Direct Marketing strategies and Generation Z buying Behaviour of fashion products in Ibom Plaza Boutiques, Uyo metropolis, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Fashion boutiques in urban shopping centres increasingly face challenges such as declining purchase intention, weak customer loyalty, low referral behaviour, and inconsistent engagement among Generation Z consumers, despite the growing use of direct marketing tools. This situation necessitates an empirical examination of the effect of direct marketing strategies on Generation Z buying behaviour of fashion products in Ibom Plaza boutiques, Uyo Metropolis, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted in this study. The study population consisting of 1,200 Generation Z consumers who frequently shop at Ibom Plaza boutiques. The sample size of 350 Generation Z was selected using purposive sampling technique. The data for this study were obtained using primary source. The data for the study were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while hypotheses were tested using multiple regression model. To enhance data analysis, IBM SPSS (version 28) was used. The findings showed that direct marketing strategies have a strong and significant influence on Generation Z buying behaviour. Personalized messaging increases purchase intention (β = 0.278), direct promotional discounts drive impulse buying (β = 0.247), in-store personal sales interaction raises purchase frequency (β = 0.214), and direct social media messaging encourages referrals and purchase decisions (β = 0.263). Collectively, these four strategies explain 56.6% of the variance in Generation Z buying behaviour (R² = 0.566), indicating that tailored, interactive, and incentive-based marketing approaches are highly effective for this segment. The study concludes that direct marketing strategies are critical for enhancing Generation Z engagement, purchase decisions, and brand advocacy in the fashion retail sector. Based on findings of study, it was recommended among others that the sellers of fashion products in Ibom Plaza boutiques, Uyo metropolis, Akwa Ibom State should intensify the adoption of personalized and interactive marketing approaches to attract buyers’ patronage.