The Importance of Digital Marketing for Businesses During COVID-19

The Importance of Digital Marketing for different businesses during the times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Abstract

The study has noted that digitalisation and digital marketing are important elements of organisational success in the current times. The first chapter has presented the organisational background of H&M and has discussed the problem it is facing in terms of low profitability. The study has presented the aims and objectives of the research in the introduction chapter. In the next chapter the concept of digital marketing, the role of digital marketing, the concept of Fast Fashion and the economic growth of H&M have been discussed. This dissertation has included a questionnaire survey of 60 participants to gather primary data on the role and importance of digitalisation in H&M. Secondary research has also been concluded for understanding the challenges faced by fashion retailers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ways in which digitalisation helped in overcooking them have been discussed.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter Introduction

This chapter will be presenting the research background and be discussing the aim, objective and questions of the research. The business overview and the problem statement would also be included in the first chapter of the dissertation. Additionally, the significance of the dissertation along with the organisational background of H&M has also been provided in this chapter.

Aims and Objectives

The aim of this dissertation is to study and gather information regarding the importance of Digital Marketing for different businesses during the times of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The research objectives that have been met in the dissertation are:

• To study the role of Digital Marketing in the age of COVID-19.

• To critically analyze and evaluate how digitalization helped H&M to innovate fast fashion and increase sales of the company.

• To determine the H&M customer experience through digitalization.

Research Questions

In order to meet the research aims and objectives, the following research questions that have been made by the researcher are answered in the dissertation:

• How has Digital Marketing been helping businesses around the world from the start of the pandemic up to this date?

• How did H&M innovate fast fashion and increased sales of the company by integrating a new feature in their mobile app?

• How did digitalization help H&M to improve their customer experience?

Significance of the Study

This study is significant in explaining the importance of digitalisation in ensuring organisational growth by taking optimal advantage of the available technology and increasing customers satisfaction. The study will help organisations to understand the rationale behind improving customer satisfaction and highlight the role of digitalisation and digital marketing in overcoming crisis situations by highlighting the example of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Additionally, the research would serve as the foundation for subsequent studies on the identification of technologies that help in ensuring optimal organisational growth by focusing on data analytics, digital marketing and improving customer experience.

Definition of Terms

Customer Experience: The accumulation of all interactions that organisations and customers engage in and that determines the relation between the involved parties is called customer experience. When customer experience is positive, customer loyalty increases and thereby the companies grow their clientele organically.

Customer Retention: The ability of organisations to convert their one-time buyers into repeat customers and prevent them from switching to competitors is called customer retention. According to (Campbell, 2020), customer retention is more effective than customer attraction to grow sustainably.

Customer Satisfaction: The measurement of how happy the customers are with the products, capabilities and services that are offered to them by organisations is called customer satisfaction. Effective tools for measuring customer satisfaction levels ratings, feedback and surveys involving customers (ASQ, 2022).

Digital Marketing: All forms of marketing methods that are performed by using electric devices such as online marketing efforts on the internet and data analytic activities are called digital marketing. The likelihood of reaching customers and the ease of targeting them increases when organisations use digital marketing tools (AMA, 2022).

Background History

In the age of globalisation and digitalisation, it has become easy for organisations to keep track of the different technological advancements that are occurring in the business environment. According to Harteis (2019), digitised information is a form of strategic resource that can help organisations to improve their productivity and profitability. It can be assessed that digitised information helps in improving organisational decision-making power and thereby the chances of organisational growth increase. As per Bala and Verma (2018), social media marketing is an effective tool for using internet marketing to understand customer needs and expectations and thereby approach them in a strategic manner. Additionally, it has been noted that digital marketing is cost-effective in nature and thereby, it is important for organisations to invest in gaining the advantage of understanding, reaching out to and satisfying customers.

Organisation Background

H&M Group is a global fashion organisation that has a portfolio of brands such as H&M, Afound, Arket and Weekday (H&M, 2022). The company is focused on an omnichannel network, as a part of which the company sells its products in retail stores, the brand owned websites, social media and digital marketplaces. The growth and expansion plan of H&M in 2022 is to start selling its brand COS in Australian e-commerce. Additionally, it also plans to close over 240 physical stores and set up another 95 stores in strategic global markets (H&M, 2022). As of now, the company has over 155,000 employees across the world and is present in 75 retail markets. The company recorded revenues worth 199 billion SEK in 2021 (H&M, 2022).

