Literature Background
The increased use of social media platforms by consumers will have an effect on fashion shopping strategies that United Kingdom clothing retailers use. The fashion industry is a huge industry that depends on complex branding and marketing techniques (Tungate, 2008). Since the rise of social media, different companies in the clothing industry are using various platforms to measure market performance, control brand perception and reach a wider audience (Wright Lee 2009). In the last decade, digital innovations have changed how consumers make decisions during shopping (Chakraborty, and Saha 2018; Huang and Benyoucef 2013). New media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Google have enabled consumers be active market players (Henning -Thurau et. al, 2010). Habibi, Laroche and Richard, (2014) states that social media is an ideal landscape to build meaningful communities (Colliander and Dahlén 2011). For many consumers, social media is part of life and the era where brands controlled conversation is already past (Rumsey and Saunter, 2013; Mangold, and Faulds 2009). To develop effective fashion shopping strategies, cloth retailers will have to understand what motivates consumers in different social media platforms (Wolny and Mueller 2013). Significantly to note is that social media has changed the consumption behaviour in particular young people (Hollebeek 2011; Duffett, 2017; Çakır, Çakır, and Eru 2013). Hajli, (2013) notes that the increased usage of social media can be credited to Web 2.0 applications. Through social media, consumers who are shopping can make consultations from the online community (Liang, Ho, Li and Turban, 2012).
Industry Background
It has been estimated that the United Kingdom clothing market will grow by 16.6 percent within the next five years (PR Newswire 2018). Among the estimated clothing subsector to grow fast is menswear with 21.1 percent more than womenswear with 5.8 percent. Growth in the UK clothing market will be driven by improved fashion in addition to increased retailer investment. Among the individuals with higher purchasing frequency are young clothing shoppers who have an affinity to new clothing trends and fashion. Among mature shoppers, value for money is the biggest motivating factor (PR Newswire 2018).
Research Aim, Research Questions
The aim of the research will be to determine the effects that the consumers increased use of social media platform has on Fashion shopping strategies used by UK clothing retailers. The research questions will include:
• Which is the most preferred social media platform in terms of interacting with cloth retailers?
• Does the use of social media influence purchasing behaviours?
• Which are the most effective fashion shopping strategies that can motivate social media users to purchase?
The research objectives will include:
• To find out the most preferred social media platform in terms of interacting with cloth retailers
• To determine how use of social media influence purchasing behaviours
• To investigate the most effective fashion shopping strategies that can motivate social media users to purchase
Research Methodology
The research to be conducted will utilise a mixed methodology. A mixed methodology is where the research collects both qualitative and quantitative data (Johnstone 2004). The research instruments to be used are structured questionnaire and interviews (Harrison, and Reilly 2011). Random sampling technique has been chosen for selecting the research respondents as it gives everyone in the population an equal chance of being part of the sample (Kothari 2004). A sample of approximately 80 participants will be recruited. The research instruments will be tested for reliability and validity through a pilot study. Analysis of quantitative data will be through descriptive statistics using SPSS while interviews will employ thematic analysis (Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill 2009).
Ethical Considerations
In conducting the research, it will be of importance to ensure that consent is obtained from the research respondents using consent forms. Moreover, adhering to privacy and confidentiality of both the personal information and data collected will be critical (Saunders, et al., 2009). Finally, the collected data will be stored in a password protected personal computer. Importantly, meeting the university’s ethical criteria will be mandatory.
Timescale
The project, from start to finish will be undertaken using the timelines provided by the university.
Resources
The major resources require are library resources for relevant information on the topic and financial resources to facilitate data collection and analysis.

References
Çakır, F., Çakır, M. and Eru, O., 2013. The effect of the social media on young consumers’consumption expenditure. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies, 5(2), pp.86-96.
Chakraborty, T. and Saha, R., 2018. Digital Innovations: Breakthrough Opportunities To Build Novel Business Models. Business Perspectives–Aims and Scope, p.46.
Colliander, J. and Dahlén, M., 2011. Following the Fashionable Friend: The Power of Social Media: Weighing Publicity Effectiveness of Blogs versus Online Magazines. Journal of advertising research, 51(1), pp.313-320.
Duffett, R.G., 2017. Influence of social media marketing communications on young consumers’ attitudes. Young Consumers, 18(1), pp.19-39.
Habibi, M.R., Laroche, M. and Richard, M.O., 2014. The roles of brand community and community engagement in building brand trust on social media. Computers in Human Behavior, 37, pp.152-161.
Hajli, M.N. (2013) A study of the impact of social media on consumers. International Journal of Market Research, 56(3), 387- 404.
Harrison, R.L. and Reilly, T.M., 2011. Mixed methods designs in marketing research. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 14(1), pp.7-26.
Henning -Thurau, T., Malthouse, E.C., Friege, C., Gensler, S., Lobschat, L., Rangaswamy, A. and Skiera, B., 2010. The impact of new media on customer relationships. Journal of service research, 13(3), pp.311-330.
Hollebeek, L., 2011. Exploring customer brand engagement: definition and themes. Journal of strategic Marketing, 19(7), pp.555-573.
Huang, Z. and Benyoucef, M., 2013. From e-commerce to social commerce: A close look at design features. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 12(4), pp.246-259.
Johnstone, P.L., 2004. Mixed methods, mixed methodology health services research in practice. Qualitative health research, 14(2), pp.259-271.
Kothari, C.R., 2004. Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International.
Liang, T.P., Ho, Y.T., Li, Y.W and Turban, E. (2012) What Drives Social Commerce: The Role of Social Support and Relationship Quality. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 16(2), 69- 90.
Mangold, W.G. and Faulds, D.J., 2009. Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business horizons, 52(4), pp.357-365.
PR Newswire.2018. The UK Clothing Market 2017-2022. Online. Available at: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-uk-clothing-market-2017-2022-300483862.html [Accessed: June 22, 2018].
Rumsey, A. and Saunter, L. (2014) UK Retail technology Priorities. Wgsn. [Online] Available at: [Accessed: June 22, 2018].
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. 2009. Research methods for business students. 5th ed. Pearson Education Ltd. Harlow
Tungate, M. 2005. Fashion brands: branding style from Armani to Zara. Kogan Page. London
Wolny, J. and Mueller, C., 2013. Analysis of fashion consumers’ motives to engage in electronic word-of-mouth communication through social media platforms. Journal of Marketing Management, 29(5-6), pp.562-583.
Wright Lee, M. 2009. 5 Ways Social Media Changed Fashion in 2009. URL: http://mashable.com/2009/12/21/social-media-fashion/. [Accessed: June 22, 2018].

Appendices
Gantt chart
Activity 1st Month 2nd Month 3rd Month 4th Month
Identification of research area
Formulate research questions
Formulate research strategy, design and
select method
Write research proposal
Literature review
Data collection
Data analysis
Final report submission