accessed: 9 November 2016).
- Figure 1 (2017) Authors own - Diagram to show Levitt’s levels of a brand
- Figure 2 (2016) Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BMPi_WfBLLQ/?taken-
by=riverisland (Accessed: 7 November 2016)
- Figure 3 (no date) Available at: http://www.learnmarketing.net/marketingmix.htm
(Accessed: 9 November 2016).
- Figure 4 (2016) Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BLzF24_jVjb/?taken-
by=newlookfashion (Accessed: 12 November 2016).
- Figure 5 (2017) Authors Own - Q3 Survey Responses
- Case Study Figure 1 (no date) Available at: http://www.newlookgroup.com/investors/
financial-highlights (Accessed: 5 February 2017).
- Case Study Figure 2 (2016) Available at: https://www.drapersonline.com/news/new-
look-names-location-for-fifth-mens-store/7002962.article (Accessed: 5 February 2017).
- Figure 6 (2017) Authors Own - New Look Email
- Figure 7 (2017) Authors Own - River Island Email
- Figure 8 (2017) Authors Own - Q7 Survey Responses
- Figure 9 (2016/17) Available at: https://www.instagram.com/hm/ (Accessed: 8 January
2017).
- Figure 10 (2017) Authors Own - Q6 Survey Responses

iii

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background

‘A lifestyle brand is a company that markets its products or services to embody

the interests, attitudes, and opinions of a group or a culture. Lifestyle brands
seek to inspire, guide, and motivate people, with the goal of their products
contributing to the definition of the consumer's way of life.’(Anon, 2016)

In the last few years, high-street retailers such as River Island and New Look have been
moving towards becoming lifestyle brands through expanding product offer and new styles
of branding. This report investigates the methods undertaken for this rebranding,
particularly in social media, and the effects it has had in relation to consumer loyalty. The
author has also made recommendations for high-street retailers as to whether or not this
will be a beneficial change for their brands in the future.

1.2 Aims & Objectives

Aim:
To assess whether or not becoming lifestyle brands would be beneficial to high street
retailers in the future

Objectives:
• To analyse the characteristics which make a fashion brand a lifestyle brand
• To observe current changes in high street trends relating to consumer lifestyle
• To investigate the advantages and disadvantages of lifestyle brands for a high street
retailer
• To provide a recommendation to high street retailers as to whether or not becoming a
lifestyle brand will be beneficial
1
1.3 Research Scope & Limitations

The topic of lifestyle brands has a very broad potential scope across all kinds of retailers.
This report focuses solely on high-street brands and whether or not becoming a lifestyle
brand is beneficial for them. In order to carry out the most relevant research, the report
concentrates on current changes in high street products, lifestyle branding and consumer
loyalty to help reach a final conclusion. This is due to the limitations of the report, such as
time constraints and word count, which make it unrealistic to research all aspects of a
lifestyle brand.

2

2.0 Methodology

2.1 Research Approach

This report undertakes an inductive research approach. The author had no preconceived
ideas about the outcome of the research and therefore whether or not the final
recommendation would be that becoming a lifestyle brand is beneficial or not. A
conclusion was reached based on data collected through both secondary and primary
research. Qualitative data such as survey results and observations were used to
understand consumer views on lifestyle brands in order to reach a conclusion for high
street retailers.

2.2 Secondary Research Methods

The majority of secondary research throughout this report was based on academic
journals, specifically about lifestyle branding, social media marketing and consumer
loyalty, primarily sources written in the last 5 years. This is because they offer the most up
to date, reliable research on the topic, as it is so current, and so there is a limited number
of books which are relevant. However, certain books such as Fashion Buying &
Merchandising Management (Jackson and Shaw, 2000) were be used to provide context
and to support relevant theories, for example, the marketing mix.

2.3 Primary Research Methods

Observations were the first source of primary research used in this report in order to gain a
better understanding of changing high street trends in terms of product offer and
marketing. Observations of online promotion including social media and emails, from high
street retailers such as River Island and New Look, were undertaken to gain further
knowledge of new product offer and how it is being promoted. 3
A survey was also undertaken to assess consumer views on lifestyle brands, and to what
extent they are buying into this new branding method in high street stores. 100 consumers
aged between 18-50 were asked ,as this is the main target market for most high street
brands. Also, as the aim of this report was to analyse whether of not becoming a lifestyle
brand would be beneficial for all types of high street stores, it is only relevant if all types of
consumer are included, hence the broad age range.