Identification of the Business Problem

H&M is facing several disruptions in operations and consequently, its performance in the share market has fluctuated as well. As of 1 April 2022, the shares fell by 11% in Stockholm; which was the lowest level that H&M has faced in two years. Notis (2022) commented that the surge in COVID-19 cases in China and subsequently disruptions in the Chinese Market, low footfall in Austria and Germany, rising expenses due to disruption in the supply chain and the decision to halt business in Russia are the key factors behind this. The growth rate of H&M has slowed down from 18% through February 28 to 6% in March (Notis, 2022). Consequently, it can be assessed that disruption in supply chains and low sales are the key business problems that H&M is facing.

Chapter Summary

This chapter has discussed the significance of digitalisation and digital marketing in the current times and has identified the ways in which they can help organisations to overcome the challenges they face. In the case of H&M, the company has been noted to suffer from low profitability due to increased operating expenses, and disruptions in business and thereby the company needs to improve its operation by making necessary changes.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter Introduction

Literature Review is the process of reviewing relevant literature for gathering oversight of current knowledge, that would allow the researchers to identify relevant concepts, methods and theories that are associated with the research subject (McCombes, 2022). This chapter will discuss the concept of digital marketing and thereby assess its impact on customer experience in the fashion industry. Relevant theories would also be discussed and then the literature gap would be identified. Additionally, challenges faced by the fashion industry in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ways in which digitalisation has helped in overcoming it would also be discussed below.

Concept of Digital Marketing

According to Bala and Verma (2018), digital marketing practices such as search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimisation, campaign marketing, social media optimisation and marketing, display advertising and e-mail direct marketing have increasingly become common. The increasing use of social media has created scopes for markets to reach customers through digital platforms and consequently, organisations are investing in digital marketing practices. The utilisation of digital technologies for helping marketing activities with the aim of improving customer knowledge and thereby matching the customer needs and expectations is called digital marketing. In order to take optimal advantage of the changing business environment, organisations have merged their traditional marketing practices such as promotion and advertisement with digital tools to reach a larger range of audiences. It is important for digital marketers to focus on market analysis practices as being aware of the customer needs and expectations helps in directing resources in a profitable way to optimise the perceived value of the products and services. Bala and Verma (2018) commented that online advertising practices are powerful tools for building brand value and increasing tariffs in favour of organisations to attain success. It has been noted that digital marketing has offered convenience to consumers in terms of time, distance, information, choices and availability of goods for 24 hours. This has helped in increasing the perceived value of the goods and services that organisations offered and consequently helped in increasing brand value.

As per Hanlon (2021), big data analytics plays a major role in digital marketing as social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter gather a vast amount of data about the users. Digital markets can gather the data, process it and use it for identifying market trends and consumer behaviour which would help in comprehending customer needs and expectations. When the data is fed to data analysts, they act as an invaluable resource for collecting meaningful information which can be used by marketing managers to increase the efficiency of their marketing practices. Accordingly, digital marketing activities can become a source of competitive advantage for the organisation in terms of improving eh decision-making process and thereby attracting and retaining more customers to increase market share and profitability.

Concept of Fast Fashion

According to Kosovic and Peebo (2021), fast fashion follows a mass-production business model in which high-fashion designs are replicated for offering trendy clothing to customers. Fast fashion products have short life cycles as the products are designed for momentary trends and thereby the sales period associated with them is small. Being seasonal trends, the fast fashion sector is greatly affected by high volatility and low predictability Kosovic and Peebo (2021) commented that fast fashion heavily relies on high impulse purchases of customers and thereby the products are offered at low-profit margins to optimise the perceived value of the garments.

The fast Fashion sector is characterised by its reliance on cheap manufacturing processes, short-lived use of garments and frequent consumption. However, Niinimäki et al. (2020) commented that the trend of fast fashion has a severe environmental impact as it leads to exploitation of raw materials, chemical pollution, textile waste and increased CO₂ emissions. It has been noted that the fashion industry creates over 92 million tonnes of waste each year and consumers 79 trillion litres of water during the manufacturing and associated processes. Accordingly, the need of shifting from the fast fashion trend and decrease clothing purchases while increasing garment lifetimes is a priority for making the fashion sector sustainable.

Increment of Sales of H&M

According to Lindeberg (2022), H&M has significantly boosted its sales and growth in e-commerce as the company has managed to increase its revenues by 23% with sales amounting to $5.1 billion. Reduction in the levels of markdowns on H&M garments has played a massive role in this increase in revenues. Reducing the markdowns has helped in increasing the profit margins of the company as the profit per unit has increased. In January 2022, the CEO of H&M, Helena Helmersson has set the goal of doubling the sales of H&M by the year 2030 with a yearly target of increasing revenues by 10-15%. However, Lindeberg (2022) noted that H&M has closed down its operations in Russia as a show of solidarity with Ukraine and this is financially threatening to the company as Russia was the sixth-largest global market for H&M.

