• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.423-429
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• 2012

This study investigated purchasing practice and size satisfaction to offer basic data to establish a marketing strategy and produce down-aging clothes for females in their 40s-50s. For the data analysis, crosstabs, factor analysis, and one-way ANOVA were used. The results were as follows; first, middle-aged women were observed to purchase down-aging clothes "to look younger" and not purchase clothes "due to the lack of right sizes." For women who answered to 'not purchase clothes', they also acknowledged that they intended to purchase down-aging clothes in the future if the right size is available. Second, people in their early 40s significantly considered perceptual qualities such as fashion and brand names while people in their late 50s placed the most importance in practicality and wearability. For body shapes, people with overweight body types were found to significantly consider physical performance, practicality, and wearability. Third, the examination of purchase satisfaction levels by age groups showed that younger age groups had high satisfaction level for wear functionality related items that included size and activity however, the late 50s group had the lowest satisfaction level. Middle-aged women purchased clothes to look younger however, they simultaneously wear clothes that are plain and conservative or respectable and graceful. Therefore, the development of products reflect the analysis of designs that can help create a more youthful appearance and women's preferred styles are needed in addition to the establishment of a differentiated sizing system for middle-aged female consumers in the incorporation of the characteristics of middle-aged women's body parts.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.1-10
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to categorize the gap between coffee shop 'importance' (as perceived by customers before patronizing the coffee shop) and 'satisfaction' (perception of customers after patronizing the coffee shop) as positive or negative and to analyze the effect of these gaps on purchasing behavior. To do this, I used the gap between importance and satisfaction regarding the choice of a coffee shop as the explanatory variable and performed an empirical analysis of the direction and size of the effect of the gap on purchasing behavior (overall satisfaction, willingness-to-revisit) by applying the Ordered Probit Model (OPM). A previous study that used IPA to evaluate the effects of gaps estimated the direction and size of a quadrant but failed to analyze the effect of gaps on customers. In this study, I evaluated the effects of positive and negative gaps on customer satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit. Using OPM, I quantified the effect of positive and negative gaps on overall customer satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit. Per-head expenditure, frequency of visits, and coffee-purchasing place had the most positive effects on overall customer satisfaction. Frequency of visits, followed by per-head expenditure and then coffee-purchasing place, had the most positive impact on willingness-to-visit. Thus per-head expenditure and frequency of visits had the greatest positive effects on overall satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit. This finding implies that the higher the actual satisfaction (gap) of customers who spend KRW5,000 or more once or more per week at coffee shops is, the higher their overall satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit are. Despite the fact that economical efficiency had a significant effect on overall satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit, college and university students still use coffee shops and are willing to spend KRW5,000 because they do not only purchase coffee as a product itself, but use the coffee shop for other activities, such as working, meeting friends, or relaxing. College and university students also access the Internet in coffee shops via personal laptops, watch movies, and study; thus, coffee shops should provide their customers with the appropriate facilities and services. The fact that a positive gap for coffee shop brand had a positive effect on willingness-to-revisit implies that the higher the level of customer satisfaction, the greater the willingness-to-revisit. A negative gap for this factor, on the other hand, implies that the lower the level of customer satisfaction, the lower the willingness-to-revisit. Thus, the brand factor has a comparatively greater effect on satisfaction than the other factors evaluated in this study. Given that the domestic coffee culture is becoming more upscale and college/university students are sensitive to this trend, students are attentive to brands. In most upscale coffee shops in Korea, the outer wall is built out of glass that can be opened, the interiors are exotic with an open kitchen. These upscale coffee shops function as landmarks and match the taste of college/university students. Coffee shops in Korea have become a cultural brand. To make customers feel that coffee shops are upscale, good quality establishments and measures to provide better services in terms of brand factor should be instituted. The intensified competition among coffee shop brands in Korea as a result of the booming industry indicates that provision of additional services is needed to differentiate competitors. These customers can also use a scanner free of charge. Another strategy that can be used to boost brands could be to provide and operate a seminar room for seminars and group study. If coffee shops adopt these types of strategies, college/university students would be more likely to consider the expenses they incur worthwhile and, subsequently, they would be more likely to be satisfied with the brands of these coffee shops, with an associated increase in their willingness-to-revisit. Gender and study year had the most negative effects on overall satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit. Female students were more likely to be satisfied and be willing to return than male students, and third and fourth-year students were more likely to be satisfied and willing-to-return than first or second-year students. Students who drink coffee, read books, and use laptops alone at coffee shops are easily noticeable. High-grade students tend to visit coffee shops alone in order to use their time efficiently for self-development and to find jobs. The economical efficiency factor had the greatest effect on overall satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit in terms of a positive gap. The higher the actual satisfaction (gap) of students with the price of the coffee, the greater their overall satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit. Economical efficiency with a negative gap had a negative effect on willingness-to-revisit, which implies that a less negative gap will result in a greater willingness-to-revisit. Amid worsening market conditions, coffee shops located around colleges/universities are using strategies, such as a point or membership card, strategic alliances with credit-card companies, development of a set menu or seasonal menu, and free coffee-shot services to increase their competitive edge. Product power also had a negative effect in terms of a negative gap, which indicates that a higher negative gap will result in a lower willingness-to-revisit. Because there are many more customers that enjoy coffee in this decade, as compared to previous decades, the new generation of customers, namely college/university students, want various menu items in addition to coffee, and coffee shops should, therefore, add side menu items, such as waffles, rice cakes, cakes, sandwiches, and salads. For example, Starbucks Korea is making efforts to enhance product power by selling rice cakes flavored in strawberry, wormwood, and pumpkin, and providing coffee or cream free of charge. In summary, coffee shops should focus on increasing their economical efficiency, brand, and product power to enhance the satisfaction of college/university students. Because shops adjacent to colleges or universities enjoy a locational advantage, providing differentiated services in terms of economical efficiency, brand, and product power, is likely to increase customer satisfaction and return visits. Coffee shop brands should, therefore, be innovative and embrace change to meet their customers' desires. Because this study only targeted college/university students in Seoul, comparative studies targeting diverse regions and age groups are required to generalize the findings and recommendations of this study.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.426-439
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate the awareness and practice on well-being life and well-being related behaviors, and the various factors affecting well-being related behaviors such as purchasing food materials, food habits, eating out and daily routine activities. A survey was conducted by questionnaire and on a 5-point Likert scale. The subjects of this study were composed of 221 students and their 102 parents who were over 40 years residing in the Ulsan area. The results of this study are summarized as follows: Almost half of the subjects (47.4%) responded that they have good health conditions; to keep a good health condition, 41.2% of the subjects were exercising regularly and 20.4% of them kept diet control. In regard to the meaning of well-being, 66.6% of the subjects thought it is the lifestyle for physical and mental richness (children: 70.6%, parents: 57.8%). 30.3% of the subjects answered that the most important part of well-being was food related. The importance order was mental richness, food related things, physical health for children, and for the parents, it was food related things, physical health, mental richness. Most of population (45.8%) answered that they have a willingness for the pursuit of a well-being life. Among the well-being related behaviors, 69.7% of subjects have purchased items (children: 61.5%, parents: 87.3%). 37.2% of the subjects have acquired information from TV. The average well-being practice score was $61.01{\pm}10.36$. Children's scores were significantly lower than the parent's scores (p < 0.001). And the average practice score of 'purchasing food materials,' 'eating out,' 'food habits,' 'daily routine activities' were $15.3{\pm}3.3,\;15.5{\pm}3.1,\;16.8{\pm}3.3$ and $13.4{\pm}3.5$, respectively. Among five types of purchasing food materials, 'purchasing domestic agricultural food' was greatest ($3.64{\pm}0.91$) and 'purchasing of organic or low agricultural chemical food products' was lowest ($3.15{\pm}0.91$). In regard to food habits, 'eating rice and bread made of mixed grains' was greatest ($3.46{\pm}1.12$) and 'eating uncooked food or zen food' was lowest ($2.46{\pm}0.99$). The practice scores were significantly affected by gender (p < 0.05), monthly income (p < 0.01), educational level (p < 0.01), presence of disease (p < 0.05), subjective health condition (p < 0.05), well-being awareness (p < 0.001) and concern with well-being (p < 0.001). Well-being awareness scores and well-being practice scores are related positively. Therefore various programs in well-being education should be necessary in order to boost the authentic perceptions of well-being and well-being oriented behaviors in any socioeconomic situation, such as different generations; industrial companies producing well-being goods for consumer's needs and satisfaction; and government and local community create various conditions for well-being oriented behavior.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.386-395
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• 2020

