Whenever you go into a clothing store, the only mannequins you tend to see are the ultra skinny female mannequins that are so popular. But, we all know that those mannequins do not adequately represent what all women look like, nor do they even represent what a majority of women look like. Of course, businesses continue to buy those extra skinny mannequins because they are so cheap and common. But, there are actually good reasons for clothing businesses to start buying plus size mannequins to put into their store.
Plus size women are not advertised to as often
The vast majority of clothing ads aimed at women are aimed at very skinny women. Anyone who has ever worked in a clothing store can no doubt confirm this. This means that plus sized women are sort of an untapped market for you to advertise to. Women are used to seeing skinny display mannequins and posters with only skinny models. So, if a store were to set up a nice display with a few plus size mannequins and some posters featuring plus sized models on them, then that store would be really advertising to a market that is rarely advertised to. Given how competitive the clothing market is, stores should take every advantage that they can get.
Plus size women are more likely to purchase clothes
Believe it or not, women are more likely to buy clothing when the mannequin that the clothing is being modeled on closely resembles them. This study was conducted on over 3000 women of various ages, races, and sizes and it was intended to look at how women make purchasing decisions when it comes to clothing. The study found that women are more likely to purchase clothing when the mannequin closely resembles them. In fact, in the case of plus size women, they are 3 times more likely to buy a piece of clothing if the mannequin wearing it is plus sized as well. Anyone who runs a clothing store knows that getting people to buy clothing is all about convincing them that they will look good in whatever piece or pieces of clothing it is that you are trying to sell to them. If plus size mannequins can help stores convince people to buy their clothing, can those stores afford not to have them?
It helps with body image
Moving away from purely financial things, getting mannequins that more accurately represent the actual shape of what women look like is just a good thing to do. Many women in our society suffer from the fact that society puts unrealistic expectations on them. By making use of more realistic looking mannequins and advertising, you can help women who may be suffering from the fact that their body does not match what they see in the media.
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