Ringstrom (2022) commented that in order to realise the goals of doubling sales by 2030, the company has announced to invest of over $ 1.1 Billion in 2022 to improve the operational efficiencies and marketing capabilities. It has been noted that the investments would be made in sustainable materials, technology, renewable energy and the supply chain.

Relationship Between Digitalisation and Customer Experience in Fashion Industry

Digitalisation is the process of using technological advancements to alter existing business models and thereby provide new value-producing opportunities for organisations. According to Rossato and Castellani (2020), digitalisation is highly beneficial in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of business processes and increasing the understanding of customer experience. The study has also noted that digitalisation supports craftsmanship and flow of knowledge within the organisation, in addition to increased experimenting with content on digital platforms. The digitalisation helps in improving the understanding of the organisation about the customer experience across different contact points between the companies and customers. This is positively correlated with the ability of the organisations to understand the factors that improve customer satisfaction levels in different stages and thereby help in improving such factors even further. Alternatively, it also helps in identifying the issues that customers face and thereby can serve as a guide for organisations to make necessary changes in operations to optimise customer satisfaction. According to Plekhanov, D. and Netland (2019), the use of data analytics has helped retailers like Walmart to improve their customer experience. It has been noted that technological advancements help in improving supply and demand matching by optimally analysing and deciphering customer needs and thereby improving problem-solving and decision-making of companies to meet customer expectations. This has a positive impact on customer satisfaction levels and in turn, their overall consumer experience improves, which in turn leads to higher customer loyalty, repurchase and retention.

Relevant Theories

Customer Relationship Management

The theoretical concept of managing interactions and relationships between organisational representatives and the customers or potential customers is called customer relationship management. The goal of CRM is to improve business relations so that organisations can develop and maintain productive relationships with external stakeholders. This helps organisations to ensure that they stay connected with the customers, streamline organisational activities and improve profitability. Good CRM improves customer experience and thereby their tendency to stay loyal to the organisation develops. According to Guerola-Navarro et al. (2021), CRM is a powerful technological solution that is essential for the success of the organisation. The four dimensions associated with CRM practices are customer identification, customer attraction, customer retention and customer development. In the first step, actions that aim at identifying potential customers are undertaken. In the next step, organisations take steps to attract the interest of potential customers by effectively marketing and increasing the perceived value of the product with strategic promotions and campaigns. Guerola-Navarro et al. (2021) stated that in the next step, the companies aim of retaining the customers by converting them into loyal and long-term customers by building good relations and consistently offering a high customer experience. The last step is to increase the business interactions and transactions by using techniques such as cross-selling and upselling to increase the economic value of the customers.

Literature Gap

On the basis of the above-presented literature review, it has been noted that digitalisation has helped organisations to improve their operational capabilities and understand their customers better. This has been found to be positively correlated with customer satisfaction and thereby is important for organisational success during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, not much information was found in existing literature regarding the ways in which digitalisation improves customer experience and accordingly, the researcher has chosen this topic as the literature gap. Accordingly, the dissertation would aim to fulfil this identified gap.

Chapter Summary

This chapter has reviewed available literature on the concept of Digital marketing and has noted that such practices help companies to reach out to a large number of customers and thereby are highly beneficial. Additionally, it has been identified that fast fashion is a huge trend in the current market, although it is environmentally harmful in the long run. The review also noted that H&M has committed to invest around $ 1.1 Billion in 2022 to improve its digital technologies, market share and production efficiency. The chapter has also summarised that digital marketing has proved to be crucial during the pandemic situation as it helped increase brand recognition and value during the lockdown period.

Chapter 3: Methodology

Chapter Introduction

The third chapter discusses the research methodology that has been selected by the researcher while conducting the research work. Research Methodology is the systematic procedure by which researchers determine the set of rules and guidelines that would be followed while conducting research work and select the most appropriate methods and tools for conducting it. This chapter will be discussing the justification behind selecting the philosophy, approach, method, strategy, design and tools that have been used for conducting the dissertation. Additionally, the chapter will present the ethical considerations associated with the dissertation and identify the limitation of the research methodology.

