The clothing retail industry has been and is undergoing significant changes resulting from processes of globalisation, changes in consumer demand as well as changing corporate activities in terms of strategic marketing decisions. The UK clothing retail industry has experienced significant growth, which has focused attention on studies in the field with this sector being considered as the one of the most competitive markets in Europe. This is primarily as a result of the concentrated power of larger retailers such as Marks & Spencer. One prime issue as a result of globalisation is that there are more and more retailers sourcing globally aiming to provide competitive prices and quality products in the market. Marks & Spencer as such then is challenged by this trend particularly from rival discount and supermarket competitors.
The basis of the primary research conducted in this brief was delivering a questionnaire based survey delivered at four retail outlets two of which were Asda and two of which were Marks and Spencer. Opportunistic sampling was used in that customers were approached in the store as they entered and left the premises and asked would they participate. A target of 100 questionnaires to be completed at each store was decided on to achieve a healthy sample size yielding useful results for the analysis. The questionnaire had four sections. The first of these sought general demographic information such as age and sex, the second section sought information related to the frequency of shopping at the stores as well as frequency of shopping elsewhere. The third section sought altitudinal information related to reasons for purchasing in the respective stores while the fourth section and the fourth section sought information on preferences in terms of shopping specifically related to the variables of quality, price and the retail environment. Data was entered into SPSS and analysed according to the