As I have written the majority of my essay, I now have a much clearer idea of the response I want to take for the practical part of this module. Research into online retail has made me reconsider the design problem. The final brief that I am going to resolve is as follows.1. Research Question - What role has technology had on the way companies market themselves digitally?
2. Defining the design problem - As a lot of my essay focuses on technology, marketing, and social media, I have settled on resolving a problem that is extremely relevant to these areas. Online retail is one of the most up-to-date, competitive industries in terms of marketing. Social media pages and adverts are constantly evolving, and new technologies are allowing more possibilities for retailers every year.
The problem - 2/3 online clothes shoppers are 'serial returners'. These are people that regularly purchase clothes online, have them delivered and then send them back again in exchange for a full refund. This is mainly due to online retailers offering free returns, and unlimited purchases of clothes. Whilst this may not seem like a problem, it has been stated that 5% of all items returned are binned. Apparel Retail Volume in Units was over 100 billion globally in 2015, which means that roughly 5 billion items are binned each year (full research and sources can be found in the research blog post). This is financially costly for retailers, who are having to increase item prices as a result, and is environmentally having a negative impact.
My brief - Pick an existing online retailer and attempt to resolve the problem of 'serial returners' by minimising the amount of clothes returned. Ideas should be informed by research into the problem, current retail technology and other relative areas. Target audience must be considered carefully. Outcomes should be in the form of a developed online retail platform and marketing campaign for social media sites.
3. 'Client' needs or requirements - The client will be a chosen online retailer, with myself being employed to produce the strategy behind their platform and marketing. The client would most likely give a deadline date and would want to set up meetings to discuss stages in the process. Therefore, a time-plan will be key to ensure that the campaign is completed and implemented. Online retailers will also have existing brand guidelines, which will have to be followed when producing any digital designs.
4. Audience - This entirely depends on the retailer chosen. Research into the demographics behind will help to determine what audience is targeted. The outcome will be purely focused on the UK however, as this makes it much easier to test prototypes and get feedback from peers/appropriately aged consumers.
5. Mandatory Requirements - The outcome for this brief will be a developed online retail platform and marketing campaign for social media sites. A lot of research into existing clothing brands, and their marketing strategies, will have to be completed in order to ensure that the outcome is successful in resolving the problem.
4. Audience - This entirely depends on the retailer chosen. Research into the demographics behind will help to determine what audience is targeted. The outcome will be purely focused on the UK however, as this makes it much easier to test prototypes and get feedback from peers/appropriately aged consumers.
5. Mandatory Requirements - The outcome for this brief will be a developed online retail platform and marketing campaign for social media sites. A lot of research into existing clothing brands, and their marketing strategies, will have to be completed in order to ensure that the outcome is successful in resolving the problem.
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