Research Philosophy

Research Philosophy refers to the set of beliefs and assumptions, on the basis of which researchers conduct a study or a dissertation. Philosophy helps in dealing with the nature, source and process of development of the knowledge that is to be gained in the research (BRM, 2022). The 3 most widely used philosophies for business projects are positivism, interpretivism and pragmatism. Positivism is preferential when a large sample is to be analysed and highly structured responses are to be collected. In the case of studies that analyse small samples and collect in-depth information from the participants, interpretivism philosophy is used. Positivism is used when quantitative analysis is to be conducted; while interpretivism is used when qualitative research is being conducted. In the case of studies that conduct both quantitative and qualitative research is conducted, pragmatism philosophy is followed. In the case of pragmatism, researchers use elements from the mutual exclusive paradigms of positivism and interpretivism. Pragmatic researchers believe that research questions are the most crucial determinant of the philosophy that is to be followed (BRM, 2022). As the research would be including a large sampling size of 60 and a thematic qualitative analysis, the researcher has opted for pragmatism philosophy.

Research Approach

The research Approach refers to the general plan and procedure that helps researchers in conducting a research project. On the basis of the approach that has been chosen, the subsequent steps of research are determined. It is of two main types; they are inductive and deductive reasoning approaches. The logic behind the deductive approach is that when premises that are tested turn out to be true, the conclusion that they present is also true. In the case of the inductive approach, new conclusions are created on the basis of the premises. The deductive reasoning approach is beneficial for identifying the causal relationships and it is also possible to generalise research findings (BRM, 2022). On the other hand, in the case of inductive reasoning, researchers can search for patterns from collected observations and thereafter develop theories and explanations.

Deductive reasoning is used when a vast amount of literature is available on the research topic, while deductive reasoning is used when existing literature is scarce. Additionally, deductive reasoning takes less time to be conducted compared to inductive research (BRM, 2022). In the case of this dissertation, the research topic is digital marketing which is a well-researched area in the current times. Consequently, a lot of existing research can be accessed by the researcher and therefore, deductive reasoning is chosen for conducting this dissertation.

Research Strategy

The purpose of research strategies is to set a general direction for the research and the selection of the strategy depends on the research questions, the resource availability and the philosophical beliefs of the researchers. In the case of this dissertation, a systematic literature review has been chosen. As per this strategy, relevant information that is already existing is studied for the purpose of identifying the literature gap and thereby fulfilling it by conducting a suitable and relevant study. A systematic Literature review is a crucial element of academic research as it helps in prepping researchers for the study that is to be conducted. In order to ensure that the researcher can efficiently enhance the knowledge through research, it is important for the researchers to have an understanding of the prior existing literature on the topic of interest. As much literature is available to the researchers regarding the concept of digital marketing and other relevant topics associated with digital marketing, the researcher has opted for a systematic literature review.

Research Design

The general plan that determines the way in which the research question would be answered is the research design It is of two main types, they are, explanatory and conclusive research designs. The aim of the explanatory design is not to offer conclusive answers to the research questions and is aimed at exploring different aspects of the research topic and area. On the other hand, as per a conclusive research design, the research aims to generate research findings that have the potential of being used for guiding decision-making (BRM, 2022). In the context of this dissertation, being aware of the importance of digitalisation in improving productivity would help in motivating the company to develop its technology investments even further and consequently, a conclusive research design has been chosen.

Research Choice

Research Choice is selected on the basis of the number of ways in which different types of data would be collected. Data can be collected in two types; they are quantitatively and qualitatively. In quantitative data collection, researchers select and collect objective data which can be recorded quantitatively and be analysed statistically. On the other hand, in qualitative data collection, researchers select and collect subjective information which can be analysed interpretively. When only one type of data is collected, the research choice is said to be mono-method and when more than one type of data is collected, it is said to be multi-method. This research would collect quantitative data and qualitative data of primary and secondary types respectively. Thereby, a multi-method research choice has been made by the researcher.

Data Collection and Analysis

Data can be of two types on the basis of the type of source from which it has been collected. In case researchers directly collect data from participants of the study, the data is stated to be of primary type. Alternatively, when the data is collected from an existing source of literature such as books, journals articles and newspaper articles, it is said to be of secondary type. In this research, the research has interacted with the customers of H&M and consequently, primary data collection has been conducted. Additionally, secondary data has also been collected by referring to relevant books and articles that are published since 2018. The justification behind this selection is that the research objective is to understand the impact of digitalisation on the customers and consequently, they are more likely to offer valid inputs. Additionally, primary data collection is that it has high authenticity as the researcher is the owner of the collected information and at the same time, the research can include up-to-date information, which is not always available in the secondary data collection method (Intellspot, 2022). For analysing the information, the quantifiable responses have been converted into graphs and then the quantitative analysis method has been used.

