The Influence of consumer purchase decisions on inventory management among fast fashion retailers in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

Effective inventory management are critical for fast fashion retailers, especially in dynamic markets like Nairobi City County, where consumer preferences shift rapidly. Overstocking can lead to financial losses due to high storage costs and unsold inventory when trends change. Conversely, understocking may result in missed sales opportunities and customer dissatisfaction. The key objective of this research was to determine the influence of purchase decisions on inventory management and the specific objectives were, to establish the influence of brand choice on inventory management; to determine the influence of consumer purchase frequency on inventory management and to establish the impact of consumer purchase amounts on inventory management for fast fashion retailers in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The research was underpinned by the theory of planned behavior which was the anchoring theory; and supported by the SCM theory and JIT theory. A positivist research philosophy guided the quantitative study, employing a descriptive cross-sectional survey design to collect primary quantitative data. A stratified random sampling technique was used to collect data using a 5-point Likert scale in a structured questionnaire that was administered using drop and pick method and was supplemented using google QR forms to ensure the 73% response rate received. A pilot study was conducted and 220 respondents, comprising 110 fashion brand managers and 110 fashion team members were selected to offer perspectives from both levels. Data was analyzed using SPSS packages version 20.0 and findings were presented using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics through mean and standard deviation and inferential statistics using a multiple linear regression. The findings from the study revealed that consumer purchase decisions significantly influenced inventory management. The correlation between brand choice and inventory strategies was positive and statistically significant (β = 0.276, p = 0.016). Similarly, consumer purchase frequency showed a significant relationship (β = 0.239, p = 0.036). Consumer purchase amounts had a positive and significant impact (β = 0.223, p< 0.05). These findings emphasized that information about available products, pricing, promotions, seasonal offers and product assortment are vital for helping customers make a purchase decision and thus will influence inventory management. Further, improving their inventory management by application of information technology, lean inventory systems and managing strategic supplier relationships can significantly boost consumer satisfaction, purchase frequencies and reduce waste from overproduction among fast fashion retailers in Nairobi City County. The study found that fast fashion retailers acknowledge the importance of past purchase information on inventory management but there is still limited application on data driven inventory decisions. The study was focused on fast fashion retailers in Nairobi City County, Kenya hence limits generalizability of these findings in different sectors and contexts.