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate sodium reduction practices in school foodservice in Daegu. Methods: The survey included 199 nutrition teachers and dietitians working at elementary, middle and high schools in Daegu. The survey topics included the following: the frequency of salinity measurement, workers in charge of the measurement, average salinity of the soup and stew served, frequency and difficulties of offering low-sodium meals, Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) of sodium reduction methods in school foodservice and the need for political support in encouraging sodium reduction. Results: The mean salinity of the soup and stew was higher in high school foodservice than in elementary and middle school foodservice. Middle and high schools have difficulties in offering low-sodium meals due to concerns of decreasing satisfaction for the meals. The results of the IPA of programs to reduce sodium in school meals showed that most of the items in the cooking and serving stages were in the 2nd quadrant (Keep up the good work), and all purchasing and menu planning stages occupied the 3rd quadrant (Low priority). To reduce sodium in school meals, government support is required in developing low-sodium recipes for school foodservice, encouraging education on sodium reduction for school foodservice officials and developing low-sodium food for institutional foodservice. Conclusions: To encourage sodium reduction in school meals, the priority is to make low-sodium recipes available. Also, it is necessary to develop a program that calculates the sodium content in menus and processed foods through National Education Information System and to establish standards for sodium levels in school foodservice.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.445-456
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to identify the importance of variables affecting women's golf wear sales with macroeconomic variables and consumer selling prices that affect consumers' purchasing behavior, and to propose a price strategy to increase sales of golf wear. Data of domestic women's golf wear brands were analyzed using decision tree algorithms and ensemble. Consumer selling price is the most significant factors in terms of sales volume for T-shirt, pants and knit, while categories were found to be the most important factors in addition to consumer sales prices for skirt and one piece dress. These findings suggest that items have different economic variables that affect consumers' purchasing behavior, suggesting that sales and profits can be maximized through appropriate price strategies.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.669-678
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• 2018