Data Collection Instrument

Data Collection instruments are the different tools that researchers choose for collecting the data that they need in the research. The selection of the data collection tool is entirely dependent on the type of data that the researcher wants to collect and use in the research. When the researcher wants to collect quantitative primary data, researchers either use questionnaires, scales, observations or laboratory experiments. Conversely, for collecting qualitative primary data, interviews and archival documents are used. In the case of a questionnaire survey, researchers ask a set of questions to the participants with a range of options to choose from as answers and then analyse the response of the participants as a whole. The benefit of this tool is that a large number of participants can be included using this tool and the data collection method is both fast and cost-effective (BRM, 2022). This research has included a sample size of 60 participants and consequently to complete the data collection and analysis in time and within budget, a questionnaire survey has been conducted. A thematic data collection process has been used for analysing secondary data and the themes have been prepared as per the research questions and objectives. 2 themes were prepared in this dissertation.

Sampling Method

Sampling is the process of selecting participants for the primary data collection from members of the population that are being studied. Sampling is of two main types; they are probability sampling and non-probability sampling. In the case of non-probability sampling, the selection of sample takes place in a non-random type; while in probability sampling, the chance of selection is equal for the entire population. In this research, the convenience sampling method has been chosen as this helps in arranging the large sample of participants in an easy and simple manner. The sample size is the number of participants in the primary research and in this dissertation, the sample size is 60.

Time Horizon

Time horizon describes the time frame in which the research is conducted. It is primarily of two types; they are cross-sectional time horizon and longitudinal time horizon. In the case of longitudinal time horizon, the primary data is collected from the sample multiple over a long range of time frame. This helps in assessing the relative stability of the observations over time. On the other hand. in the cross-sectional time horizon, the researcher collects the data at one point in time. Consequently, the time required for conducting a cross-sectional time horizon data collection is less. This makes it suitable for the researchers in conducting this dissertation as per the deadline and thereby it has been chosen.

Table 1: Gantt Chart

Ethical Consideration

Some of the ethical considerations that are to be kept in mind are that the research participants must not be harmed in any way during the data collection and each participant must give full consent to their participation. Additionally, the privacy of the participants has to be guaranteed and all forms of communication associated with the participants need to be transparent and honest (BRM, 2022). Consequently, the researcher has taken consent from each participant in the form of consent forms and the participants were informed of their rights to withdraw from the research at any time. No private information of the participants was collected and the research finding has been stored in secure databases with limited access to avoid the risk of data leaks.

Research Limitation

In this research, the convenience sampling method has been selected for finding the requisite number of participants. However, the researcher has noted that selecting this sampling method is also highly associated with selection bias and chances of sampling error (BRM, 2022). This is a limitation of the research. Additionally, time limitations have restricted the researcher to conduct qualitative research and consequently, in-depth data could not be collected and analysed. Fund restrictions have also limited the scope of literature review as data that needs subscription could not be accessed.

Chapter Summary

The researcher has been noted to have selected pragmatism research philosophy and a deductive reasoning approach. A quantitative primary data collection has been conducted for 60 customers of H&M using a convenience sampling method and secondary qualitative research has been conducted using a thematic approach. The chapter has also noted that the research has collected requisite consent before conducting the research. Conclusive research has been chosen for this research and for ensuring high ethics, the researcher has stored the data findings in secure databases.

Chapter 4: Findings

Chapter Introduction

This research would present the primary data that has been collected in graphical format and thereby analyse the collected information for gaining insights. On the basis of the analysis, the research aims to gain relevant information from the customers of H&M.

Data Presentation and Analysis

1. What is your age Range?

Figure 2: Demographic Information

Analysis: This question was asked for revealing the demographic of the customers at H&M. On the basis of the conducted survey, it has been revealed that young adults constitute the second-largest demographic customer market for H&M, while the largest market is of adults in the age of 23-30. It can be analysed that the target customers for H&M are in the age group of 18- 30 as they account for over 85% of the total clientele. This also indicates that the product portfolio is targeted at meeting the needs of this target market as compared to those of the age of 31+.

2. What do you identify as?

Figure 3: Gender of Customers

Analysis: The responses have helped in revealing that 69.5 % of all the customers that have participated in the H&M survey are women. On the basis of the observations, it can be noted that the brand is highly favoured by women and consequently and 70% of his clients are of the female gender. On the other hand, only 34.5 per cent of the client turned out to be males. This can be considered as an indication of the target market that H&M has set. It can also be analysed that the product portfolio of H&M is more centred on meeting the needs of women customers.

3. What is your current occupation?

Figure 4: Occupation of Customers

Analysis: When the client was asked about their occupation, 65% of the participants responded to being full-time employees, while 31.7% of participants reply to being full-time students. However, the number of respondents who are unemployed was found below. On the basis of the above-presented observations, it can be interpreted that the spending capacity and earning potential of the customers is a major determinant of being customers of H&M. As employees have more spending potential as compared to unemployed and students, the percentage of customers in this category is substantially higher than the rest. 

