Figuring Out Buyer Behavior Part 2

Segment Selection:
The segment I'm focusing on in this post is 18-25 year old males who are prone to wearing jerseys often. This group is likely to wear jerseys more frequently than any other group of people. These individuals are avid fantasy football players who also attend parties and many sporting events. This age group does not typically have a lot of cash to spend on jerseys, so they are likely to be interested in a rental-service instead of purchasing.

Interviews:
1. Martin: Martin is a 28 year old from Boston who works in marketing. He owns several jerseys but is currently trying to sell some of his apparel in turn for some new jerseys. After explicitly detailing the pricing information and logistics of my jersey-rental service to Martin, I presented him with two existing alternatives: "Rep the Squad", an existing jersey-rental service that is limited by monthly returns, and Alibaba, the Chinese conglomerate that sells very cheap jerseys, that aren't always authentic. Martin said that he values Authenticity over Price, so any jerseys from overseas companies are off the list. Left with Rep the Squad, Martin opted for a service like this because he prioritizes flexibility along with price. For people like Martin who emphasize flexibility and authenticity, a US-based jersey company that offers subscription-based memberships is the viable and ideal option.

2. Alex: Alex is a 24 year old Grad Student here at UF. He only owns one jersey but wants to buy another to support his favorite team, the Miami Heat. I presented Alex with the same guidelines I gave to Martin, including the alternative options. Alex stated that the reason he only owns one jersey is because of the insane prices from the four major sports: "Sports are my livelihood. I watch sports almost every night each week, and I want to be able to show off my fandom. I need to be able to get jerseys for cheap." Alex was deeply curious in the overseas jersey offerings, simply because of the low prices. "I could get a jersey for a quarter of the price of what I would pay the NBA or NFL; even if it is a lower quality jersey, I'd be willing to try at least once."

3.  Tim: Tim is a 28 year old from Orlando who works in media. He owns a few jerseys, but isn't necessarily looking for any more. After I presented him with the alternatives previously listed, Tim said that if he were to be in the market for a new jersey, he would probably opt for purchasing a jersey outright, because he is very selective about the jerseys he buys. Tim waits until there is a new player he really likes that he can support for several years. Tim also said that authenticity is crucial. With that in mind, Alibaba is out, and any rental services are also not an option. Tim would be likely to purchase a jersey outright, directly from the NFL or NBA Shops.

Summary: After a second round of interviews, it is apparent that a lot of the factors going into a purchase- price, authenticity, ease of access, flexibility- vary greatly based on the consumer. Although we were able to narrow down the target market to a specific age group and gender, there are still several factors that vary among individuals, which we need to identify. The biggest factors are price and authenticity. People want to spend less for an authentic jersey, which is hard to do in this market. Perhaps minimizing costs elsewhere could help us reach that goal.