Burberry Case Study about Consumer Behavior

By: Chenoy Ceil

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3520418

Executive Summary

Consumer behavior is an essential part of the marketing for brands that are trying to influence the

purchasing behavior of consumers. Burberry as a brand has been able to influence the purchase

decisions of consumers by utilizing motivational, perception, personality and lifestyle strategies.

This paper looks at the various factors that are utilized by Burberry that act as marketing

stimulus for influencing the purchasing decision of their consumers. Some recommendations

dealing with the brand perception of Burberry are also provided to help Burberry improve their

sales and create a unique fashion brand for itself. Motivation, personality and emotion are

important factors that affect consumer decision making, especially in the case of high fashion

products. Looking at all these various factors in detail, this paper concludes that motivation,

perception, personality and lifestyle have been carefully utilized by Burberry to reposition its

brand for the modern age.

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 2

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 4

2. How Burberry uses Motivational Theories ............................................................................................... 5

3. How Burberry uses Perception Theories .................................................................................................. 6

4. How Burberry uses Personality Theories .................................................................................................. 8

5. How Burberry uses Lifestyle Theories ..................................................................................................... 9

6. Recommendations and Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 12

References ................................................................................................................................................... 13

Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 15

Appendix A: Burberry Strategy ............................................................................................................... 15

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1. Introduction

Understanding consumer behavior in the 21st century requires a close understanding of how

consumers have evolved in the digital age. Consumer behavior is the study of how consumers

make, select, dispose or purchase ideas, products, services or experiences to satisfy their needs

and desires (Solomon, 2017). Consumers and customers are the end users or buyers of the goods

and services, and to study what influences their decisions is important for business to thrive and

grow (Noel, 2009).

Luxury brands and the concept of luxury fashion brands have exploded internationally in the last

20 years (Balmer and Burghausen, 2015). Burberry as a luxury brand was started in the year

1856 by Thomas Burberry and it soon became eponymous as a luxury brand. The first store of

Burberry opened in the year 1891 in Haymarket, London (Robins and Ricca, 2012).

Headquartered in London, Burberry designs, manufactures and sells ready to wear clothes and

accessories that are built on innovation and luxury.

This paper looks at how consumer goods are purchased and utilized by consumers and what

motivations drive the consumer behavior. Looking specifically at the luxury brand Burberry, the

analysis is made of how Burberry uses motivational, perception, personality, and lifestyle

theories to drive consumers towards the brand. Marketing’s impact on consumers is immense in

driving the perception of the brand and Burberry has been able to utilize various strategies to

market the brand effectively.

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2. How Burberry uses Motivational Theories

Burberry as a brand represents the clean, British style of traditional apparel with clean looks and

high-quality material (Noel, 2009). The brand has strengthened itself as a luxury brand with its

indistinguishable pattern and celebrity endorsements that have helped the brand become globally

recognized (Peng and Chen, 2012).

Motivation is often described as an energizing force that activates certain behaviours influencing

decision making (Peng and Chen, 2012). Motivation theories range from genetic biological

approaches to needs-based approach towards consumer behavior. Maslow forwarded the

hierarchy of needs theory to establish the importance of needs such as survival, safety, love,

esteem and self-actualization, which are all at the root of any human being (Wright, 2006).

Motivation starts with a physiological or psychological need and is reinforced by a deep urge or

desire to achieve that goal or incentive (Wright, 2006). Maslow’s need hierarchy theory explains

what motivates consumers to own or acquire a brand of luxury product. The need for esteem and

a positive self-image explains why consumers need to own luxury brands such as Burberry.

Motivation theories range from utilitarian motivation to hedonic motivation. While utilitarian

focuses on the most basic needs, hedonic motivation is formed from luxury items and the need to

engage in latest fashion. Burberry has targeted the market segmentation of luxury fashion goods

and utilizes various marketing campaigns to motivate consumers to buy their products

(Stankeviciute and Hoffmann, 2012).