With increasing concerns about environmental issues that can result from apparel and textile disposal, the recycling methods for discarded fashion products have gained significant attention. As the influential drivers of consumer purchasing and consuming behaviors, fashion innovativeness and fashion involvement can play important roles in forming consumer attitudes toward apparel recycling. The purpose of this study was to (1) investigate consumer attitudes toward three different methods of apparel recycling including resale, reform, and donation, (2) examine the effects of fashion innovativeness and fashion involvement on consumers' apparel recycling attitudes, and (3) identify gender difference in the relationships among fashion innovativeness, fashion involvement, and recycling attitudes. Using a web-based survey, data were collected from 281 Korean consumers who were in their 20s and 30s. Overall, both male and female consumers revealed the most favorable attitudes toward apparel recycling through donation, followed by reform, and resale. The findings suggest that consumer traits, such as fashion innovativeness and fashion involvement, are important factors predicting male consumers' apparel recycling behaviors. Those male consumers who perceive fashion as important were more interested in apparel recycling than those males who put low importance on fashion. Male fashion innovators were less likely to recycle their unused and old apparel items. Further studies identifying antecedents of female consumers' attitudes toward apparel recycling are warranted.

• Korean Journal of Computational Design and Engineering
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.188-198
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• 2005

There are two types of mold parts, ready-made standard parts and ETO (Engineered-to-Order) parts, the latter are of increasing importance to manufacturers. However, the ETO parts require more engineering support and communication than the ready-made standard parts. Existing e-Catalog modules provide classification structures of products that allow customers to select products based on their needs, and the trade begins with the provided specification. However, machine parts or mold parts have different purchasing patterns. Customers do not purchase the ready-made standard parts offered by an e-Catalog. They usually (1) add own options to the provided specifications or (2) change specification items such as length. To support these trades, a new e-Catalog system is proposed. The proposed system is based on the product design process and the specification selection process in addition to the parts classification structure.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.195-207
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• 2012

In South Korea, the growth of online shopping malls that are overtaking traditional offline distributors in sales requires the latter to concentrate on developing a variety of contents amidst the ever-changing and competitive market environment. First of all, attention should be paid to information on fashion item materials. This study examined the current status of online shopping malls with a focus on their three different types-specialized malls, general malls, and open markets-and investigated consumers' hedonic shopping motives and influence on fashion materials in terms of purchasing behavior. In doing so, this study surveyed men and women in their 20s-30s residing in Seoul or its surrounding cities and used a total of 255 questionnaires for statistical analysis. The statistical software program SPSS 15.0 was used to conduct frequency analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The study results showed that in general and specialized shopping malls, consumers granted greater reliability and importance to fashion materials when their interest in shopping or attention to fashion items/brands was high and when they wanted rare items. In open markets, the more interest consumers had in shopping and the more sensitive they were to fashion information, the more dependent they were on prices; in other words, prices were found to have a greater influence on their purchase decisions than the quality of fashion materials. The findings of this study would be useful to marketers and distributors who are trying to develop their marketing strategies based on fashion material information, according to the different types of online shopping malls.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.1479-1490
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• 2010

