Factors Influencing Clothing Interest and Purchase Intention: a study of Consumers in Generation y from Malaysia and Singapore
Perceived Quality and Clothing Interest
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- Điều hướng trang này:
- The Moderating Effect of Price Consciousness on the Relationship between Clothing Interest and Purchase Intention
| Perceived Quality and Clothing Interest
Perceived quality refers to the consumer’s judgment on a product’s overall performance or superiority rather than the actual quality of the product itself (Zeithaml 1988). Consumers judge the quality of the product based on some informational cues and then form a set of belief towards the product. The informational cues involve both extrinsic and intrinsic features in relation to the product (Zeithaml 1988). The extrinsic attributes include company’s reputation, brand image, and pricing; while intrinsic attributes refer to the physical characteristics of the product such as product features, specifications, design, size, shape, materials used, and perceived durability. In shopping for clothing, consumers usually create an interest on a particular type of clothing based on their sensory observation—the look, the touch, and the feel of the clothing products. The sensory observation would lead to a perception of how good or bad the clothes would be in terms of material, design, and workmanship (Tsiotsou 2006). Past studies reported that consumers’ interest is created on how they perceive the quality of the products (Cook 2010; Ruban 2002). Studies from the apparel industry have found a significant relationship between customers’ perceived quality and their clothing interest (Kawabata and Rabolt 1999; Lee and Burns 1993). Kawabata and Rabolt (1999) found that the quality aspect 8 of the clothes will have an impact on the clothing interest among the American and Japanese customers. Hence, the following hypothesis was developed: H5: Perceived quality has a positive relationship with clothing interest. The Moderating Effect of Price Consciousness on the Relationship between Clothing Interest and Purchase Intention Clothing is considered as one of the most common products used by individuals in addressing their psychodynamic and psychographic needs such as appearance, social status, and self-esteem (Stanforth 2009). The perceived ability of clothing in fulfilling these needs would arouse an individual's interest in clothing products. The individual would have the intention to buy clothing by devoting a large amount of effort and time to search for the right clothing products in order to fulfill the fore-mentioned types of needs (Kaiser 1997; Stanforth 2009). A number of studies did find a positive relationship between clothing interest and purchase intention (Kumar et al. 2009; Son, Jin, and George 2013; Vikkraman and Sumathi,2012). The study by Son et al. (2013) on 405 young consumers in India found that their interest in clothing has a significant impact on their apparel purchase intention. It was then hypothesized that: H6: Clothing interest has a positive direct influence on purchase intention. Price has been a common factor in influencing consumers’ purchase decision-making and choice of products and services (Ryu and Han 2010). Consumers will evaluate the reasonableness or appropriateness of the price for a product or service and compare the prices charged by other competing businesses (Chen, Gupta, and Rom 1994; Gauzente and Roy 2012; Han and Ryu 2009; Jayasingh and Eze 2012; Kukar-Kinney, Walters, and MacKenzie 2007; Palazón and Delgado 2009; Watchravesringkan, Yan, and Yurchisin 2008). Customers may not purchase the product or services if the price is too expensive in comparison to that offered by other sellers. This phenomenon is known as price consciousness. Price consciousness refers to “a buyer’s ‘unwillingness’ to pay a higher price for a product” (Lichtenstein, Ridgway, and Netemeyer 1993, 235). It has been argued that highly price- conscious consumers typically engage in a higher level of search in product prices to seek higher economic benefits (Alford and Biswas 2002; Kukar-Kinney et al. 2007). 9 Various consumer behavior studies have found a moderating effect of price consciousness on the relationship between product interest and buying intention. For example, Choi and Kim’s (2007) experimental study on 101 undergraduate students found that price consciousness moderated the relationship between “scratch and save” promotions and consumer’s purchase intention. Moreover, Kukar-Kinney et al.’s (2007) study on 403 undergraduate students in US indicated that the level of price consciousness among the respondents has a moderating effect on the relationship between price-matching strategies by retailers with their purchase intention. Thus, consumers’ price consciousness is a factor that influences their intention to purchase certain products. Accordingly, it was hypothesized that price consciousness will moderate the effect of consumers’ clothing interest on their purchase intention. H7: Price consciousness will moderate the relationship between clothing interest and purchase intention. Figure 1 presents the research model developed for this study. tải về 475.41 Kb. Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn:
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