Does English language ability influence brand choices and shopping behavior?

Not as much as I thought. There are slight differences between students who say they can't speak English at all or only a little, and the ones who state that they can speak highly advanced or native level English.

Among women with a high English skill level, some brands are rated slightly higher (Prada, Bottega, Coach and Ralph Lauren). The last two were expected outcomes, as they are American brands. Lower rated brands are Chloé and Burberry, Miu Miu and Samantha Thavasa. But the differences are only slight ones (with Burberry being the exception. It is rated much higher among non-speakers). English speakers clearly prefer Omotesando over Shinjuku and do not like Ginza.

The results do show, though, among other categories. If we ask students for who is influencing their shopping behavior and opinion formation, women with high English skills rate the following categories significantly lower: friends, students, people on the street and magazines. Non-no is read less, the self-confident ViVi is read more frequently.

Judging their own personality, as could be expected, English speaking girls rate their own cosmopolitanism, creativity and individualism much higher. They tend to dislike Ebi-Chan and do not think so much that a handbag defines your status. Seken and stability have lower priority to them. They believe much more in upward mobility, will not change their own style so much when becoming a working woman, and do not feel the urge to purchase much more clothes when enetering the workforce. But, foreign brands are more important to them.

Let us summarize. Women with higher English skill level are, as expected, more sophisticated, rejecting the social constraints and, in part, the dependency on social rituals and role models as given to them by mote-kei magazines. They are less influenced by what others think of them. BUT, this does not mean that they shop less, or that their brand choices are so much different. They have been subject to different influences, but the real difference is among how they perceive themselves and why they shop. Learn English and shop with self-confidence and for yourself. English skills are not an exit strategy out of the consumer mania, they just change your attitude.

Mote-Kei Ray, JJ and CanCam

In case you always wondered what the exact difference is between Ray and JJ readers (two mote-kei magazine titles). JJ readers consider themselves to be more creative, tend to dislike cheap brands such as Samantha Thavasa and F21 (also a lower ranking for Coach, the mainstream brand number one) more than Ray readers and are more fond of Bottega Venetta and Marc Jacobs. A dislike for Ikebukuro and higher rankings for Isetan hint at a slighlty more sophisticated taste. The usual connection between Zara/sophisticated and F21/less sophisticated can also be seen here. Interesting is also the fact that JJ readers read more ViVi than Ray readers. Ray is the typical magazine for university students. It has a good image with boys, the clothes are considered "safe" and cheap, also very easy to incorporate into your wardrobe. JJ is slightly more mature than Ray, the clothes have more class.

Now let us compare Ray and CanCam. Here we find something intreresting. There is nearly no difference in readership. Two things can be seen (if you really look for something): CanCam readers dislike F21 more than Ray readers, and think of themselves as slightly more creative. They also tend to read less post-gyaru titles such as Sweet and ViVi. The brand choices, preference of shopping districts and even the evaluation of what makes a luxury product, are identical to the point where it gets scary.

Louis Vuitton lovers - what kind of students are they?

In case you have always wondered, who are those students who love Louis Vuitton so much? Are there profound differences to the average student among elite universities? In the case of Burberry, we can say, no. Burberry lovers blend in. Completely. There was not one statistically significant difference, only that they tend to shop a little bit more often in Ginza than the rest of the crowd. And tend to read more CanCam. But the mighty brand from Paris? Here we see another picture.

Before we go into the details, lets start with the most prominent differences. LV lovers, they tend to value more highly the following brands (in that order): Gucci and Dior, and D&G (who would have thought that?). Brands are rated higher in general, but Samantha Thavasa is rated more highly, too. The brands that are not rated better are Paul Smith, Ralph Lauren, Commes des Garcon and YSL. The only statistical significant difference in where they shop is Shibuya and Shibuya 109. They read more ViVi, CanCam and the other mote-key titles such as JJ and Ray, and also Non-no (+11%). Famous people and celebrities play a stronger role in their opinion formation, and (!) they admit that widespread brand recognition and the fact that everybody has the same brand play a role in their purchase decision of a luxury brand.

When it comes to the way they judge their own personality, they say they judge women by their handbag, they want to be more trendy than the average student, and they value brands highly in general. Ebi-Chan is rated above average, as is the desire to buy more when becoming a working woman.

As Hermes is also rated higher than average, we can see clear status consumption, and aspiration towards celebrities. Further we see gyaru influences, and a fixation on strong and recognizable brands. Are we surprised with the results? D&G did surprise me, actually.

Now, to prove the fact that it actually does not really matter if it is LV or Gucci, the other status brand that you tend to buy in high school when even the most fashion-unconscious girl sitting next to you takes out her brand wallet during class, lets take a look at the differences of Gucci lovers and LV lovers.

It is almost scary. There is no difference. The only apparent visible difference is less Gyaru influence, meaning less fondness for Shibuya 109 and a better average evaluation for Ginza. the choices of magazines are exactly (!) the same. Analyzing the profiles in more detail leaves me with a very vague suspicion that Gucci lovers are from households with a little bit more money and older mothers who tend to shop more in Ginza and Omotesando Hills. The differences are not strong, though.