Effects of Model Age on Adult Female Consumers’ Purchase Intentions and Attitudes for an Age-Specific Product, Clothing

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of model age on female consumers' purchase intentions and attitudes for an age-specific product such as clothing. The sample for this study consisted of 377 women between the ages of 30-80. The instrument designed for this study included four major scales to assess participants' beliefs about fashion models depicted in clothing advertisements, participants' purchase intentions of the clothing worn by the models in the advertisements, participants' perceived similarity to the models shown in the ads, and participants' perceived fashionability of the clothing worn by the models. The stimuli used in this study included four full-colored photographs of current fashion models. Findings revealed that participants preferred older models over younger models, with consumers exhibiting greater purchase intent of clothing appearing on older models. Moreover, perceived similarity was found to be a significant predictor of participants' perspectives of the models, in terms of appearance and attractiveness, fashionability, and purchase intentions.

The forgotten women: an exploratory study of baby boomers’ attitudes towards fashion magazines

“…The fashion industry has forgotten a large percentage of the female demographic, specifically excluding baby boomer women in its content and portrayal, opting to display a youthful image instead. "Older adults are typically not used as models and spokespersons in ads featured in mainstream media" (Kozar 2012) unless used for goods and services related to health care and finance (Chowdhary 2000). An effort has been exhibited to include a wider age demographic in fashion magazines; for example, Vogue magazine distributes an "age issue" once a year.…”

The forgotten women: an exploratory study of baby boomers’ attitudes towards fashion magazines

“…The fashion industry has forgotten a large percentage of the female demographic, specifically excluding baby boomer women in its content and portrayal, opting to display a youthful image instead. "Older adults are typically not used as models and spokespersons in ads featured in mainstream media" (Kozar 2012) unless used for goods and services related to health care and finance (Chowdhary 2000). An effort has been exhibited to include a wider age demographic in fashion magazines; for example, Vogue magazine distributes an "age issue" once a year.…”

The effect of content and model type in sidebar advertising on middle-aged women’s online purchases of anti-aging products

“…7 Williams & Page 8 contend that unlike younger women who are drawn more to the visual aspects of products, middle-aged women are more likely to prefer reading labels and product reviews carefully when making buying decisions. Internet beauty product advertisements generally depict models that are young, age-inappropriate and do not include information that would contribute to middle-aged women's purchase decision, [9][10][11][12] although research suggests that these factors are what is desired. 8,12 According to uses and gratification theory (UGT), people are more likely to be drawn to products that depict models who are similar to the purchaser.…”