Antecedents and outcomes of fashion innovativeness in retailing

Challenging market conditions force the fashion industry to find new ways of introducing new products, adjusting and stimulating unplanned purchases within fashion stores. Fashion innovativeness and visual merchandising play a key role in this challenge. This study examines how fashion innovativeness is related to motivational factors for shopping and actual unplanned purchases in fashion retailing. It also investigates the moderating effect of visual merchandising on the relationship between fashion innovativeness and unplanned purchases. The data, obtained through a consumer survey, were analysed using factor analyses and structural equation modelling. The results show that fashion innovativeness is positively affected by sexual attraction, shopping for recreation, recognition enhancement, and aesthetic expression, and positively influences unplanned purchases. The link between fashion innovativeness and unplanned purchases is moderated by visual merchandising. This study also provides recommendations for retailers on increasing unplanned purchases in their stores using the concept of fashion innovativeness.     

Gender as a moderator of the relationship between materialism and fashion clothing involvement among Indian youth

The research examines the role of gender in moderating the relationship between materialism and product involvement with fashion clothing among the Indian youth. The Richins materialism scale and the product involvement and purchase involvement scales developed by O'Cass were used to understand the behaviour of Indian youth towards fashion clothing. The sample (n = 254) comprised of university students from different parts of India. The findings indicate that Indian youth do not possess a high level of materialistic tendencies. Gender has a moderating influence on the relationship between materialism and involvement with fashion clothing. Young men and women differ with respect to their involvement with fashion clothing and even more with regard to their involvement with the purchase of fashion clothing, with women reporting a higher level of involvement in both cases.     

Pre‐purchase and post‐purchase satisfaction and fashion involvement of female tennis wear consumers

This study examined the relationship among pre‐purchase and post‐purchase satisfaction and fashion involvement of women who participated in tennis. As women's activities in sports, including tennis, are growing, it is necessary to investigate their clothing needs in order to meet consumers’ needs. A final sample consisted of 124 women who attended a Cortec United States Tennis Association Women's Pro Tournament. The questionnaires were personally distributed and collected during the tournament. The theoretical base for this study was the Engel, Blackwell, and Miniard model on consumer decision making. There was a positive significant relationship between pre‐purchase satisfaction and post‐purchase satisfaction (P < 0.01). There was a positive significant relationship between pre‐purchase satisfaction and fashion involvement (P < 0.001). Also, there was a positive significant relationship between post‐purchase satisfaction and fashion involvement (P < 0.001). Comfort was identified as the most important clothing attribute and fit the second most important for women to achieve satisfaction before and after purchasing tennis apparel. Seventy‐two percent of the women indicated the need for improved fit of tennis wear. Women of all ages reported garment length as a problem for each garment type. Two major reasons for not purchasing tennis clothing were high prices and inappropriate sizes.     

Fashion consumer profiles in the Portuguese market: involvement,innovativeness, self‐expression and impulsiveness as segmentation criteria

This study identified fashion consumer profiles among Portuguese young adults. The work was based on four constructs: fashion involvement, fashion innovativeness, self‐expression through fashion products and impulsiveness. Another purpose of this study was to test these instruments in this cultural context in order to contribute to the generalizability of the scales. A cluster analysis uncovered three groups: Moderates, Apathetic and Enthusiasts. On the whole, this study proposes a new way of segmenting Portuguese fashion consumers and demonstrates that the four constructs employed can be used in different cultural contexts.     

Beyond the fad: a critical review of consumer fashion involvement

Fashion involvement has been regarded as an important research topic in consumer research. Despite the importance of this topic, no attempt has been made in the past to review, assess and consolidate extant research on fashion involvement. This study presents a comprehensive and critical review and analysis of the recent studies on involvement in the context of fashion clothing to indicate the current state and identify possible gaps. A content analysis of the current peer-reviewed journal articles published on this research topic reveals a paucity of research on a number of antecedents and consequences of involvement. Further, the findings show that the research method is biased towards the survey method as opposed to experimentation. In this paper, the results of the content analysis outlining methodologies, sample characteristics, variables and major findings are provided and analysed, followed by directions for future research, theoretical and managerial implications, and limitations.     