Two focus groups were also conducted in order to gain a more in depth understanding of
consumer loyalty and whether or not they are recognising changes in lifestyle branding.
The first was of the younger consumer, aged 18-30, and the second of the older
consumers, aged 30-50, so that the entire target market is accounted for. Each focus
group included around 6 participants to gain a range of opinions.

The final method of primary research were interviews with a Store Manager from River
Island, and a Sales Advisor in New Look. This was to help to see how effective lifestyle
branding has been from retailer perspective and whether or not store purchases are
reflecting the wide range of new categories which these companies offer. These retailers
were chosen as they are popular high street retailers and have the widest variety of recent
product launches.

4

3.0 Literature Review

3.1 Lifestyle Branding

‘ How can we understand brands as a non-verbal medium for thinking? How

does a brand’s combination of magic and logic work? It can be expressed as a
formula: brand = functionality + meaning’ (Kornberger, 2010)

Within fashion the functionality aspect of this formula has always been present in terms of
clothing product offer. The ‘meaning’ aspect is more obvious recently as more and more
high street stores are moving towards becoming a lifestyle brand. Marketing their brand as
a reflection of personality and values creates more of a ‘meaning’ for the brand, therefore
making it more relatable to consumers. This theory is also reflected through Austin and
Matos’ attributes of lifestyle brands. One of their proposed attributes is ‘Facilitation’, ‘the
ability to help the user engage in preferred behaviours or attain important personal
goals’ (Austin and Matos, 2013). One of the key product areas retailers are expanding into
is Sportswear, a reflection of the rapidly increasing trend in fitness within consumer
lifestyle. This attribute suggests that the sportswear products which retailers are stocking
can act as props to their consumers in achieving fitness goals, therefore moving the brand
one step closer to becoming a lifestyle brand.

Figure 1 5
When rebranding as a lifestyle brand, marketing is a key factor in informing consumers of
the new product offer and to entice them into buying into the brand. Levitt, 1962, created a
model which explains the different levels of a brand in relation to consumers, shown in
Figure 1 (Jackson and Shaw, 2008). The majority of high-street fashion retailers are at the
expected level, offering acceptable and competitive quality. However, in order to reach the
augmented level, the brand must possess status through representing the values of
consumers. Becoming a lifestyle brand will assist retailers in achieving this augmented
level as it will reflect the lifestyle of the consumer, appealing to all needs and values.
Marketing can be used to achieve this in many ways.

Figure 2

Figure 2 demonstrates the marketing mix which shows the four key elements of marketing
a business towards its target consumer. When becoming a lifestyle brand, the retailer must
consider how these elements will be affected, and adapt accordingly in order to keep all
aspects in line with the new image of the company. For example, the ‘product’ element will
change as the product offer expands into new categories such as sportswear and home
products.

6
3.2 Social Media Marketing

Promotion is one of the main elements of the marketing mix which will need to be adapted
to represent the company’s rebranding.

‘The term ‘promotion’ has a very wide application and is the combined
responsibility of a number of retailer functions. However, image promotion is
responsible for influencing the ‘fashionability’ perception consumers have of
products and the attitude or personality benefits they are buying into’(Jackson and
Shaw, 2000)

Image promotion is becoming increasingly popular among high-street retailers as the

trends in consumer use of social media increase. By portraying the ‘personality’ of the
brand, image promotion entices consumers to buy into whichever lifestyle brand best
reflects their own personality.

‘Association’ links products to other people, activities or images (Austin and Matos, 2013)
and is being more prominently used by high street fashion brands on social media such as
Instagram and Facebook. Retailers are posting more and more images of their products
being worn and/or used in real-life situations as opposed to just stand alone products,
often in a way which provides consumers with aspirational idea of how products can
improve lifestyle.

Figure 3 7
An example of this is River Island and their regular posts from bloggers on Instagram, as
shown in Figure 3. Posting photos of bloggers wearing their products helps consumers to
relate to the brand more, as well as providing them with fashion inspiration, and so they
are more likely to buy into the ’lifestyle’ of the company.

However, a study of how social media effects consumer perceptions of brands showed
that ‘user-generated social media communications have a greater effect on consumers’
overall perception of brands than firm-created social media communication’ (Schivinski
and Dabrowski, 2014).