By having a diverse range of products that are marketed effectively across the globe based on the

purchasing power of the consumers, Burberry has been able to create a unique differentiation

within its own brand (Pike, 2015). This has helped the brand to cater to the needs of the

consumers based on their demands. Burberry has also focused on utilizing social media to learn
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about the latest fashion trends that are driving the fashion circles around the globe. By listening

to their consumers effectively, Burberry has been able to introduce create your own style brand

of clothing that appeals to the youth. Burberry has also made inroads into streetwear and casual

wear those appeals to the latest fashion trends (Burberry, 2018). By understanding the motivation

behind the fashion choices of the modern generation, Burberry has been able to strategically

position itself as a lifestyle choice for their heritage consumers as well as create new and unique

innovative designs for their modern consumers.

3. How Burberry uses Perception Theories

Perception is how consumers perceive the brand and what factors influence the perception of the

end users. Perception is defined as how consumers process information when exposed to

marketing stimuli, that ultimately affect their decision making (Stankeviciute and Hoffmann,

2012). In the age of digital development and technology advancement, Burberry utilizes social

media and brand extension strategies to increase profits and satiate shareholders’ requirements

(Stankeviciute and Hoffmann, 2012). Earlier to 2006, the Burberry brand was associated with

trench coats. However, between 2006 and 2014, the brand transformed itself under the leadership

of CEO, Adriana Ahrendts to become a leading fashion house with revenue skyrocketing from

743 million pounds in 2006 to 2523 million pounds in 2015 (Na, 2016).

Burberry has been successful as a brand due to its latest marketing strategies with commercials,

celebrity brand endorsements, iconic images, photo shoots and exclusivity for its consumers

(Luttrell, 2018). Burberry has carefully crafted its brand image as a luxury brand, targeting high

net worth individuals to showcase the usage of its products.

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Burberry has been able to influence the perception about the brand by utilizing steady growth

methods. Initially, the brand focused on a small array of core products and narrow consumer

base of middle-aged, fashion conservative men who wanted to consume the brand (Pike, 2015).

However, in the modern age, perception is driven by modern designs and streetwear style that is

different from the heritage clothing of Burberry. In 2017, Burberry took the initiative for a new

strategy to focus on the latest designs that will help the brand to redefine the perception of the

brand (Burberry, 2018). To meet this objective, the brand is now focusing on streetwear and

modern style and has introduced a two phase strategy. In the first phase, the brand will focus on

content creation and crating the brand perception with social media and innovative

advertisements (Burberry, 2018). With personalized luxury products, Burberry is focusing on

drawing the attention of the modern fashion icons and utilizing digital partnerships with global

media houses to showcase the innovative designs of Burberry. Burberry is also focusing on

improving the luxury store experiences by revamping its existing stores with newer designs

(Burberry, 2018). The focus is on improving the customer experience of the luxury brand, and to

achieve it Burberry are utilizing various avenues to constantly engage with the customer.

In the 21st century, corporations are not just focusing on profit maximization, but also have a

need to become sustainable and showcase their impact on the communities in which they thrive.

To achieve the sustainable perception within their consumers, Burberry has already created the

Burberry foundation that focuses on tackling women inequality issues (Burberry, 2018). The

brand is also focusing on creating community cohesion by facilitating access to creative

industries to numerous backward society individuals and women (Burberry, 2018). This has

tremendously helped the brand to establish itself as a sustainable brand.

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4. How Burberry uses Personality Theories

Personality is defined as the behavioural tendencies that are reflected by individuals and brands

when they are subjected to different situations. Understanding the personality of the consumer is

important for brands to understand what factors will influence their purchase decisions (Balmer

and Chen, 2017). Burberry has created the brand personality to help it achieve its goals of brand

perception. To this end, the brand has showcased its bags, accessories, and clothing lines as

fashionable, yet practical (Balmer and Chen, 2017). The bags are durable and this helped the

brand to create the image of sincere and trusted (Balmer and Chen, 2017). As a globally

recognized brand, Burberry has marketed itself as epitomizing the British style of dressing with a

sense of recognizable design, image of elegance, and focus on quality rather than extravagance

(Balmer and Chen, 2017). This has clearly worked to their favour in promoting the brand image

in Asian countries such as India and China. The perception of the brand is not just motivated by

popular culture, royalty and traditionalism, but also by its sense of usage and practicality.

