How well do you know the customers who buy your apparel?

Sure, you can run some numbers to see what sells and what doesn’t. You can look at demographic and geographic data to figure out who’s buying what. But do you really understand why they’re buying it?

If you don’t have a crystal clear answer, it’s time to learn more about the motivations of your customers. The insights you uncover might surprise you.

Today, we’re going to take this conversation a step further and cover:

• Why customer insights are important for apparel brands
• What types of questions you should ask your customers
• Methods for gathering valuable insights
• How to analyze the insights and make them actionable
• Ways to “WOW” your customers with your products

You’re in the apparel business for a reason—you want to create clothing that people love. We’re about to explain exactly how you can do that!

Grow Your Brand with Scrappy Apparel

What We Can Learn From “What Are People Wearing in New York?”

We came across the YouTube series “What Are People Wearing in New York?” by Starlinc. The concept is pretty cool—the host hits the streets of New York City, stopping random people and asking them about their outfits. Beyond the clothing, the series digs into why people are wearing what they are. That’s where the real learning begins.

By getting to the heart of why people select their clothing, this series has the power to teach us a lot about consumer insights. It shows us that individuals wear their clothes for more than just the look—there’s a story behind every outfit.

What Insights Can We Gather?

Timestamp 4:44 of the video “What Are People Wearing in New York? June 2023 Outfits” is the perfect example of how much we can learn about a consumer’s preferences just from speaking with them for a few minutes.

Based on a brief conversation with Starlinc, we can infer the following about the woman in the video:

• She enjoys shopping at thrift stores.
• She’s an online shopper—she shops at White Fox, a boutique that sells products exclusively online.
• She also purchases clothes from UNIQLO.
• She gains style inspiration from streetwear and Soho fashion.
• She works in advertising.
• She is an optimistic person who strives to maintain a positive mindset.

Let’s say the woman in the video is your target customer. As a brand, here’s what you could do with the info above:

• Offer convenient online shopping experiences.
• Provide sustainable or eco-friendly products.
• Pay attention to streetwear trends and incorporate edgy elements into your designs.
• Incorporate nostalgia or vintage themes into your apparel designs.
• Craft visually appealing, creative marketing campaigns.
• Focus on messaging around positivity and personal empowerment.

It’s not just about what people are wearing in New York. It’s about understanding *your* people, so you can:

• Create products that fly off the shelves
• Discover new opportunities in the market before your competitors do
• Foster unshakeable brand loyalty

…and the list goes on.

What Questions Should You Ask Your Customers?

At the end of the day, you should strive to get to know your customers like never before. Imagine if you had the same approach as “What Are People Wearing in New York?” and asked people why they chose your product.

You should ask questions like:

• Why do you wear our clothing?
• What factors influence your apparel purchasing decisions the most?
• What do you think sets our brand apart from others in the market?
• What do you like most about our products?
• What could we improve?

You could come up with 1,000 questions if you wanted to, but the point is to start with questions that are simple, open-ended, and valuable for you.

How Should You Ask?

Even if you don’t want to chase people down the street and interview them, there are still ways to learn more about what drives your customers’ choices. You could host surveys, focus groups, or other forms of customer research.

It’s important to create an environment where customers feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings. Show them your interest in understanding their needs, desires, and motivations.

The answers you uncover will become your roadmap to success—so don’t be afraid to ask! With the right insights, you can confidently create apparel that resonates with your customers and helps you stand out.

Understanding the Insights

Let’s say you just collected a bunch of customer insights. Now what?

It’s time to dig deep and analyze the data you’ve gathered. Find trends, patterns, or anomalies in your customers’ responses that can help inform your product development strategies.

Here’s how:

Categorize Your Feedback

Organize responses based on different criteria such as product type, customer demographics, or the nature of the feedback—positive, negative, or neutral.

Identify Patterns and Themes

For example:

• Are many customers praising the quality of your materials?
• Are there repeated complaints about a particular design element?
• Are people gravitating toward certain colors or styles?

Identifying these patterns provides valuable insights into what’s working and what needs improvement.

Use Data Analysis Tools

These tools can provide quantitative insights, such as the frequency of specific feedback or the correlation between certain customer behaviors and satisfaction levels.

By integrating qualitative and quantitative data, you can understand your customers’ motivations and use this knowledge to drive your product development and marketing strategies.

There are lots of data analysis tools out there—ranging from basic spreadsheets to more comprehensive programs like Tableau—so take some time to find the right fit for you.

Delight Your Customers at Every Touchpoint

Learn About Scrappy Apparel’s Next-Level Manufacturing, E-Commerce, and Fulfillment Solutions

We want your million-dollar product idea to succeed. That’s why we offer high-volume apparel solutions designed to help you scale without breaking the bank.

Here’s how we can help:

Cutting-Edge Custom Apparel Services

Our experts will help you choose the optimal fabrics, inks, and printing techniques based on your project goals.

We overcome the limitations of local print shops by:

• Screen printing up to 17″ x 22″—we call this the Monster Print!
• Turning around thousands of garments in just a few weeks.
• Providing a 100% online solution for your convenience.
• Offering competitive, transparent prices.

Need to stay on-brand? No problem!

• We can match any Pantone color, so your designs will look just as good in real life as they do online.
• Our private labeling program gives you the freedom to create branded products that stand out in an increasingly competitive market.

E-Commerce and Fulfillment Solutions

Our cost-effective solutions make it easy to get your products out the door and into your customers’ hands quickly.

Instead of investing in individual warehousing, packaging, and shipping services, you can rely on our end-to-end fulfillment solution to do the work for you. You could say we’re the full package!

Backed by rigorous quality control measures, we offer:

• Same-day fulfillment solutions that save you time and money
• Real-time order tracking for full transparency
• Customized packaging solutions that make your products look great
• 5-star customer service for a seamless end-to-end experience

Investing in quality e-commerce and fulfillment processes today will help your business soar tomorrow. As your business grows, our 3PL services grow with you. We’ll help you handle increased order volumes during peak seasons without breaking a sweat.

Take Your Business to New Heights with Scrappy Apparel!

Take the guesswork out of manufacturing and fulfillment by choosing Scrappy Apparel as your all-in-one apparel solution. No more juggling multiple vendors, contracts, and deadlines. You can count on us to do it all!

Ready to Begin Your Project?