Figure 4

This suggests that consumers are more likely to trust and believe in the image of a
company if they see other consumers are buying into the brand’s lifestyle. New Look is an
example of a brand which is achieving this through social media.
As shown in Figure 4, hosting an event for consumers created a positive ‘buzz’ around the
brand on their instagram, which would then portray a positive image of the company to
both present and potential consumers.

8
3.3 Consumer Loyalty

‘Customer loyalty is viewed as the strength of the relationship between an individual's

relative attitude and repeat patronage.’ (Dick and Basu, 1994). In choosing to become a
lifestyle brand, retailers are suggesting that they want their consumers to buy into the
overall lifestyle that they are offering, not just purchase certain products from them. The
brand must appeal to both the consumers values and personality as well as creating
customer satisfaction in order to create this strong relationship mentioned by Dick and
Basu.

By appealing to all consumer wants and needs, a brand is likely to gain repeat purchases
from consumers, as they start to realise that they can get everything they need from one
particular retailer. ‘A higher level of brand dependency is likely to increase customer
emotional attachment towards the brand’ (Theng So, Grant Parsons, and Yap, 2013). This
emotional attachment will then in turn increase consumer loyalty to the lifestyle of the
brand, therefore increasing sales and proving success in the rebranding.

However, some studies suggest that consumers do not hold loyalty to a specific brand,
even when completely satisfied with previous purchases and product offer. ‘Even when
satisfied and not regretful about their choice, customers may switch for the sake of variety’.
(Sánchez-García et al., 2012) This suggests that consumers will shop around brands
regardless of what each retailer offers, therefore forming the argument that consumers
may not buy into the lifestyle of one brand alone, and so becoming a lifestyle brand may
not actually benefit a retailer in terms of consumer loyalty.

9

4.0 Research Analysis

4.1 Lifestyle Branding

Through conducting the survey, it can be seen that the majority of consumers are aware of
what a lifestyle brand is and the products it provides. This suggests that the branding of
these lifestyle brands is correctly portraying what they have to offer. Responses such as
those shown in Figure 5 also reflect Austin and Matos’ theory, earlier mentioned in the
literature review, in that consumers feel that lifestyle brands help them to engage in their
preferred behaviours. However, one factor which cannot be determined from the questions
asked is whether or not specific high street retailers are individually achieving this.

Figure 5

Respondents were also asked which product categories they regularly shop in, in order to
assess whether or not a wider range of items would be beneficial for retailers. Out of the
100 respondents, it was found that at least 50% shop in key new product areas such as
sportswear and homewear, therefore suggesting that retailers who are still only offering
clothing are potentially missing out on 50% of consumer needs.

Similarly, it is evident that almost 50% of respondents shop in a specific sizing categories
such as Petite and Tall. This again shows that if retailers are not offering a variety of sizing
options they are not catering for the entire target market and therefore missing out on
potential sales.

10
A more in-depth understanding of consumer views on lifestyle branding can be seen from
the results of the focus groups conducted. When asked what they thought made a brand a
lifestyle brand, one participant said ‘They make you buy things you don't need’. This
suggests that by appealing to the lifestyle of a consumer with a variety of products, the
retailer is upselling their brand, therefore increasing sales. This is also supported by the
increase in revenue for New Look, as shown in the case study, since their product offer
has began to expand.

Through an interview conducted with a New Look sales advisor, a perspective of the
retailer is gained. One of the key points mentioned by the individual was that, in her
opinion, the company is currently in the process of becoming a lifestyle brand. She also
stated that she feels consumers are buying into all new product areas, as the ever growing
product offer can only be a result of the success of other new categories. This suggests
that, as a retailer, sales of all these new product categories can be seen, and so
consumers are therefore more likely to become more loyal to the brand as they can buy
everything they need there.

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Case Study - New Look

New Look is an international retailer, offering fashionable but affordable products to

women, men and teenage girls. In the UK, 92% of female shoppers and 48% of male
shoppers recognise the New Look brand (New Look, 2016) showing that the company is
well known in the UK and so their products are likely to reach a large variety of consumers.
The New Look annual report shows evidence of how they are expanding their product offer
recently, moving them towards becoming a lifestyle brand. The total revenue for the
company is on a steady increase, up by 5.4% in 2016 (Investors, no date), a potential
result of the ever growing product offer.

Figure 1

The active range was expanded into more stores, the petite range was extended and well
received by customers as well as the cosmetics and fragrance range, which is a key area
for the company, now being available in most stores (Kristiansen, 2016). One of the main
aims of the company is to ‘react quickly to the trends and successfully provide products to
suit our customers’ individual style’ (New Look, 2016) showing their goal of appealing to
consumer lifestyle.

One of the most drastic changes in the New Look product is the recent opening of 5 stand
alone menswear stores, showing that the retailer is aiming to appeal to the lifestyle of both
men and women. Although the menswear store has competition such as Zara and River
Island, for the most part they are not standalone stores, differentiating New Look from
competitors. (Ryan, 2016)

Figure 2

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4.2 Social Media Marketing

Observations of social media showed common themes in the promotion of lifestyle brands.
One key theme was that emails showed links to social media, as shown in figures 6 & 7,
primarily aimed at gaining more followers from the consumers on their mailing list.

Figure 6

Figure 7

This is a good marketing strategy for retailers as social media is a key way for them to
reach their target market, proven by some of the survey results, where 68% of consumers
said that they follow high street retailers on social media. (Figure 8)

Figure 8 13
Just over 73% of these consumers said that they followed retailers on Instagram, which
can recently be seen to be used by more and more retailers as the trend in image
promotion increases, as earlier mentioned in the literature review.

Through observations of retailer Instagram accounts, it can be seen that the companies
are now using these accounts to sell a ‘lifestyle’ to their consumer, rather than just posting
photos of products. For example, H&M include images of clothing, accessories and beauty
products, but choose to advertise them as flat lays combining all areas, or on models and
in beauty videos, as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9

Through doing this H&M are successfully portraying what they feel their company lifestyle
is, and therefore encouraging consumers to buy into more product areas.

This is supported by the views of consumers, gained through undertaking focus groups.
Within the younger group, participants all followed a variety of high street retailers on
Instagram, and had noticed a change in the social media promotion recently, reflecting the
recent change to becoming lifestyle brands. They said that ‘you can now shop looks
14
straight from Instagram’ and ‘companies such as Missguided have put a lot more money
into marketing bloggers’. Through using more bloggers, retailers are fulfilling the
‘association’ theory, earlier mentioned in section 3.2, as consumers can then see products
as more relatable to everyday life. This will in turn hopefully encourage more consumers to
buy.

When the older focus group were asked about social media, it was found that they did not
follow retailers on social media, and so this is not an effective method for the retailers to
reach all of their target market. However, after being shown photos of Instagram accounts
from the same week two years apart, participants noticed a significant change and also
said that ‘the new ranges shown fairly represent the new ranges which I have noticed in
store’.

From a retailing perspective, gained through interviews, it is clear to see that store staff
also feel that product offer now available in store is being fairly reflected on social media
accounts. Both the interviewees stated that they follow their store on social media and feel
that new ranges are being promoted well. This is beneficial for both consumers and
retailers as it means consumers can go into store and buy anything which catches their
eye on, for example, Instagram, which in turn increases sales and potential consumer
loyalty for the retailer.

15
4.3 Consumer Loyalty

When asked about their loyalty to specific retailers, the majority of survey participants said
that they shop around stores they are familiar with, compared to only 2% who said that
they are loyal to one retailer. (Figure 10)

Figure 10

However, the focus groups which were undertaken suggest that this loyalty could be
increased as the product categories offered in high street stores continues to expand. For
example, one participant in the younger focus group said that, when looking for a certain
product, she starts with the brands she is loyal to and will only shop around if she cannot
find what she is looking for. Therefore, if a high street retailer was to become a lifestyle
brand and offer all product categories that its consumers need, then they would have no
reason to shop around and consumer loyalty would dramatically increase.

Also, a couple of participants in the older focus group mentioned that they can only shop
in retailers which offer specific sizing categories such as Tall and Petite. This suggests that
their loyalty to a specific retailer would improve if these ranges were offered. During the
River Island interview, the manager stated that the Tall and Petite ranges which have
16
recently been launched have been very popular with consumers, proving that this wider
variety in sizing options is appealing to their target market.

