“Diversity of Emerging Brands Boosts Platform Preference”

[Financial News] A study has found that the more diverse the brands listed on an online fashion platform, the more consumers perceive the platform as active.
According to industry sources on the 28th, a research team led by Dong-il Lee, a professor in the Department of Business Administration at Sejong University, presented the findings of its study, “The Effect of Brand Assortment Diversity on Retail Equity Formation in Online Fashion Platforms,” at the Korea Distribution Association’s fall academic conference held on the 23rd.
Retail equity refers to intangible assets, such as the trust and positive perceptions consumers have toward a particular retailer.
The research team conducted an independent survey of 350 consumers who primarily use MUSINSA and analyzed the results.
The study measured the effect of brand diversity on platform equity. It classified this equity into commerce equity, which reflects consumers’ perception that a platform discovers and nurtures good brands, and community equity, which assesses the diversity of users and reviews and the level of interaction.
The study found that when a variety of major brands were listed, consumers simply perceived the product assortment as broad (“assortment perception”). By contrast, when a platform offered a diverse range of emerging and growing brands, consumers not only perceived its assortment as broad but also formed the positive perception that “the platform is vibrant” (“vitality perception”).
Commerce equity associated with a platform’s nurturing of emerging brands grew much more when consumers felt “vitality” in interactions among users. The analysis found that these forms of equity affected consumers’ preference for the platform and their intention to return, and led to purchase intentions for emerging and growing brands.
MUSINSA said the study confirmed that its strategy of nurturing small and emerging brands and growing alongside them, which it has pursued since its early days, translates into actual consumer purchase intentions.
The researchers also assessed that the diversity of major brands helps increase customers’ willingness to buy emerging and growing brands.
Professor Dong-il Lee, who led the study, said, “Broadly introducing and supporting emerging brands leads to continued customer use and purchasing experiences, giving platforms the impetus to develop new brands and bring them to market. Attracting major brands and nurturing emerging and growing brands appear to be options a platform can pursue together.”
The study was conducted as part of an industry-academic collaboration between the Korea Distribution Association and MUSINSA. The research team independently designed and conducted the consumer survey, analyzed the results, and drew the conclusions.
[email protected] Kang Myeong-yeon Reporter