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The purpose of this study is to segment the university student casual apparel market based on clothing benefits sought and develop a profile of each segment in terms of attribute evaluations, shopping orientations, and repatronage behavior.

Questionnaires were distributed to 200 university students at Florida State University and 184 completed questionnaires were analyzed.

The results were as follows. First, analysis of consumer clothing benefits sought generated six factors and attribute evaluation produced two factor solutions and shopping orientation generated three factors. Second, three consumer groups – utilitarian benefit group, hedonic benefit group, composite benefit group – with different clothing benefits sought were identified. Third, the study found significant differences in consumers' hedonic and utilitarian attribute evaluation among the groups. The study also revealed significant differences in shopping orientations and brand repurchase intentions among the groups.

From these results, it is possible to identify that clothing repurchase intention was significantly different among three different groups with different clothing benefits sought. Furthermore, consumer classification according to clothing benefits sought in university students' casual wear purchase can be used by clothing marketers and managers to establish product plan and marketing strategy development.

The study has originality and value in that the relationship between clothing benefits sought and repurchase intention has not been studied very much in the clothing domain.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether clothing benefits sought (CBS) affected fit preferences, satisfaction with the fit of ready‐to‐wear, label style preferences, and shopping behaviors of US women.

Written questionnaires were completed to determine the relationship between the CBS paradigm and the fit and shopping variables examined in the study. A larger study from which these findings are drawn involved behaviors related specifically to pants.

Responses on questionnaires from 150 women indicated four CBS factors: Fashion Forward, Sexy, Reputation, and Individualist. Study participants who desired Fashion Forward benefits preferred to shop in specialty stores and a tighter fit. Participants who sought Sexy benefits spent the most money on average, for a new pair of pants, preferred a tighter fit, clothing sized by waist dimension, and shopping in specialty stores. Participants who desired Reputation benefits from clothing shopped in specialty stores. Respondents who sought the Individualist benefits were more likely to shop via catalog/internet.

Data were obtained from a convenience sample of women in a metropolitan area of the USA, thus generalization of results is limited.

In an overstored, highly competitive retail environment, the CBS paradigm will be useful in targeting product and product delivery. The findings indicate, however, that women who seek different benefits from their clothing do shop differently.

Results of the study will help one to better define markets according to an intuitively useful psychographic variable for which there has been limited research.

Although the basic idea of benefit segmentation lies in using causal, as opposed to descriptive, factors as segmentation criteria, most of the empirical studies do not differentiate between product attributes and the benefit sought by consumers. The objectives of this article are to clarify the distinction between attributes and benefits sought, and to apply a modified laddering technique, based on means‐end theory to use the elicited benefits to form benefit segments. A comparison with attribute‐based segments demonstrates that means‐end chains provide a powerful tool for “true” benefit segmentation.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare the benefits sought by three different types of wellness tourists: beauty spa, lifestyle resort, and spiritual retreat visitors.

Based on the findings from 27 semi‐structured interviews with wellness tourists a benefits of wellness tourism scale (BWTS) was developed. It was used to measure 46 benefit items and was mailed to people included on the client/member lists of three Australian wellness tourism organisations.

In total, six benefit factors emerged from a principal axis factor analysis: transcendence; physical health and appearance; escape and relaxation; important others and novelty; re‐establish self‐esteem; and indulgence. A one‐way MANOVA, followed by a series of ANOVAS, revealed significant differences between the three types of tourists regarding the importance attributed to each of the six benefit factors. While all participants in the study sought transformation of the self, each identifiable group of tourists placed different emphasis on physical, psychological or spiritual transformations. Moreover, each group differed significantly in terms of demographic and travel behaviour characteristics.

The relevance of this paper lies in its adoption of a comprehensive approach to the investigation of the potential differences between three wellness tourist groups regarding the socio‐demographic profile, travel behaviour, and the benefits sought. Previous studies have focused on a single particular wellness tourist group. Furthermore, the BWTS may be applicable for use in future comparative studies of wellness tourist motivation.

Uses benefit needs to segment the online marketing market. Employs focus groups and a random sampling survey to search for consumer benefit needs and then segments the market by these benefits sought by customers. Shows that the various segments display significant differences in the benefits sought, lifestyles and demographics etc. Suggests that this work can assist marketing managers to focus on one or more segments that show salient consumer preferences for the benefits provided by their products or services.

The purpose of this study is to identify shopper segments based on benefits sought from TV home shopping and profiled the identified segments in consumer characteristics and market behaviors.

A sample of 887 consumers who had watched a TV home shopping channel was used. The analyses involved running a factor analysis based on benefits sought, a cluster analysis based on the identified factors, and χ ²test and ANOVA for profiling the segments.

