A while ago,in many of my campus side-hustles,i decided to start a business...mainly clothes retailing. I sourced for good designer clothes from town and stocked my shop. Customers would flock and sometimes it gave me the illusion that I was actually going to make a lot of money. As I went through my books of account,I discovered that I would only sell an average of five items a day. The total number of customers who would express interest but not buy were very many. For every 8 customers,only one would buy. I managed to break even but quit the business as the returns were not reasonable. I have been analyzing how I could have turned that desire for my products into actual demand. These are my findings:
:- Move to a location with high networth individuals who can afford designer clothes because they are a bit expensive.
:- Source for a cheaper source of the clothes so as to reduce the unit sale price and make it affordable.
:- Use online marketting so as to reach all consumers regardless of their disposable income.
.....wazua has great minds. That is why I would greately appreciate if you gave me other hints of how to change that desire into demand. I want to be fully armed with knowledge before I get back into that line of business. Thanks in advance.

the problem with hire purchase is the trustworthyness of the consumer. You cant trust a customer whereas they are utilising a good they have not fully paid for. Many are visitors or passers-by...hence hire purchase is not feasible. There is also this thought that nobody can buy clothes via hire purchase...and what security do they leave to guarantee you payment?..

Desire:- a situation where a consumer is willing to buy a good but is not able due to his/her budget constraint.
Demand:- a situation where a consumer is willing and able to buy a good at the quoted price..
.....with demand,sales follow automatically.

how long did the business last? I guess your findings holds the key to success.... also add networking... i can also refer two or 3 customers in future.... i also think return customers take time, say 3 months subject to budget or windfall to get more clothes...patience is a real driver in business!

I hope you take this the right way. I joined Form 1 and studied for a few months. I then realised that
1. I didn't know the answers to the KCSE questions that year
2. I might have joined the wrong school
3. *insert any other that I left out*

Boss, a business is started with a feasibility study.
If you find the business viable, do a business plan.
Most importantly KYC. Know your customer. Kerubo would have told you, if you don't want your nose pinched, you should know people!
Know your strengths and weakness. Patience is a virtue, a gift from above. If you don't have it, you should get down on your knees and pray your God for it. Something about Rome not being built in a ...

Lemmie give a practical example; I desire a certain wazualet..and..i will demand for her number at the next mbuzi!

This seems like a problem with marketing and targeting.

If 1 out of 8 inquiries a day leads to a sale (Which I think is not bad) then you need to move to a more visible location where you also have more walk in traffic. Imagine if you got 150 people to walk into the shop daily.... At some point the dynamics change depending on the quality, price, customer service, fashion etc... but you need really good visibility to sell to strangers.

The other bit is targeting. Pick the group you want to sell to and have a marketing plan targeted at them. Build a small website with your designs and drive traffic there, use FB, email, etc.. to get your existing customers to shout about you.

Forget about the credit thing. If people desire something, you need to make them feel that it is within their grasp.

Let them know it is affordable (I hope your products are), others in their class/status are buying too, it is fashionable they will find it worth it.

If you do installments, it's deposit first collect on final payment.

Famooz is taken.. Source for another market..

And even after she's said 'I do' you can always engineer a divorce.

I guess you didn't get deadpoet concept here.
the customer pays in instalments and takes his goods after the final payment