The tendency of human beings to copy one another is shown in the popularity of areas such as fashion and consumer goods. To what extent do you agree?

The tendency of human beings to copy one another is shown in the popularity of areas such as fashion and consumer goods. To what extent do you agree?

As per a common perception, ubiquity of consumer goods is a clear illustration of innate skills of humans to ape each other. However, this statement can be challenged on certain grounds. 

To start with, there are hardly any parallels to be drawn between the natural propensity of mankind to imitate each other and demand for goods such as clothing and gadgets, to name a few: most of the merchandise that is selling fast is by virtue of the quality  that has gone into manufacturing it. Regardless of who is buying it or not, most buyers make a beeline to procure products that have a proven track record, in terms of utility and endurance. This can be experienced in the case of certain gadgets such as mobile phones by Apple, which have been ruling the roost since last decade owing to their unmatched  quality and features. 

To corroborate, a survey was carried out by the Consumer Attitude  Assessment Department of Apple Phones, which concluded that most of the buyers, almost 95% of subjects assessed, were swayed  by the quality of the goods they had bought and denied any other influence. 

However, a view upholds the conservative thought that popularity of goods is driven by the craving among many to be a part of a society or community. Even though this may not hold  true to a great extent, there are some instances where purchases of specific kinds of clothing and devices are made to allow people to easily adopt a uniform look that their peers or social group sports.  

Overall,  I feel that the notion of consumer goods being widely acknowledged highlights human tendency to copy each other, holds little  substance; many are driven by various aspects like quality and price while buying goods.