Four benefit segments of TV home shoppers were identified: convenience seekers, product‐oriented shoppers, uniqueness seekers, and apathetic shoppers. Each consumer segment exhibited significant differences in demographic characteristics (i.e. gender, age, education level), consumer characteristics (i.e. time‐consciousness, price‐consciousness), and behavioral outcomes (i.e. satisfaction with TV shopping, repurchase intention).

This study confirms that benefit segmentation can be a useful tool for targeting TV home shoppers. However, the findings of the current study should be interpreted with caution due to non‐random sampling method and limited number of scale items for benefits sought and variables used in describing segments.

The results provide marketing suggestions for each of the benefit segments of TV shoppers.

Considering that virtually no benefit segmentation research has been conducted on TV shoppers, this study provides a new perspective to the segmentation of TV home shoppers.

Spas have become increasingly popular with consumers and have emerged as important profit centers for hotels. However, the uniqueness of this market has been largely overlooked in hospitality literature. The purpose of this paper is to fill the research gap by identifying different market segments among spa goers, based on a set of benefit variables.

A survey was administered to customers visiting hotel spas in Texas. Factor analysis was performed on 214 completed surveys to identify the dimensions underlying the benefits sought by spa goers. Cluster analysis was then applied to classify spa goers into different groups based on the benefit variables. Finally, importance‐performance analysis (IPA) was performed according to the groups to determine significant patterns.

Three distinct customer segments are identified based on the benefits sought by spa goers: escapists, neutralists, and hedonists. IPA results showed what each segment perceives as important and how well the hotel spas perform to meet expectations. The results of this paper support the effectiveness of the use of IPA with benefit segmentation.

The results of this paper should be interpreted cautiously and considered tentatively until they are replicated by a larger spa population. Currently, there are very few benchmark studies on spas to aid in the understanding of this promising market segment. It is hoped that this paper will stimulate much‐needed spa research in hospitality literature.

Future researchers and industry practitioners can gain insight into the motives and benefits sought by spa goers through the use of IPA in conjunction with benefit segmentation.

This paper explores the relationships between body type and fit preferences with body cathexis, clothing benefits sought by consumers, and demographic profiles of consumers.

The survey instrument consisted of a questionnaire with scales assessing fit preference, body type, body cathexis, clothing benefits sought and consumer demographics.

Significant associations were found between body cathexis (satisfaction with head/upper body, lower body, height, weight and torso) and body shape. The degree of satisfaction with different body parts depended on the body type of the individual. The level of satisfaction with head/upper body, height and torso did not vary by body type. No significant differences were found between fit preferences and body type for lower body garments.

The majority of respondents were between the ages 18 and 28, affluent Caucasian Americans, with an hourglass body type, who had a family income of $85,000 or more and shopped in department or boutique/specialty stores.

Understanding the fit preferences of female consumers could help apparel companies to produce and meet demands for comfortable and well fitting clothes for women. The results of this research may be used as a first step to develop an expert system to correlate body shape and fit preferences of consumers.

The purpose of the study is to identify dimensions of wine equity in terms of benefits sought by consumers in wine.

This study examines dimensions of wine region equity, measured in terms of benefits sought by consumers in wine. A survey was conducted in several US states to identify drivers of preferences and to determine relationships that may exist between those drivers, preferences for wine from a number of origins, and consumer lifestyles.

The findings suggest that wine region equity originates in six consumer motivational factors. Quality, price, social acceptance, emotional, environmental value, and humane value were found to be strong and significant predictors of consumer preferences for wine from three US states (California, Oregon, Washington) and six countries (Australia, Chile, France, Italy, New Zealand, Spain). Linking those dimensions of region equity to consumer lifestyle, demographic and behavioral variables allows for tailoring marketing communications strategies closely to markets.

Practical applications of this study extend beyond the wine industry and include generalizations for the identification of markets and market segments that react more favorably to specific origins, the identification of equity dimensions to be included in regional umbrella brands, and the identification of lifestyle‐based persuasive communication means and executional cues for specifically targeting selected audiences.

In less than three decades the entertainment software industry has emerged as a huge industry, with sales larger than Hollywood movie box office sales. Yet, little is known about this industry. Stereotypes about the industry may not be correct. This paper seeks to address this knowledge gap.

The paper identifies what is known, and what needs to be known. The paper reviews the literature and adds data from the most recent reports available.

The literature has been slow to address this industry. It has not even been clear what to call this industry. (Some people still call it the video game industry.) The most basic marketing issues still need to be researched, i.e. customer benefits sought and segmentation. A typology of game genres is proposed.

This paper is the first overview of the entertainment software industry from a marketing perspective.