4. How many times have you bought products from H&M in the past year?

Figure 5: Frequency of Purchasing

Analysis: This question was aimed at understanding the repurchasing tendency of the customers. It has been noted that over 51.6% of all surveyed clients have made purchases from H&M for a total of fewer than 7 items in the past year. Conversely, only 41.3% of the customers have purchased at least 7 items in the past year. It can be interpreted that H&M is struggling to increase the repurchasing habit of customers. This is an indicator of the consumer trend in retailing in the last year. Therefore, H&M would have to increase its marketing practices to attract and retain customers in order to develop a steady clientele.

5. How likely are you to recommend H&M products to others?

Figure 6: Likelihood of Recommending H&M to others.

Analysis: Customers tend to recommend a brand to others only when they are satisfied with the quality and service that there are receiving.  in the case of H&M, the survey has noted that 48.3 per cent of customers are very likely to recommend H&M products to others and 46.7 per cent are somewhat likely to recommend others. accordingly, it can be said that the general consensus of the clientele is positive towards the brand H&M, thereby the company has performed well in terms of improving customer satisfaction. 

6. Are you part of the H&M loyalty club or do you plan on adhering to it in the near future?

Figure 7: Percentage of Customers in H&M Loyalty Club

Analysis: The purpose of this question was to determine the efficiency of the royalty Club program that H&M maintains.  On the basis of the responses were recorded by the researcher. It has been noted that over half of the population is already a part of the Loyalty program and 22% of the customers are planning to become a part of it in the near future. Contrastingly, 25.7% of the respondents stated that they are either not a part of it or are not considered to be a part of it.  It can be assessed that although the loyalty Club program has been a success in the majority of the cases, over a quarter of the customers are not still convinced with the loyalty Club program and thereby the rewards system needs to be further improved.

 

7. If you have ever contacted the H&M Customer Services department in-store or online, how was your experience?

Figure 8: Customer Satisfaction with Customer Service

Analysis: This question has been asked to the customers for understanding their customer experience while seeking assistance for guidance from the customer service department of H&M. On the basis of the respondents, it has been noted that only 0.7% of the customers were not satisfied with the quality of assistance that they have received from the company. Conversely, all the other customers who have needed the customer service of H&M are happy with the service that they were provided. Additionally, the absence of any customers who did not receive the assistance that they required and consequently were unhappy with the overall service was also an indicator of the highly efficient H&M Customer Service Department.

8. Have you used or do you plan on using the H&M mobile application?

Figure 9: Popularity of the H&M Mobile Application

Analysis: Only 65% of the customers have voted to have used the H&M Mobile up while another 10% are planning to use it in the near future. However, over 16.3% of the respondents have expressed that they do not intend to use the app. This is indicative of the willingness of the customers to shop online instead of having to visit the outlets.

9. On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you find the price of H&M products in general?

Figure 10: Opinion of Customers Regarding Prices at H&M

Analysis: On the basis of the responses noted in the survey. It can be assessed that the majority of the employees are satisfied with the pricing strategy followed by H&M. It has been noted that 40% of the participants have graded the prices of H&M to be over 9 out of 10 and this is a positive indicator of the growth of H&M. On the other hand, only 3.3% of the respondents gave a score of 4 out of 10 in this regard. Consequently, it can be assessed that H&M has managed to satisfy most of its employees with the prices it sets for the products.

10. How has the pandemic affected your way of shopping?

Figure 11: Impact of COVID-19 on Consumer Behaviour

Analysis: On the basis of the responses recorded in the survey, it has been noted that 40% of the customers have reported no change in their consumer behaviour due to the pandemic; while another 40% have noted some changes in their shopping behaviour. On the other hand, 20% have reported that the pandemic has significantly altered their shopping behaviour. It can be assessed that a sizeable portion of the clientele is facing altered needs after the pandemic as compared to pre-pandemic times and consequently, H&M needs to develop its portfolio of products and services to stay relevant with the changing market trends.

11. Following the pandemic, how prone are you to choose online shopping over physically vising the shops?

Figure 12: Online vs. Offline Retailing Trends

Analysis: On the basis of the responses, it has been noted that 26.7% of participants are extremely likely to choose online shopping instead of offline shopping and 30% have a high probability of doing so. Alternatively, 35% are less likely to shop online and 8.3% are entire to shop offline. On the basis of the responses, it has been noted that the market trend in fashion retailing is in favour of online shopping.

12. What do you think of the new feature integrated into the H&M mobile application that allows customers to virtually try on the products and gives accurate sizes based on the customers' body type?

