The Dark Side of Real-time Marketing : how instant consumer engagement undermines environmental sustainability
Kononova, Darja (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025111027468
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025111027468
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of the thesis was to indicate ethical and environmental impacts of Real-Time Marketing in the fast fashion industry, focusing on how instant digital engagement strategies shape consumer behaviour and encourage unsustainable consumption. Shein is used as a case study to show how instant and emotional marketing affects the decisions of young adult consumers.
The research takes a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews with eight participants aged 20-28 from different cultural backgrounds, all living in Finland. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis was used to explore emotional, ethical, and behavioural reactions to fast fashion marketing in depth. The results revealed a clear attitude-behaviour gap: participants knew about sustainability issues but still bought from fast fashion brands, often motivated by emotions like excitement, reward, and a sense of belonging.
Real-Time Marketing tactics, such as limited-time offers, algorithmic targeting, and viral content were found to create urgency and impulsive buying, but they also led to marketing fatigue and less consumer trust. Participants showed different levels of emotional intelligence: some managed their reactions with self-control and critical thinking, while others were more easily influenced by emotional triggers.
The study concludes that sustainability cannot match the emotional immediacy of fast fashion marketing unless brands include emotional intelligence and ethical transparency in their real-time strategies. This research adds to our understanding of how marketing, emotion, and environmental responsibility interact, providing insights for both scholars and professionals who want to connect digital innovation with sustainability.
The research takes a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews with eight participants aged 20-28 from different cultural backgrounds, all living in Finland. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis was used to explore emotional, ethical, and behavioural reactions to fast fashion marketing in depth. The results revealed a clear attitude-behaviour gap: participants knew about sustainability issues but still bought from fast fashion brands, often motivated by emotions like excitement, reward, and a sense of belonging.
Real-Time Marketing tactics, such as limited-time offers, algorithmic targeting, and viral content were found to create urgency and impulsive buying, but they also led to marketing fatigue and less consumer trust. Participants showed different levels of emotional intelligence: some managed their reactions with self-control and critical thinking, while others were more easily influenced by emotional triggers.
The study concludes that sustainability cannot match the emotional immediacy of fast fashion marketing unless brands include emotional intelligence and ethical transparency in their real-time strategies. This research adds to our understanding of how marketing, emotion, and environmental responsibility interact, providing insights for both scholars and professionals who want to connect digital innovation with sustainability.