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FASHN 398 - Professor Umhauer (Spring 2025): Market Analysis & Target Market

Market Analysis & Target Market

Market Analysis

  • Identify and describe at least two trade associations and/or organizations that relate to the industry in which your business will operate.
  • Summarize current and anticipated characteristics and trends in your market. Cite at least one association/organization from above. 

Target Market

  • What are the major customer groups for the industry? 
  • Which segment of the market will you target? Describe your target market in as much detail as possible using at least four different segmenting methods: geographic, demographic, psychographics, and behavioral needs. The reader should be able to visualize a customer!
  •  How large is your market? Describe the estimate geographic and demographic size as well as their trends. 

3 - Customer Groups

For this section, you'll be using industry statistics and demographic information.

  1. Return to the sources in the 'Industry Statistics' box. 
  2. Use the links below to get additional demographic information.

4 & 5 - Market Segmentation and Demographic Info

The Census Business Builder is a great resource to find several demographic resources brought into one report by geographic location. Specifically, these reports will allow you to see annual spending per household on "Apparel and Services" and are meant to be used for business research. 

Census Business Builder: Clothing Stores

To pull up a report:

  • In the top left, enter the geographic region for your anticipated target market.
    • My suggestion is keep your data at the state level. You may lose access to cool data if you get too specific.
  • Once the general demographic information pops up, click on "Create Report" in the bottom left.
  • This report has a ton of data in it. Take your time going through it. 
    • You can also use Ctrl +F to search for keywords like "apparel".

If you need demographics for other industry sectors, use the general Census Business Builder.

The resources below are more general demographic resources that are very useful for market research.