Emerging Online Trends of Fashion Brands Buying: A Post-Pandemic Analysis

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic emerged as a stronger predictor of transforming the world into a virtual world of social media and online communities. The year 2020 was seen as extraordinary amidst the pandemic, witnessing online trends in advertising, services, and buying. To understand this shift in online trends, this research used the adaptive structure framework, which suggests how technology helps users in decision-making. This study analyzed the audience’s buying behavior and the construction of social relationships in early & post-pandemic times, employing a longitudinal survey design. From November 2020 to July 2023, 3 surveys were conducted among Pakistani audiences, with a sample size of 200 each time. Results suggest that, after the pandemic, audiences explore the social media content of fashion products before actually buying them.  Additionally, the online presence of fashion products, the adoption of technological applications in the fashion industry, and the role of social media as a tech assistant simultaneously affect the buying habits and social relationships of users.