SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCE ON MERCHANDISING AND MARKETING

Abstract

Nowadays, social media is no longer limited to staying in touch with friends; Customers prefer to shop with this convenience. Finding what they want and ordering it can be completed with ease. For this reason, social media has become a key source of marketing. One customer said, The main reason is due to it being convenient. As a customer, it is so beneficial. You don’t have to worry about getting stuck in traffic, losing time, bad attitudes from shop assistants, the stress of aggressive haggling, and the fear of getting scammed. With online shopping, you get polite service, the option for cash on delivery, returns if you aren’t happy with it, and sometimes discounts. All the dresses are presented nicely. The price is set and the same for everyone; most of the time they will tell you during the live session. You don’t have to haggle; it is super convenient. Many people like myself have moved completely to real pages where they provide everything they say they will. Sometimes the items look better in person! Obviously, things have changed.” Compared to traditional business models, social media offers significant advantages such as the ability to provide immediate responses to customer inquiries and foster engagement on a personal level, which have become central to modern product marketing strategies. In the fashion world, social media has emerged as a unique medium serving as a cradle for the development of new trends. Merchandisers and marketers have increasingly turned to social media to generate and shape market demand, translate designs into reality, and curate product assortments accordingly. Consequently, this study examines the impact of social media on merchandising and marketing, framed through the fashion retail sector with a particular emphasis on the apparel industry. The research analyzes how social media influences merchandising strategies, marketing-related controls, and consumer behavior.