Women's responses to fashion media images: a study of female consumers aged 30–59

The purpose of this study was to examine whether female consumers ranging in age from 30 to 59 prefer fashion advertising models more closely resembling their age. The sample for this study consisted of 182 women. Stimuli included full‐colored photographs of current fashion models. A questionnaire designed to explore participants' responses to the stimuli included scales measuring participants' beliefs about the stimulus models' appearances and attractiveness, participants' purchase intentions and perceived similarity with the models and participants' perceived fashionability of the model's clothing. Participants rated models appearing older in age significantly higher than younger models on the characteristics related to appearance and attractiveness. Advertisements with older models also had a significant positive relationship to participants' purchase intentions as compared to younger‐age models. Participants who perceived more similarity to the models were found to have more positive beliefs about the model's appearance and attractiveness and the fashionability of the model's clothing. Perceived similarity also had a significant positive relationship to participants' purchase intentions. As a result of this study, findings suggest that marketers and retailers should consider the age of the model used in their promotional materials. Specifically, it is possible that female consumers either transitioning into, or currently in, the middle adulthood life stages may have a preference for fashion models more closely resembling their age group.     

Understanding gay consumers’ clothing involvement and fashion consciousness

This study’s primary objective was to provide a better understanding of gay consumers’ clothing involvement and fashion consciousness. Personal in‐depth interviews were conducted with 13 gay professionals in Canada. One hundred and forty‐five usable survey questionnaires were also collected from gay consumers. The Fashion Involvement Index Scale (FII scale) was adapted for this study. Interview participants indicated that, in general, gay men tend to be more fashion conscious than heterosexual men. Survey results also indicated two dimensions, fashion interest and fashion awareness that were found to be stronger for this group of gay consumers than for heterosexual men. The FII value for the survey participants also resulted in a sum score mean value of 11.2, a medium level of fashion involvement that is a slightly higher level than has been found for heterosexual consumers. Interestingly, this study does not provide strong evidence of gay consumers’ involvement in cutting‐edge fashion trends.     

An assessment of organic apparel,environmental beliefs and consumer preferences via fashion innovativeness

The topic of organic apparel has been widely discussed among academics and practitioners in recent years. While numerous studies have been done on the topic, few studies to date have assessed the topic of fashion innovativeness and its influence on attitudes towards organic apparel. In addition, an evaluation of consumer preferences for organic apparel from a conjoint analysis perspective has not been implemented. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to identify which organic apparel attributes are most important to high fashion innovativeness and low fashion innovativeness groups. Furthermore, the variables of environmental beliefs and attitudes towards purchasing organic apparel were assessed. An online survey was developed to measure the variables, including a full profile discrete choice design used to measure attribute preferences for t‐shirts. The data were analyzed using a multinomial logit model and desirability indices. The results indicated that the low fashion innovativeness group preferred organic and eco‐friendly apparel more than the high fashion innovativeness group. In addition, when examining high fashion innovativeness and low fashion innovativeness groups overall, the preferred t‐shirt was Dri‐Fit, Cotton Jersey Knit, Made In America, Eco‐Friendly and $25.00. However, when examining high fashion innovativeness and low fashion innovativeness groups separately for the preferred t‐shirt, differences appeared in Sustainable. The results suggest that high fashion innovativeness and low fashion innovativeness groups may desire different organic apparel attributes when considering organic apparel.     

Hierarchical effects of product attributes on actualized innovativeness in the context of high-tech products

This paper examines the influence of product attributes in high-tech products on consumers' actualized innovativeness. In Stage 1, product attributes are identified based on interviews with consumers. In Stage 2, a survey is conducted with a different set of consumers in order to classify the product attributes into primary, secondary or tertiary attributes and to test the hypotheses. The results reveal that primary, secondary and tertiary attributes have a reverse hierarchical influence on actualized innovativeness. That is, tertiary attributes influence the actualized innovativeness most, followed by secondary, and then by primary attributes. However, only primary attributes positively moderate the relationship between inherent and actualized innovativeness. These results can help marketing researchers and practitioners understand the influence of product attributes on behavioral aspects of consumer innovativeness.     

Accessing and affording sustainability: the experience of fashion consumption within young families

Despite the ever increasing levels of fashion consumption, neither retailers nor consumers have as yet implemented sustainability principles to a significant degree. This is despite the fact that sustainability principles are increasingly understood and will be applied by consumers, as long as affordable alternatives in mainstream fashions are available. In a highly competitive fashion retail sector, there exists an opportunity for UK high street fashion retailers to differentiate their brand image through aligning products with consumers' moral frameworks. Using phenomenological interviews, this research explores the fashion consumption experiences of professional women with young children and living in or near Edinburgh, with particular focus on their expression of their own sustainability concerns in their day‐to‐day practices. The findings reveal that in the absence of suitable products, information and labelling, consumers apply heuristics to their choices, especially price. They refer to the more familiar ethical food market which serves as a metaphor for fashion‐related practices. They talk about trustworthy retailers and about how they deal with and rationalize their own practices where they reveal an obvious attitude‐behaviour gap. The women's role of providing for the family adds further complexity in a sector which provides affordable alternative options.     