Burberry has clearly utilized its marketing strategies to expand the brand image and personality

to become accessible within Europe as well as to other parts of the world.

Burberry started off as manufacturing raincoats but was able to transform the personality of the

brand as a posh consumption good with its cool fashion label (Wooton and Horne, 2010). The

high end fashion associated with the Burberry brand has helped it to maintain its fan following

around the world (Wooton and Horne, 2010). With its easily distinguishable pattern, Burberry

managed to create a unique brand experience for its consumers. However, Burberry was able to

create the unique perception of the brand by targeting specific consumer groups who can afford

the pricing (Wooton and Horne, 2010). As a brand, Burberry had to re-position and re-build its

image from raincoat manufacturers to supplier and manufacturer of high end fashion.
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The personality theories reflect how a person responds to a certain stimuli that motivate their

decision making. Under the Freudian model, personality is often created in the subconscious and

it is the unconscious needs that drive a person to make purchase decisions (Kumar, 2008). For a

consumer to make purchasing decisions, it is important for their personality to reflect the kind of

need that they have. Freud’s personality theory of id, ego and superego can be utilized for

drawing the needs of consumers as the pleasure needs are often left hidden in the submerged

unconscious brain (Wright, 2006). Burberry has tapped into this subconscious need of consumers

to own luxury products that reflect their brand image. Burberry utilizes its brand image to create

a brand personality that is instantly likeable, trustworthy and credible. To cater to the

subconscious needs of consumers, Burberry highlight’s its value as creating self-esteem among

its consumers (Choi and Shen, 2017).

5. How Burberry uses Lifestyle Theories

Lifestyle is defined as how individuals have created values around how they behave. Lifestyle is

important for brands to understand the consumer behavior as this will allow brands to provide

the right form of marketing stimuli to influence their decisions. Burberry has been able to create

the lifestyle brand with its approach towards utilizing online technology to enhance their

performance around the globe (Choi and Shen, 2017). Lifestyle is a choice of living that is

adopted by the consumer to reflect how that person utilizes its money and time to spend.

Burberry targets the high net worth individual market with customized advertisements that hit

the target market with content that exhibits elegant, stylish, and simple clothing designs. To

connect with consumers and create the brand image, the company also showcases past

campaigns from previous years that bring back the long standing history of the brand as a luxury
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product (Luttrell, 2018). When buying a Burberry product, consumers associate themselves with

the British lifestyle and the rich heritage and craftsmanship of the brand (Pike, 2015). There is

distinctness to the Burberry brand that adds to the history of the company and helps consumers to

easily associate with the brand. Consumption of Burberry products is based on the associations

that the brand managers and marketers have been able to generate. Burberry marketers have been

able to update the meanings associated with traditional Burberry trench-coats and patterns by

transforming the signature garments as design classics and continuity products with long life-

spans (Pike, 2015).

Lifestyle consumption is based on different lifestyle dimensions such as interests, opinions and

activities. To capture the interest of consumers, Burberry has constantly balanced its traditional

patterns with careful extensions and responsive innovations that are reflective of modern fashion

trends (Pike, 2015). Further, Burberry’s unique positioning compared to its competitors has also

helped the brand to set itself apart from others. With unique positioning in terms of style and

pricing, Burberry has made a quick turnaround from the economic downturn of 2008 to become

a successful fashion brand (Pike, 2015). This is largely due to the defined target market for

Burberry that has helped the brand to market itself to high net worth individuals. Burberry has

also created diverse collections with differing distribution channels, demographic reach and price

points (Pike, 2015). While Burberry London collections have been targeted towards geographies

with lower price points, Burberry Lifestyle diffusion collection has dominated sales by volume

due to higher price and gross margin garments from the Prorsum and London collections (Pike,

2015).