This study provides basic data for the development of jacket patterns which reflect designs corresponding to the body shape features and preferences of obese women in their 20s and 30s by understanding problems they may encounter in wearing a ready-made jacket by researching the reality of ready-made tailored jacket wearing and their design preferences. A survey was conducted by sampling 82 obese women (over $25kg/m^2$ BMI) between the ages of 20 to 39. The details of the survey consists of general information, interest rate and importance rate on clothes, reality of wearing and purchasing jackets, measurement fits per each part, and preferred designs. SPSS 14.0 was used to analyze the data. The results showed that 76.8% of obese women wore their jackets less than 5 times a month. Those in the 20s wore the jackets more frequently than those in the 30s. The reasons for not wearing jackets frequently included uncomfortableness in activities and unavailability of the correct size. A total of 55% of the total preferred the fitting to be relatively smaller than the body size or tightly fitting. Although in the past, there was a tendency to wear a loose fit to cover the body shape, currently even obese body shapes avoided the loose fit as the tight fit is the trend. In terms of the satisfaction rate for the measurements per each part of jackets, there was a low satisfaction rate for most of the items. For the circumference items such as waist length and chest size, people responded that they were too small and for the length of items such as the length of jacket and sleeve length, people responded that they were too long. This was because the readymade clothes brands increase the length of items and circumference items in uniform in the same intervals when producing large sizes. Both those in the 20s and the 30s preferred a tight fit. In terms of preferred fabric, a wool/spandex mix was most popular and then cotton/spandex. This shows that they prefer those fabrics which allow an excellent activity while maintaining the exterior well. In addition, they preferred black color with no patterns because they wanted their body size to look reduced and did not want to receive any attention.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.513-524
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• 2010

This study was designed to examine nutrition label use, self-efficacy, snacking and eating behaviors of middle school students, and to investigate if these characteristics were different by nutrition label use. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to 348 middle school students in Kyunggi, Korea. About a third of subjects read nutrition labels when they purchased snacks/packaged foods. Most nutrition label users were interested in reading information on calories, fat and trans-fat. Self-efficacy of eating/selecting snacks or general nutrition behavior was moderate (mean score: 44.4 out of 60), with significantly higher score in nutrition label users compared to nonusers (p < 0.001). Nutrition label users felt more confident in 9 items out of 15 items of self-efficacy, such as "taking fruits instead of cookies/candy for snack" (p < 0.001), "choosing milk instead of soft drink" (p < 0.01), "not having snacks after dinner" and "avoiding processed foods for snacks" (p < 0.05). Subjects had snacks 1.3 times a day, and nutrition label nonusers consumed snacks more frequently than the counterparts (p < 0.01). About 55% of nutrition label users and 64.7% of nonusers mainly purchased snacks for themselves (p < 0.05). Commonly purchased snacks by adolescents were ice cream, cookies/chips, breads and ramen. Major considerations in purchasing snacks were taste (46.9%) and price (34.6%). In selecting snacks, the influence of friends and parents was greater than the other sources. Based on eating frequency of snacks, nutrition label users were more likely to consume healthy snacks, such as fruit juices, vegetables, milk, yogurt, and potato/sweet potato than nonusers (p < 0.05). Eating behaviors measured by 15 items scored 33.6 out of 45. Nutrition label users showed better eating behaviors, such as "eating meals slowly", "eating foods cooked with plant oil", and "eating out less frequently" (p < 0.05). Study results showed that majority of adolescents did not read nutrition labels, selected snacks for themselves and had somewhat unhealthy foods for snacks. This study also showed the differences in self-efficacy, snacking and eating behaviors between nutrition label users and nonusers. In nutrition education, it is necessary to stress the importance and skills for reading nutrition labels. It is also needed to help adolescents to select healthy snacks and have desirable eating behaviors, as well as increasing self-efficacy.