The impact of market orientation on product innovativeness and business performance

The paper reports a study of the impact of market orientation on business performance. The use of product innovativeness is proposed as a mediator of the influence of market orientation on business performance. Product innovativeness is defined along two dimensions: use of new-to-the-firm and use of new-to-the-market products. Business performance was represented by relative price premium, sales growth, capacity utilization, and profitability. The findings provide support for the positive influence of market orientation on both dimensions of product innovativeness. However, only use of new-to-the-market products turns out to be a positive contributor to business performance.     

Visual strategies of luxury and fast fashion brands on Instagram and their effects on user engagement

This study aims to examine what makes the image content of fashion brands successful on Instagram, while comparing between luxury and fast fashion brands. A quantitative analysis of a massive collection of fashion photos posted by notable luxury and fast fashion brands was therefore conducted to identify specific patterns in these images based on four important visual content variables: the use of a brand name, brand logo, text, and hashtag. This study also examined how user engagement levels vary depending on each visual content variable. This study made several interesting findings: (1) luxury brand images with logos and brand names had higher user engagement whereas fast fashion brand images did not show this same trend; (2) the size of the brand name and logo in an image was negatively related to the user engagement or had no effect, regardless of the brand category; and (3) the use of embedded text within an image positively influenced user engagement for luxury brands whereas it negatively influenced user engagement for fast fashion brands.     

Moderating effects of consumer empowerment on the relationship between involvement in eco‐friendly food and eco‐friendly food behaviour

This study investigates the moderating effect of consumer empowerment on the relationship between involvement in and purchase behaviour towards eco‐friendly food. It uses the generalized linear model, with data from the 2017 Research on Food Consumption. The results showed that gender is related only to involvement in eco‐friendly food and this involvement is higher for women than for men. Moreover, involvement in eco‐friendly food, purchase empowerment, engagement empowerment and frequency of buying eco‐friendly food increase as age increases, with the highest increases observed at ages 40–49 and 50–59; the score for those older than these age groups was much lower, resembling an inverted U shape. Groups with high education and income levels presented high scores for involvement in eco‐friendly food, purchase empowerment, engagement empowerment and frequency of buying eco‐friendly food. Regarding the effects of involvement in eco‐friendly food, purchase empowerment and engagement empowerment on the frequency of buying eco‐friendly food, the main effects of involvement in eco‐friendly food and purchase empowerment as well as the interactive effects between involvement in eco‐friendly food and engagement empowerment were statistically significant.     

The effect of benign and malicious envies on desire to buy luxury fashion items

This study explores consumers’ desire for purchase of luxury fashion motivated by envy. Strong benign and malicious envies are psychological forces leading to action in various human endeavors including the purchase of products. Luxury fashion purchase and use in social settings motivated by envy is an attempt by some consumers to demonstrate social status and to claim success by targeting, matching, or exceeding the envied others. The conceptual models developed to guide this study enable comparing the influences of benign and malicious envies through the processes of admiration, affiliation and moral disengagement leading to the desire to purchase luxury fashion. Data collected from 202 shoppers in a mall intercept in Lisbon indicate that benign envy, as compared to malicious envy, is a stronger predictor of desire to purchase luxury fashion items and is a motivation to improve social image, project success and allow positive comparison with the desired social status. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

The emergence of Italy as a fashion country: Nation branding and collective meaning creation at Florence’s fashion shows (1951–1965)

Abstract

We analyse the emergence of Italy as a fashion country with a reconstruction of the history and impact of the collective fashion shows that Giovanni Battista Giorgini organised in Florence in 1951–1965. Our cultural analysis highlights the role events play in the mobilisation of local actors and the creation of nation brands, which we conceive as ongoing narrations built on a country’s material and symbolic resources that differentiate its image in valuable ways for export markets. Despite their decline, the Florentine shows created an intangible asset that facilitated the ascent of Milan as Italy’s fashion capital in the 1970s.     

