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This paper aims to examine the online apparel shopping behaviour of Generation Y (Gen Y) in an unprecedented digital dissemination era.

For this purpose, a “mixed-method approach” was used with an explanatory sequential research design. Logistic regression was conducted to identify the role of various contemporary elements of shopping motives. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted to explain quantitative outputs.

It finds that Gen Y consumers demonstrate “fashion-hunting”, “variety-seeking”, “status/recognition-seeking” and “deal-hunting” behaviours in online apparel shopping. “Haptic impressions” gained via hands and other “socio-psychological benefits” trigger their apparel shopping behaviour. They make better and more informed purchase decisions based on prior online research and user-generated content shared by friends/relatives on social media portraying the true characteristics of “digital natives”. They do not trust online retailers for premium apparel shopping due to associated “product risk” and lack of transparency in their “exchange/return/refund policy”. Finally, they are increasingly inspired to have an “integrated online and offline shopping experience”.

Online retailers can use the findings of this study to develop more effective marketing strategies to serve Gen Y consumers.

The study measured actual behaviours on a holistic gamut of shopping motives consisting of utilitarian, hedonic, physical product-specific (apparel) and emerging elements of shopping motives in the technology-enabled era of shopping exclusively. Therefore, the results of the study offer significant, realistic and useful theoretical contributions to the existing literature on the subject matter along with valuable inputs to practitioners alike.

The purpose of this study is to identify distinct segments of apparel shoppers based on their fashion shopping orientation. The difference among the segments based on mall attractive dimension is also examined.

The data were collected through mall intercept survey from the mall shoppers. Samples of 375 respondents are used for data analysis purpose. Exploratory factor analysis is used to extract the factors of fashion shopping orientation and mall attractive dimensions while K-means cluster analysis is applied to identify the segments.

This study resulted in three factors of fashion orientation of apparel shoppers, i.e. fashion involvement, variety seeking and economic value, and four factors of mall attractive dimensions: convenience, entertainment, atmosphere and architecture design. Based on these factors, this study came out with three distinct segments of fashion shoppers: pragmatic shoppers, variety seeking shoppers and highly fashioned shoppers. These three segments are attracted towards the mall dimension differently.

This paper presents the three distinct profiles of fashion shoppers based on their fashion shopping orientation and mall attractive dimensions. The findings of this study may help retailers and mall developers to target mall visitors appropriately.

Traditional competition across apparel store types reflects the dynamics of market positioning in practice. Previous research found that apparel related purchases accounted for over half of the money rural consumers spent out of town. Research on apparel shopping intentions according to store types helps identify to what extent different retail formats compete with each other for customers and enables rural retailers to improve their positioning strategies. Results describe apparel shopping behaviour, in rural population, relative to store type and variables influencing consumers’ shopping intentions. Factors influencing consumers’ shopping choices among different apparel retail formats are identified. Descriptive statistics indicated most apparel shoppers frequented independently owned stores and cross‐shop among retail formats. When store categories were created, data revealed that the retail format category department, discount, and chain stores attracted more customers than the other retail format categories.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of consumers' shopping orientation on their satisfaction level with the product search and purchase behavior using multi‐channels.

A total of 181 students in a large US mid‐western university provided usable responses to the survey. Exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analyses were employed to examine the research questions.

The results showed that more than three quarters of the respondents shopped via the internet and catalogs, and about 95 percent shopped at non‐local retailers. About 60 percent reported that they never shopped from TV shopping channels. Confident/fashion‐conscious shopping orientation and catalog/internet shopping orientation were found to be key predictors of customer satisfaction level with information search via multi‐channels. Both confident/fashion‐conscious consumers and mall shopping‐oriented shoppers were more satisfied with store‐based retail channels for apparel purchases, whereas non‐local store‐oriented shoppers and catalog/internet‐oriented shoppers were more satisfied with non‐store‐based retail channels for their apparel purchases.

The sample of this study was biased by gender and age. For the apparel retail industry, this paper offers practical knowledge about the relationships between shopping orientation and consumer search and purchase behavior in a multi‐channel retailing context.

No study has utilized the shopping orientation framework to explain consumer behavior in a multi‐channel environment. This study provides understanding of consumer product information search behavior on four dimensions (price, promotion, style/trends, and merchandise availability) via multi‐channels.

To study college students' attitudes toward and behavioral intention of shopping online for apparel products by using the theory of reasoned action.

Focus group interviews and a literature review identified specific items of interest related to the desirability of shopping online for apparel products. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to two groups of respondents: college students who lived in rural and urban areas.

The students, in general, had positive attitudes toward shopping online for apparel products. ANOVA results showed that the students who intended to shop online for apparel products had more positive attitudes than those who did not have the intention. The GLM results showed that internet usage, employment status, and car access had significant influence on students' attitudes toward online shopping for apparel products.

The samples for this study were randomly chosen from two universities in the United States. This limited sampling frame may affect the generalization of findings.

Both local retailers in rural college towns and online retailers can benefit from the findings of this study.

This research contributes to the literature by studying college students attitudes toward online shopping for apparel products.