Figure 13: Response of Customers regarding technological innovation at H&M

Analysis: As per the responses, a majority of the customers find the technological advancements made by H&M to be innovative and 30% are willing to try it out. On the other hand, 13.3% of the customers are not interested in the innovation. It can be assessed that a majority of the customers of H&M are engaged with the new idea and this would have a positive impact on the customer satisfaction levels.

13. How likely are you to try on the application’s new feature described in the last question?

Figure 14: Effectiveness of the new feature in attracting tariff

Analysis: By asking this question, the researcher aims to assess the efficiency of the new technology innovation in attracting customers and increasing online tariffs to the online application of H&M. On the basis of the responses, 83.3% of the customers are either very likely or extremely likely to try on the new innovation. Therefore, it can be stated that technology incorporation has a high potential of increasing sales of H&M by attracting new customers to the online portal and thereby improving their customer experience.

14. Have you already tried the new feature or do you plan on trying it in the near future?

Figure 15: Awareness Levels of the new feature

Analysis: This question is aimed at understanding the degree to which the marketing and advertising practices of H&M are efficient in increasing the awareness levels of the customers regarding the new technological advancements made by it. In the survey, it has been noted that 26.7% of the customers have not tried the new feature yet. Another 43.3% also commented that they are willing to try it in the near future. On the other hand, only 21.7% are already aware and have tried the new feature. On the basis of the above-conducted study, it can be stated the awareness levels of the customers are low and thereby the marketing practices needs to be improved.

15. How much do you spend when shopping at H&M?

Figure 16: Average spending of Customers

Analysis: On the basis of the conducted survey, the researcher has tried to assess the average transaction size while shopping at H&M. In accordance to it, the survey responses have revealed that the majority of the customers (53.3%) spend an average of £ 26- £50 on each trip to H&M. On the other hand, only 10% of the respondents have reported spending over £100 in their trip to H&M. Consequently, it can be assessed that the customers need to be incentivised to increase to average spending of customers.

16. Which shop are you more prone to visiting when shopping in-store or online?

Figure 17: Competitive Rivalry

Analysis: According to the responses, recorded during the survey, it has been revealed that 39% of the customers are likely to shop at Zara while only 32.2% of the respondents have stated to prefer shopping at H&M. On the basis of this observation, it can be assessed that the competitive rivalry between Zara and H&M is high. Additionally, Other brands have also been shown to have a significant preference and thereby, it is essential for H&M to improve the perceived value of the customers for gaining market share and increasing customer retention.

Thematic Analysis

Theme 1: Challenges faced by the fashion industry during the COVID-19 Pandemic

According to Khaliq (2021), the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the retailing sector of the UK and specifically that on the clothing industry has been severe as sales fell by 21.5% in 2020 as compared to 2019. The public health response due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the introduction of nationwide lockdowns and restrictions on non-essential retailing from 23 March 2020 until it was stated to be safe for reopening. The restrictions regarding retaining non-essential items have impacted the footfall. Consequently, low footfall at retail outlets and disruptions due to lockdowns were the challenges faced by the fashion industry during the Pandemic.

As per Brydges et al. (2020), COVID-19 has also impacted the garment production process as most of the production activities are sourced to developing countries, which were severely impacted by the pandemic. Additionally, the reduced demand due to low sales has also impacted the ability of the organisations to maintain the factory workforce and this has led to a rise in unemployment in the fashion sector. Furthermore, Brydges et al. (2020) commented global companies such as Zara, Nike and H&M faced criticism over their decisions to cancel the orders that were made pre-pandemic due to disruptions in cash flow.

Theme 2: Significance of Digital Marketing in the times of COVID-19 Pandemic

According to Redjeki and Affandi (2020), digital marketing activities have proven to be a highly reliable marketing technique for ensuring survival during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article highlighted that marketing in digital media has helped organisations to bypass the restrictions on time and place of businesses that were put into during the lockdown periods. Alshaketheep et al. (2020) commented that digital marketing enabled organisations to equip customers with crisis-related support and facilities, which in turn portrayed sincere empathy from the organisations and this helped in improving customer satisfaction.

In addition to it, advanced search features such as dynamic range development help customers to define their product experience and consequently, help in satisfying the customers. Alshaketheep et al. (2020) commented that digital marketing also enabled customers to track shortages of goods and also find suitable alternatives and thereby this helped companies to reduce the threat that they faced due to supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chapter Summary

The chapter has discussed the importance of digital technologies in attracting customers to H&M and has also presented an analysis of the ways in which customers have started preferring online services over offline retailing.