Despite suggestions of wanting to be more loyal to certain high street brands, the majority
of focus group participants agreed that one major factor when deciding where to shop is
price. This supports the view that consumers may not be loyal even when satisfied with the
products, earlier mentioned in section 3.3. However, for high street retailers which are
known for offering lower prices, such as New Look, this may not be an influencing factor
on the success of becoming a lifestyle brand. When interviewed, the Sales Advisor stated
that a lot of customers that she sees in store are repeat purchasers, and that she feels that
they have strong customer loyalty. This could potentially be because of the lower prices
that they offer compared to other stores such as River Island and Zara, and therefore they
may have an advantage in terms of selling their lifestyle brand.

17
5.0 Summary

5.1 Conclusion

From the results of all research undertaken, it is clear to see that becoming a lifestyle
brand offers many benefits for high street retailers. Offering all products which the target
consumer needs will both increase sales and consumer loyalty for the retailers, helping
them to maintain their market positioning in the competitive high street environment. If
retailers were to remain as purely clothing retailers, high street consumers may turn to
lifestyle competitors for everything they need, therefore having a negative impact on the
success of the company. The ever growing trend in image promotion also leads to the fact
that promoting all new product categories through social media, particularly Instagram, is
one of the most effective ways to market this change towards lifestyle branding. However,
as value is still key to consumers, pricing of new ranges may have to be assessed in order
to make sure it will appeal to the target market.

5.2 Recommendations

• Current market share and consumer loyalty can be maintained through increasing
product categories on offer and becoming a lifestyle brand.
• In addition, social media promotion may need to be reviewed so that it is in line with the
lifestyle of the company and promotes all ranges effectively.
• To further the research consumers could be surveyed in relation to specific high street
retailers in order to ensure this will be a beneficial change for all high street companies,
rather than just the ones focused on in this report.

Word Count: 3293

18

6.0 References

- Anon (2016) ‘Lifestyle brand’, in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Lifestyle_brand (Accessed: 9 November 2016).
- Austin, C.G. and Matos, G. (2013) ASSOCIATION FOR CONSUMER RESEARCH
lifestyle brands: The elephant in the room. Available at: http://www.acrwebsite.org/
volumes/v41/acr_v41_15440.pdf (Accessed: 27 October 2016).
- Dick, A. and Basu, K. (1994) ‘Customer Loyalty: Toward an Integrated Conceptual
Framework’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 22.
- Investors (no date) Available at: http://www.newlookgroup.com/investors/financial-
highlights (Accessed: 11 January 2017).
- Jackson, T. and Shaw, D. (2000) Mastering fashion buying and merchandising
management - Tim Jackson - paperback. 3rd edn. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave
Macmillan.
- Jackson, T. and Shaw, D. (2008) Mastering fashion marketing (Palgrave master series).
New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Kornberger, M. (2010) Brand society: How brands transform management and lifestyle.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Kristiansen, A. (2016) Annual Report. Available at: http://www.newlookgroup.com/
system/files/uploads/financialdocs/fy16-annual-report.pdf (Accessed: 6 January 2017).
- Ryan, J. (2016) Store gallery: New look targets menswear market with standalone
stores. Available at: https://www.retail-week.com/stores/store-gallery-new-look-targets-
menswear-market-with-standalone-stores/7005020.article (Accessed: 11 January
2017).
- Sánchez-García, I., Pieters, R., Zeelenberg, M. and Bigné, E. (2012) ‘When satisfied
consumers do not return: Variety seeking’s effect on short- and long-term intentions’,
Psychology & Marketing, 29(1), pp. 15–24. doi: 10.1002/mar.20431.
- Schivinski, B. and Dabrowski, D. (2014) ‘The effect of social media communication on
consumer perceptions of brands’, Journal of Marketing Communications, , pp. 1–26.
doi: 10.1080/13527266.2013.871323.
- Theng So, J., Grant Parsons, A. and YapSheau‐Fen (2013) ‘Corporate branding,
19
emotional attachment and brand loyalty: The case of luxury fashion branding’, Journal of
Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 17(4), pp. 403–423. doi:
10.1108/jfmm-03-2013-0032

