MA Strategic Fashion Marketing
Saudi Arabia has been selected as the focus of this research, with the intention of uncovering the attitudes of Saudi females in such a distinct culture. Academic writing on Saudi culture remains inadequate to paint a holistic picture of the way the country functions. With a national uniform (the abaya) imposed on the female population and a prominent mall culture, what are the implications of shopping behaviour on the highly collective society? By combining academic literature on consumer behaviour and previous studies conducted on the Saudi population, this thesis highlights the differences within Saudi shopping culture, focusing on fashion purchasing. In order to explore more specific cultural influences on fashion choice, a consumer-based survey was distributed followed by an in depth focus group - together underpinning attitudes and exposing unknown shopping patterns. Through this research it was discovered that contrary to academic literature, religion has minimal effect on the fashion shopping behaviour amongst Saudi women. Also, Saudi women are extremely trend conscious, willing to take risks in fashion choice and spend on fashion to remain current. The most significant discovery was that Saudi females widely use fashion and styling to convey individuality in the collectivist culture they are part of. This research has indicated that despite the large presence of fashion retailers in KSA, there is still much room for improvement and progress.