Conclusions

The dissertation has concluded that some of the challenges that the fashion segment has faced during the Pandemic situation are the closure of stores, disruptions in the supply chain and changes in consumer decisions. It has been noted that digital marketing practices help in mitigating such problems. Alshaketheep et al. (2020) has discussed that improved digital marketing enabled organisations and customers to communicate better and thereby mitigate the problem of shortage of goods that have caused due to supply chain failures during the pandemic. Advanced search features have also helped in improving customer experience and it has been concluded that such technological advancements increase the ability of organisations to satisfy customers by improving the contact points with the consumers. Redjeki and Affandi, 2020) has noted that digital technologies enabled companies to overcome geographical restriction and thereby enabled organisations to conduct business through the internet.

It has also been noted that digital technology-enabled companies come up with support facilities for the customers that improved the brand image. Additionally, the increased competition within the fashion segment has also been noted in this research. Digital Marketing practices have a major role in improving the business prospects of organisations that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. On the basis of the response to the questionnaire survey, it can be assessed that the H&M mobile app has gained significant exposure in the market and thereby it has performed well in attracting customers. However, this study has also noted that there are scopes of improvement as those who are either unlikely or somewhat likely to recommend can also be converted into very likely sources of brand promotion by satisfying them further.

It can be assessed that the COVID-19 pandemic might be a major reason for this change in trend as customers feel safer when shopping online at home. The research has discussed that changed consumer decisions can be monitored by using data analytic technologies, which would improve the ability of digital marketers to increase the efficiency of their marketing practices. Furthermore, maintaining the cash flow during the pandemic and keeping the stakeholders satisfied were also some challenges faced by fashion retailers. In the context of H&M, the primary data collection has highlighted that technological advancements in its online mobile application have a high potential of increasing online tariffs and improving customer experience. It has also been noted that the marketing practices of H&M have to be focused on improving the awareness of the customers regarding the different technology incorporations that have been done to improve customer attraction and satisfaction. Furthermore, the dissertation has concluded that further investments in the field of data analytics and digital marketing would help in improving customer experience and thereby increase the business prospects of H&M.

Reflections

While conducting the dissertation, I have gained crucial knowledge regarding research methodology which would help me to conduct subsequent research projects in future. As research is a job responsibility that is associated with several job roles such as data analyses and marketers, I have noted that my employability has significantly improved. Additionally, conducting the research work has also enhanced my research skills, which is another important element for increasing academic performance and at the same time, employability. Research skills refer to the ability to locate, identify, assess and gather reliable and relevant information in a time-efficient manner. In this dissertation, I have used my research skills to increase my knowledge about the concept of digital marketing and this is important for my personal development as I would be taking steps to develop my digital marketing skills for increasing my employability.

In this research project, several activities were to be performed in a sequential manner and in absence of good time management band planning skills, it would not have been possible for me to complete the work in time. In this regard, I can say that my time management and organising skills have been enhanced while conducting the dissertation. Good time management skill helps in ensuring that I can meet deadlines in future as well and this gave thereby positively contributed to my employability as well as academic performance. By using this skill, I would be able to keep track of the different activities that I have to perform each day and consequently, it would become easy to maintain a good work-life balance, which would even have a positive impact on my personal life.

In order to develop my time management skill, I have relied on excel to properly chart out a work plan with a clear indication of the amount of time that I can invest in each step of the dissertation. For example, I anticipated that conducting the literature review would have required me a lot of time and thereby, I have allotted 2 weeks of time for identifying, selecting, gathering and arranging the research materials. However, it needs to be mentioned that I faced some difficulties in completing all the reading work in time. It can be assessed that my reading skills need further development. Developing my reading ability would enable me to conduct better secondary research in future and consequently the quality of the dissertation can be further be improved.

Another aspect that I have noted to be a challenge for me in conducting this research is the low typing speed. It can be assessed that my low typing speed has made it a challenging task for me to present the research work in a coherent manner. In this regard, I have noted that low typing speed has caused me to take more time than anticipated and furthermore when I try to type fast, I noticed that I was making several typological errors. In the modernised times when computers are regularly used for performing different activities and digital communication dominates hand-written communication, it is essential for me to work on developing my typing speed. I have also been able to relate the concepts that I have learned during the literature review while preparing the questionnaire survey and consequently, it can be stated that my critical thinking skills have developed.

Another key concept that I have learnt while completing the dissertation was the widespread applicability of data analytic technology. Reflecting on the real-life examples, I have realised that data analytic technology has several applications, including that market research and also for understanding the internal process of organisations and ensuring strong governance by regularly checking the data for malfunctions and errors. Understanding, I have developed an interest in this topic and I am planning to sign up for a course on data analytics to learn the process of collecting and analysing big data. Learning this software would help in increasing my employability across multiple sectors and thereby it would help me to grow professionally.

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