20

7.0 Bibliography

- Anon (2016) ‘Lifestyle brand’, in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Lifestyle_brand (Accessed: 9 November 2016).
- Austin, C.G. and Matos, G. (2013) ASSOCIATION FOR CONSUMER RESEARCH
lifestyle brands: The elephant in the room. Available at: http://www.acrwebsite.org/
volumes/v41/acr_v41_15440.pdf (Accessed: 27 October 2016).
- Bennett, D. and Clemente, M. (2016) ‘Do High Street Fashion Brands All Share the
Same Types of Customers?’, .
- Coursaris, C.K., van Osch, W. and Balogh, B.A. (2016) ‘Informing brand messaging
strategies via social media analytics’, Online Information Review, 40(1), pp. 6–24. doi:
10.1108/oir-02-2015-0062.
- Dick, A. and Basu, K. (1994) ‘Customer Loyalty: Toward an Integrated Conceptual
Framework’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 22.
- Investors (no date) Available at: http://www.newlookgroup.com/investors/financial-
highlights (Accessed: 11 January 2017).
- Ismail, R., Langfeldt Boye, C. and Muth, A. (2012) Customer Brand Relationship.
Available at: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:530408/FULLTEXT01.pdf
(Accessed: 10 November 2016).
- Jackson, T. and Shaw, D. (2000) Mastering fashion buying and merchandising
management - Tim Jackson - paperback. 3rd edn. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave
Macmillan.
- Jackson, T. and Shaw, D. (2008) Mastering fashion marketing (Palgrave master series).
New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Kornberger, M. (2010) Brand society: How brands transform management and lifestyle.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Kristiansen, A. (2016) Annual Report. Available at: http://www.newlookgroup.com/
system/files/uploads/financialdocs/fy16-annual-report.pdf (Accessed: 6 January 2017).
- Ryan, J. (2016) Store gallery: New look targets menswear market with standalone
stores. Available at: https://www.retail-week.com/stores/store-gallery-new-look-targets-
menswear-market-with-standalone-stores/7005020.article (Accessed: 11 January
2017).

21
- Sánchez-García, I., Pieters, R., Zeelenberg, M. and Bigné, E. (2012) ‘When satisfied
consumers do not return: Variety seeking’s effect on short- and long-term intentions’,
Psychology & Marketing, 29(1), pp. 15–24. doi: 10.1002/mar.20431.
- Schivinski, B. and Dabrowski, D. (2014) ‘The effect of social media communication on
consumer perceptions of brands’, Journal of Marketing Communications, , pp. 1–26.
doi: 10.1080/13527266.2013.871323.
- Theng So, J., Grant Parsons, A. and YapSheau‐Fen (2013) ‘Corporate branding,
emotional attachment and brand loyalty: The case of luxury fashion branding’, Journal
of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 17(4), pp. 403–423.
doi: 10.1108/jfmm-03-2013-0032

22
8.0 List of Appendices

- Gantt Chart 24
- Survey Questions 25
- Focus Group Questions 27
- Interview Questions 28

23

 Gantt Chart

24
Survey Questions

25
26
Focus Group - 18-30/30-50

‘A lifestyle brand is a company that markets its products or services to embody the
interests, attitudes, and opinions of a group or a culture. Lifestyle brands seek to inspire,
guide, and motivate people, with the goal of their products contributing to the definition of
the consumer's way of life.’(Anon, 2016)

1. What do you think makes a brand a ‘lifestyle’ brand?

2. Which retailers do you feel are becoming lifestyle brands?

3. Are you loyal to specific retailers or do you shop around for different product categories?

4. Do you follow high street retailers on social media? If yes which ones?
- Question adapted to include websites to suit older participants

5. Have you noticed any changes in their social media promotion in the last couple of
years?
- Instagram example shown to older participants

27

Interview with River Island Store Manager/New Look Sales Advisor

1. What do you think makes a brand a lifestyle brand?

The definition I have used for a lifestyle brand is

‘A lifestyle brand is a company that markets its products or services to embody the
interests, attitudes, and opinions of a group or a culture. Lifestyle brands seek to inspire,
guide, and motivate people, with the goal of their products contributing to the definition of
the consumer's way of life.’(Anon, 2016)

2. Do you think (Retailer) could be considered a lifestyle brand within the high street?
Why?

3. Do you think customers are buying into all of the new product ranges?

4. When in store, do you think that consumers often come in to make repeat purchases?

5. Which social media platforms do you follow (Retailer) on?

6. Do you think the new product offer is portrayed well within their social media
promotion?

28