No, I'm not shopping for my girlfriend! : A Millennial perspective on gender in fashion retail

Sammanfattning: The idea of this thesis is to achieve deeper understanding of how gender is materialised in the retail environments of brands challenging the traditional division between male and female especially in their marketing and style direction. Furthermore, the research aims to give deeper understanding on how the gendered shop environments are understood by a sample of Millennial consumers and how the consumers reflect on gender in these settings. Using varying data collection methods from in-store observations to go-along interviews with participants chosen with purposive sampling technique, the thesis uses qualitative method as a research tool and further analyses the data upon framework of servicescape theory. Using constructivist grounded theory as main analysis method, the findings suggest that there are significant differences between merchandising womenswear and menswear assortments. The research also indicates that among Millennial consumers there is clear interest and market potential towards the assortment of opposite gender, and the consumers also recognise the gendered differences in the materialised retail environments.