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FMAD 1110: Fashion Fundamentals Textbook: 3.1 Geographics & Demographics

Geographics & Demographics

Geographics & Demographics

Georgraphics have to do with geography or where your target market (ideal customer) is located. Where your customer is located is probably one of the most important aspects to consider as a designer or merchandiser since climate can have a big impact on what your customer buys. For instance, maybe you want your ideal customer to be someone who lives in the United States of America (USA) for your retail brick and mortar (physical) store which sells apparel. It's good that you narrowed down which country you are interested in targeting your customer base from in the world. However, the USA is so vast that depending on where you are located on the earth's equator in the USA, the temperature and seasons will be very different! For instance, there is a vast difference between sunny Miami, Florida (needing lots of swimwear and beach towels!) compared to rainy Seattle, Washington (needing lots of raincoats and umbrellas!) in the USA. Furthermore, locations within a specific state can vary as well. Take for instance the state of Georgia. A city such as Atlanta is vastly different to a more rural area such as Statesboro even though these areas are in the same state! Also, Georgia has a diverse landscape from mountains (get out the hiking boots!) to lakes (time for fishing rods) and beachfront areas (sand buckets and beach balls anyone?). Therefore, customers in these different locations will need vastly different merchandise (known as products whether apparel or otherwise).

Thinking Point: Name 5 different places around the world and think about what kinds of products would be appropriate or not for these areas! Make sure to explain your reasoning.

After determining where your customer is located (known as geographics), it should be much easier to determine the demographics (such as age, race, sex, income, occupation, religion, etc.) of that individuals living in that area. For instance, you may want to look up census information to determine what customers live in a certain area to determine if they need or even want the product you have to offer them.

  • Demographics (such as census information):
    • Age
    • Gender
    • Education
    • Occupation
    • Geographic Location
    • Race
    • Nationality
    • Income
    • Religion
    • Marital Status

Here are a few resources that can help you determine demographics for your customer: