Female consumer's clothing shopping experience is primarily influenced by the appearance and fit of a garment that may be influenced by their personal values and is a process that involves emotions (Otieno et al., 2005; Lopatovska and Arapakis, 2011). Very little research focussing on the emotional impact and the role that personal values play in the female consumers’ shopping experience of ready‐to‐wear garment fit has been conducted in South Africa to date. The primary objective of this study was to explore the areas of concern of garment sizing to establish the emotional impact garment sizing and the resulting fit have on the female consumer purchasing behaviour when evaluated against their personal value system. This study applied the means‐end chain theory approach that allowed the researcher to explore female consumers’ personal values and the resulting emotions, through the application of the laddering interview techniques. Using open‐ended questions, this study aimed to discover the role of female consumers’ perceptions of garment sizing and the resulting emotional effects of garment fit on their purchasing decisions. The findings from the data collected from a purposeful and convenient sample of 62 female consumers from Gauteng, Johannesburg showed that the majority of the participants in this study failed to attain their personal values through the fit of a garment due to inconsistent, unreliable and inaccurate sizing, garment sizing which is unsuitable for various body shapes and the unavailability of certain clothing sizes in ready‐to‐wear garments. The study established that it is extremely important that South African clothing manufacturers and designers should strategize to satisfy the clothing need of the consumers who are currently having problems with garment sizing, by understanding female consumers’ garment sizing and fit needs through extended research of their target markets.

Although South Africans mostly consume cow's milk, cow's milk alternatives/variants are increasingly becoming popular and this could be attributed to higher demand and changing consumer attitudes. Using expectancy‐value theory approach, this study aimed to explore consumers' beliefs that exist to influence their attitude towards cow's milk alternatives/variants and consequently the acceptance or non‐acceptance thereof. Thirteen focus groups, each with four to eight participants, were conducted at the University of South Africa (Unisa) Science Campus in Florida, Gauteng, South Africa. Genders were separated to improve the facilitation of the discussion. The semi‐structured discussions explored and gave an insight into consumer attitudes and perceptions that influence acceptance of cow's milk alternatives/variants. The recorded discussions were transcribed and the content was analyzed for emerging themes and categories by two independent parties, who then compared these emerging themes and categories. Results showed that the primary factors that influence consumers' beliefs and, ultimately, attitude formation and predisposition to accept or reject cow's milk alternatives/variants are acquired through knowledge and perceptions coming from (1) direct experiences, such as familiarity with the products' internal and external attributes, conditional willingness and causal factors, (2) indirect experiences ingrained from childhood and (3) association, where consumers had no reference to the product to attach attributes for belief formation, leading to being astonished at the thought, being curious about the product or having no interest in it. This study demonstrated that consumers' acceptance of cow's milk alternatives/variants will ultimately depend on product‐related expectations.

The association between clothing fit and body shape is vital to purchasing satisfaction. However, scant research is available on female consumers’ use of this criterion to determine whether an apparel item will suit their body shape. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between female consumers’ perceived body shape and the evaluative criteria they frequently use when making casual clothing purchasing decisions. A group-administered questionnaire was used to collect purposeful and convenient data from 316 female respondents, aged 18–60 plus years, in Gauteng, South Africa. Respondents identified their perceived body shape using Style-Makeover body shape illustrations. They then indicated the importance/unimportance of pre-selected evaluative criteria relating to fit/sizing, style/design, colour/pattern, appearance, appropriateness/acceptability, comfort and fibre content/material when considering a casual blouse/top, skirt/trousers or a dress based on their body shape. Across all three clothing categories, fit/sizing and comfort were the most important evaluative criteria, statistically equally important and differ significantly from the proportions of other evaluative criteria for a casual blouse, skirt/trousers and dress. Women with a diamond body shape attach significantly more importance to the colour/pattern of a casual blouse/top, and women with an oval body shape found the styling/design of a casual skirt/trousers to be important. For a dress, significant associations were found between fit/sizing and women with an hourglass body shape, comfort and the triangle body shape, and colour/patterns and the rectangular body shape. These associations were small but significant, and South African fashion designers may need to consider that women with these body shapes may be less satisfied with current casual retail clothing designs, subsequently emphasizing where clothing fit needs to improve for certain prominent body shapes in South Africa.