Abstract
When segmenting consumers according to their fashion adoption behavior, it has been assumed that consumers' fashion conformity and innovativeness characteritics are negatively correlated. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between conformity and innovativeness and that these two attributes exist independently. The research problems of this study were to segment consumers according to the degrees of conformity and innovativeness, and to identify differences in reference groups and clothing purchasing behavior among the segments. The results of the empirical study showed that the fashion conformity and innovativeness were in and innovativeness; High conformity/High innovativeness group(HC/HI), High conformity/Low innovativeness group (HC/LI), Low conformity/High innovativeness group(LC/HI?, and Low conformity/Low innovativeness group (LC/LI). When the groups were compared in their reference groups and purchasing behavior, it was found out that HC groups were more influenced by reference groups than LC groups. When HC/LI and HC/HI groups were compared, HC/LI group was more influenced by their parents and siblings, while HC/HI group was more influenced by upper class and celebrities. Both groups were mostly influenced by friends and desirable passengers on the street. Friends and passengers were most influential to LC groups also, even though they were less influenced than HC groups. In conclusion, the fashion conformity and innovativeness were found to exist in different dimensions consisting dual structure. Thus, retailers and marketers can make their strategies more successfully if they use these two characteristics separately when segmenting consumers.
