Benefit Segments of the Female Apparel Market: Psychographics, Shopping Orientations, and Demographics

Abstract

The purposes of the study were (1) to segment the female apparel market based on "descriptive clothing benefits sought" by female consumers, and (2) to develop a profile of each segment concerning psychographics, shopping orientations, patronage behavior and demographics. Nationwide data (n = 610) were collected via a mail questionnaire sent to 1,000 females. Using cluster analysis on benefits sought factors, three groups were identified and labeled as (1) Symbolic/Instrumental Users of Clothing (51%); (2) Practical/Conservative Users of Clothing (35%); and (3) Apathetic Users of Clothing (14%). MANOVA and Chi-square statistics revealed significant differences among the three benefits segments on 10 psychographic factors, 3 shopping orientation factors, 1 patronage behavior variable, and 7 demographic factors. A profile of these groups was developed; marketing and theoretical implications were provided.

The Effect Of Product Involvement On Store Preference And Clothing Benefits Sought For African-American Female Students

“…The scales for clothing benefits sought were adapted from the previous research of Shim and Bickle (1994). Twentyfive Likert-type statements were included to measure clothing benefits sought.…”

Consumers’ Adoption of Apparel Fashion: The Role of Innovativeness, Involvement, and Social Values

“…Many researches have been conducted on the fashion lifestyle; (Shim & Bickle, 1994) divided fashion lifestyle into three categories of consumers. For example, young innovative and fashion conscious consumers who like to express their social class belongs to the first category, however the second category consumers are those who like to shop for their comfort and, the third category of the consumers are those who like to go for discounts.…”

Apparel shopping behaviour – Part 2: Conceptual theoretical model, market segments, profiles and implications

“…The choice of a store to patronise is therefore of great importance, as apparel consumers will often gather information, evaluate alternatives and make decisions at the point of purchase. Shopping orientation is a complex and multidimensional concept and there is little consensus with regard to the underlying structure or dimensionality of apparel shopping orientation (Hawkins, Best & Coney, 1998;Shim & Bickle, 1994;Shim & Mahoney, 1992). Shopping orientations are dependent on the product of choice and the retail store type (Solomon, 1999).…”