The Analysis of the Marketing Strategy of Shein and Accompanying Word of Mouth on Social Media

Abstract

For the fast fashion economy, the faster the product is updated and the more categories there are, the larger the brand will be. Speed, category, and price are all essential elements for a successful fast fashion business. But all of these elements serve the first principles of the industry. That is, these fast fashion brand companies use various fashion elements to maximize their ability to capture the various social psychologies of the moment and make these fashion elements the popular goods of the period. Therefore, this paper focuses on SHEIN, a brand that is now a huge success in the global apparel market, and evaluates three strategies that it uses to gain insight into consumer psychology and gain word-of-mouth (using data management to gain effective consumer Insights, using affiliate marketing programs to create social media viral spread, and creating a combination of UGC and PGC content with its brand power to enhance users' spontaneous communication behavior). A questionnaire was created to determine the behavior and psychology of customers when purchasing fast fashion items, and 237 people completed it. It was clear that SHEIN's marketing strategy and its novelty of style and low price could attract a group of consumers. However, some drawbacks are also evident, such as customers' overall perception of the brand, which will affect the enhancement of SHEIN's brand value. The results can help SHEIN to create optimized tactics by considering customers' psychology during the post-pandemic era when more people consider more about the sustainability of their consumer behavior.