The purpose of this study is to understand how general innovativeness is related to Internet apparel shopping based on Rogers' innovation decision process. Due to the newness of Internet apparel shopping, consumers' general innovativeness may influence the adoption of Internet apparel shopping among young consumers. Using a convenience sample of 178 students in different majors at a large US university, this study examined the influence of general innovativeness on Internet apparel shopping. The results show that general innovativeness is related to Internet usage for information search, but not to actual purchase. Also, students' gender is related to general innovativeness. Female students are more likely to use the Internet for information search for apparel products than male students.

The purpose of this paper are to examine: first, whether the consumer style inventory (CSI) consumer decision-making styles were related to opinion seeking using electronic word of mouth (eWOM) in social networking sites (SNSs) and attitudes toward online social shopping using SNSs; and second, whether opinion seeking in SNSs and attitudes mediated the links between decision-making styles and intent to social shop online for apparel using SNSs.

The conceptual foundation was based on Engel, Kollat, and Blackwell's model. In total, 304 college students who are SNS users provided usable responses. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed model and research hypotheses.

Among the CSI consumer decision-making styles, novelty/fashion consciousness decision-making style was the most important antecedent of opinion seeking using eWOM. The brand consciousness decision-making style was the most important antecedent of favorable attitudes. Novelty/fashion consciousness, brand consciousness, and price consciousness decision-making styles had indirect effects on intent to social shop online for apparel using SNS, mediated by both opinion seeking and favorable attitudes.

This study contributes to further theoretical understanding of the types of consumers that are drawn to eWOM and their online social shopping behaviors for apparel using SNSs. By identifying individual consumer characteristics, this study can provide retailers with an initial profile of consumers who shop apparel using SNSs. Retailers can use this information to further develop the design of their social shopping sites using SNSs to meet the needs of their customers.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of customized site features on consumers' purchasing decision aids and consumers' attitudes toward internet apparel shopping.

The research model was developed and tested using structural equation modeling to identify the effects of customized site features on internet apparel shopping. Participants were members of an opt‐in‐e‐mail marketing company and were required to experience the customized site features at a given web site prior to the survey. A sample of 107 participants was used for the analysis, totaling a 34 percent response rate.

Interactivity of customized site features indicated a significant direct effect on consumers' purchasing decision aids and an indirect effect on positive attitude toward internet apparel shopping. Virtual experience and customized alternative information offerings showed significant direct effects on positive consumer attitude toward internet apparel shopping.

Direct measures of the effects of customized site features on consumers' apparel purchase risks on the internet are suggested for future research.

E‐retailers should explore and develop the easy‐to‐use web interface of customized site features to enhance site usability and they should diffuse into their own retail web sites.

Examination of the effects of customized site features on internet apparel shopping is an area of research that has not been fully explored. The study provides e‐retailers with the insights to renegotiate the interaction with consumers regarding apparel shopping on the internet.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Hispanic consumers' shopping orientations and their apparel retail store evaluation criteria and to examine age and gender differences in their shopping orientations and retail store evaluation criteria.

A structured questionnaire was developed to collect data on the variables in the study. The questionnaire was developed both in English and Spanish. Factor analysis was employed to identify Hispanic consumers' shopping orientations and their retail store evaluation criteria. Pillai's trace multivariate analyses of variance were used to examine the hypotheses.

Six shopping orientation constructs and three constructs of store evaluation criteria were identified. The results revealed that males and females have different shopping orientations and apparel retail store evaluation criteria. Shopping orientation and apparel retail store evaluation criteria also varied across the age groups.

This study has practical implications for apparel retailers regarding how to position their stores in targeting different groups of shoppers and how to allocate their resources and promote products. Additionally, the findings of the study will reveal how to provide an optimal shopping experience to Hispanic consumers so that apparel retailers can develop localized marketing strategies to target the areas with a large Hispanic population.

Despite the importance of understanding Hispanic consumers' apparel shopping behavior, little research has been conducted.

The purpose of this study is to investigate online shoppers' adoption of visual sensory enabling technologies, showing that these sensory experience enablers provide a dual role in enhancing online apparel shopping by reducing perceived product risk, and increasing the entertainment value of the online shopping process.

The researchers conducted a focus group interview and pre‐test with a college student sample and a main test with a US national sample of online shoppers. The data were analyzed using single‐ and multiple‐group structural equation modeling.

The findings provide empirical support for perceived usefulness and perceived entertainment value as strong predictors of consumers' attitudes towards using all three of the sensory enabling technologies (SETs) – 2D larger view and alternative views, 3D rotation views, and virtual try‐on. The impact of perceived ease‐of‐use was significant only for 3D rotation views, suggesting that the impact of perceived ease‐of‐use differs by technology. Attitudes towards using sensory enabling technologies had a significant impact on the actual use of all three SETs; however, the impact of technology anxiety and innovativeness on the use of SETs also differed by technology.

The results provide empirical validation of the proposed SE‐TAM model. Based on the current findings, SETs may provide a valuable tool that online apparel retailers can use to increase online purchases, either by reducing the perceived risk through better online product evaluation, or by enhancing consumers' enjoyment of the shopping process on their web site.