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 Burberry Positioning

Source: Pike, 2015

Burberry utilizes various eMarketing channels such as traditional media and social media to

draw attention towards the lifestyle branding. Traditionally, Burberry has positioned itself with

retail outlets in various parts of the world to reflect the purchasing power of the consumers. For

example, in London, New York and Paris, Burberry reflected itself as a costly brand showcasing

the local lifestyle of the consumers (Pike, 2015). This has been achieved with social media and

billboard advertisements that reflect the brand image, power and status (Pike, 2015). Burberry

has also introduced bespoke, made-to-order services to enhance the consumer’s experience and

lifestyle in choosing Burberry (Pike, 2015).

In November 2017, Burberry set out with a new strategy to improve their customer experience

and increase the lifestyle quotient for their consumers (Burberry, 2018). Burberry understands

the importance of innovation, creativity and personalization in the luxury sector and to meet the

demands of luxury consumers, the brand is now focusing on casual, fun fashion such as

streetwear and casual fashion that meets the lifestyle choices of their consumers (Burberry,

2018).

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Burberry is also utilizing social media effectively with their presence on Facebook, Twitter and

Instagram to showcase the latest fashion trends and better communicate the product attributes.

Burberry is now showcasing innovative and exciting assortments of their luxury collection that

expresses the opinions and point of view of their customers (Burberry, 2018). All these factors

are strongly influencing the lifestyle choices of their consumers and will help the brand to

reenergize its offerings. By showcasing the brand benefits with effective communication,

Burberry is capable of allowing consumers to better express their personality (Saviolo and

Marazza, 2013). Burberry is focusing on better communicating the consumer experiences by

utilizing digital media to create a two-way communication channel. This is helping the brand to

listen to their consumer demands and create innovative products that define the lifestyle choices

of their consumers.

6. Recommendations and Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be said that Burberry has been utilizing the various motivation, personality,

perception and lifestyle factors to their advantage to influence the consumer behaviour. As a

modern fashion lifestyle brand, Burberry has inherited the heritage British style of clothing with

modern streetwear fashion. The brand has kept the modern separate from the heritage brand by

allowing sub brands within the brand Burberry. This has helped the brand to maintain the

perception of the brand among its old customers and create excitement among its new

consumers. Burberry’s strategy to remain relevant in the modern of fast fashion and casual

fashion is to transform the company to meet the current demand. The modern strategy is

reflected in their 2017 strategy as shown in Appendix A. However, Burberry’s foray into

streetwear may be seen as a detriment to the brand image of heritage British lifestyle. It is
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recommended that Burberry utilizes separate branding to showcase its streetwear and casual

lifestyle wear as this form of clothing is largely different from the traditional Burberry patterns

and trench coat style of clothing. This will help retain the existing consumers as well as influence

new consumer behavior towards the brand.

Brand personality is also influenced by brand perception. To influence the brand perception,

Burberry has traditionally expressed the brand attributes and benefits with their communication

style. It is recommended that Burberry utilizes the traditional channels of communication as well

as social media to continue their efforts of showcasing the traditional values associated with the

brand. This will help revamp the brand perception and by utilizing innovative advertisements,

brand association between the traditional patterns of Burberry and modern lifestyle can be

achieved.

References

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https://www.burberryplc.com/content/dam/burberry/corporate/Investors/Results_Reports/2018/B

urberry_AnnualReport_FY17-18.pdf [Accessed 15 Dec. 2018].

Choi, T. and Shen, B. (2017). Luxury Fashion Retail Management. Springer.

Kumar, S.R. (2008). Conceptual Issues in Consumer Behaviour: The Indian Context. Dorling

Kindersley.
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Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3520418

Luttrell, R. (2018). Social Media: How to Engage, Share, and Connect. Rowman & Littlefield.

Na, A. (2016). Case Study On How Burberry Became A Digital Luxury Brand. [online]

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Pike, A. (2015). Origination: The Geographies of Brands and Branding. Wiley Blackwell.

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Appendix
Appendix A: Burberry Strategy

Burberry Strategy 2017/18

Source: Burberry, 2018

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