The effect of product touch information and sale proneness on consumers' responses to price discounts

Since price discounts are costly and can negatively affect consumers' perceptions of quality, it is crucial to identify the factors that make them effective in stimulating purchase behavior. Drawing on cue utilization theory, we examine price discount effectiveness in affecting consumers' reliance on the sale cue based on the provided product touch information as an intrinsic cue and individual consumer differences in sale proneness. Two experimental studies indicate that price discount information, product touch information, and sale proneness interact to determine consumers' responses. Perceived quality is the underlying mechanism behind the observed effects. For nonsale-prone consumers, product touch information favorably influences responses to large price discounts by addressing product quality concerns and enhancing purchase confidence, but has no effect for regularly priced or low discounted products. For sale-prone consumers, product touch information is not effective in increasing their responses regardless of the discount size. A qualitative study provides support for these results and highlights the role of perceived quality and purchase confidence. The research contributes to behavioral pricing, cue utilization theory, and sensory marketing and suggests that marketing managers should provide consumers with product touch information when implementing high discounts for products for which prepurchase touch is important.     

Consumer responses to trade-offs in eco-friendly clothing: The moderating effects of fashion leadership and regulatory focus

Consumers of eco-friendly clothing often face trade-offs between eco-friendliness and other product attributes. Across two experiments, we investigate the moderating role of fashion leadership and regulatory focus in such trade-off situations. Our results suggest that while non-fashion leaders are willing to trade-off hedonic attributes for eco-friendliness, fashion leaders are not willing to trade-off either hedonic or utilitarian attributes. It is also suggested that prevention-focused fashion leaders are more likely than promotion-focused fashion leaders to trade-off hedonic attributes for eco-friendliness. Implications for practitioners as well as directions for future research are discussed.     

A story to sell: The influence of storytelling on consumers' purchasing behavior

Storytelling can arouse consumers' emotions and affect purchasing behavior through desires and attitudes. While the marketing literature discusses storytelling, there is a lack of consensus because of the diverse conceptual and operational definitions used. To untangle the complexities and consolidate the fragmented knowledge about storytelling in marketing, this research examines how the marketing literature has addressed the influence of storytelling on consumers' purchasing behavior. The findings aid in understanding how the topic has been discussed from a marketing perspective in consumer behavior studies. Through a systematic literature review using a bibliometric analysis, we demonstrate that the marketing literature features four strands about the uses of storytelling to influence consumers' purchasing behavior. First, storytelling stimulates the consumer's identification with the brand. Second, storytelling allows consumers to experience emotional value. Third, storytelling supports engagement behaviors. Finally, storytelling has a downside in that it also propagates harmful speech. This study concludes with a roadmap for future research about how storytelling impacts consumers' purchasing behavior.     

The effect of ambient scent on consumers' perception,emotions and behaviour: A critical review

Abstract

The effect of olfactory stimuli on consumer behaviour has received little attention in marketing and retailing literature compared to other atmospheric cues. Researchers report ambiguous findings and shortcomings of measurement approaches. Based on a critical literature review, a field experiment in a regional shopping mall investigates the effectiveness of ambient scent. Before-and-after surveys of randomly selected shoppers in experimental and control groups were conducted and different experimental designs simulated. Those designs not controlling either extraneous variables or attitudinal differences between the control and experimental group reveal a positive effect on factors operationalising mall perception and consumers' emotions. The design controlling both sources of bias indicates no impact of ambient scent on the dependent variables. None of the behavioural variables were affected in any case. This paper questions prior findings on the effectiveness of ambient scent in a shopping-mall environment and calls for more rigour in investigating the effectiveness of atmospheric stimuli in general.     

The influence of terrorism risk perception on purchase involvement and safety concern of international travellers

Abstract

Using a sample of 600 international tourists travelling in Portugal, Spain and Italy, this study identifies key issues related with terrorism, risk perception, involvement and safety concerns of international tourists. A structural equation model reveals that tourists are motivated to acquire information about terrorism in the media, revealing attention to and interest in news regarding this topic, which in turn influences directly their risk perception. This risk perception influences directly the tourist’s involvement in trip planning, specifically information seeking before and during the trip. Tourists’ risk perception and involvement finally influences their safety concern. Discussion centres on the implications of this model for both theory and tourism management strategies. Last, recommendations are proposed to tourism service and destination managers and promoters regarding ways to deal with terrorism and tourists’ safety concerns.