• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.19-25
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• 2016

Purpose - This study explores the role of construal levels in predicting online consumer behavior on a retail website. It builds on the conceptualization that simply browsing a website and making actual purchases can be an outcome of how abstractly or concretely one thinks about that experience. This study examines the differential effects of intermediary websites' attributes and seller's product offerings in predicting frequency of visits and actual purchases. Research design, data, and methodology - Data were collected from 188 undergraduate students in a large university of Korea. Hierarchical regression model was utilized to test the proposed effect of website characteristics and seller attributes on visit and purchase. Results - We propose and find that online shopping website visits and purchase frequency have different antecedents. The results reveal that website visit frequency and purchase have different predictors and this can be explained through construal level theory. Specifically, we find purchase frequency is predicted more by website image and financial benefits can be more predictive in actual purchases. Conclusions - Consumer behavior on the internet can be delineated into website visits and actual purchases. First, uplifting the image of the website itself is much more important than just making offerings cheaper. Online shopping website should try to match its features to mental representations that customers go through from just visit (abstract) to purchase (concrete).

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.849-860
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• 2011

This study explores a structural model to examine the relationship between web browsing motivation, retail strategy and purchase conversion for apparel on shopping websites. A self-administered questionnaire based on existing scales includes web browsing motivation, retail strategy, and purchase conversion intention of apparel on the shopping websites. A total of 499 usable questionnaires were obtained from consumers aging 20 to 49 who reside in metropolitan cities in Korea. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation models were used via SPSS 12.0 and LISREL 8.8. Findings concluded that web browsing motivations consisted of three factors: hedonic, informational, and recreational browsing for apparel. Hedonic browsing had a negative effect on purchase conversion intention, whereas informational browsing had a positive effect on the purchase conversion intention for apparel on shopping sites. Retail strategies on the website were classified into service, merchandise assortment, and price & promotion; the three elements of retail strategies mediated the relationship between web browsing motivations and purchase conversion intention for apparel. Specially, merchandise assortment had significantly direct effect on the purchase conversion intention of apparel on shopping websites. Managerial implications were discussed for fashion marketers to develop retail strategies and web content in order to convert web browsers or visitors into purchasers.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.45-58
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• 2018

As information and communication technologies (ICTs) become more advanced, consumers are able to experience retailing activities such as searching for products and services in online retail shops and for Internet-exclusive branded contents. Specifically, fashion retailers are facing the need to develop more novel experiential design than one another to maximize customers' experience in Internet websites and secure sustainable competency. Confirming methods of organic integration of experiential and visual features of both online and mobile channels is an important aspect of the study of extended consumers' interfaces of retail channels. Mehrabian and Russell's stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) paradigm and Sugiyama and Andree's attention, interest, search, action, and share (AISAS) model were used for this research. Specifically, the present study considered the effect of e-commerce website features on consumers' emotional reactions (pleasure and arousal) and the consequent impact on online consumer behaviors (search, action, and share). Hence, plus the self-reported survey methods, each subject's psychophysiological indicators (i.e., pleasure and arousal) were measured to obtain more objective and reliable data and to redeem the results of the self-reported survey. Findings revealed the implications of the e-commerce website feature by comprehending the S-O-R paradigm and AISAS model and extending the understanding of the role of variables associated with comprehended frameworks based on psychophysiological data.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.73-84
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• 2023

This study aims to identify the current sizing communication issues of menswear on retail websites and to suggest an effective size information presentation method. Based on sales frequency and awareness in the Korean menswear market, 22 brand websites were selected, and size-related information was investigated using 7 types of representative apparel items. The current diverse types of size codes had limitations in delivering actual product size information. Many websites preferred to display garment dimensions rather than basic body measurements, which is the suggested size designation method in Korean Standard. The websites posted fit model photos and customer reviews. However, the body size specifications, which consumers can use as a useful reference, were often omitted. There was also a high uncertainty in product size selection, with only the basic body measurement information listed, and there was a high deviation of garment dimensions within the same basic body measurements. The product size distribution did not match actual Korean body types. Based on the findings, we suggested improved effective sizing communication methods. These methods will contribute to a better online shopping environment for both consumers and retail sellers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.1318-1329
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• 2012

In-store atmospherics involve quantified physical and social aspects; however, the social quality of a web-based retailing context has largely been under-examined. This study addressed some antecedents and consequences of social ambience in virtual shopping (or e-social ambience) within a web-based U.S. retailing fashion context. This study explored the role of social cues as a viable antecedent to e-social ambience and emotions as its consequence. A conceptual framework was built postulating the effect of social cue for web content, on e-social ambience, emotions, and e-shopping enjoyment. The experimental results (n=488) on a fictitious retail T-shirt website confirmed the positive correlation among the variables; in addition, the level of social cues included within the web content significantly increased the level of customer-perceived e-social ambience of the website and subsequent positive on-site emotions. On-site emotions positively influence purchase intentions. The results expand the current understanding of e-store management by providing novel insight relevant to fashion companies that wish to provide customers with a quality website shopping experience.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.272-285
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• 2012

The purpose of the study is to examine the role of consumer perceptions of websites' entertainment and informativeness in developing their attitudes (attitude toward the retailer and attitude confidence toward the product) in the context of apparel e-tailing. A structural equation model was developed for an empirical test based on the literature on uses-and-gratifications and attitude confidence. A sample of 119 consumers who live in the United States participated in the online survey. The results generally supported the proposed model. Specifically, the analyses revealed that consumers' purchase intention toward the displayed product is positively influenced by their attitudes toward the retailer and by their confidence in their attitudes toward the product. Interestingly, only one of the two cognitive antecedents, perceived entertainment, has a positive impact on consumers' attitude toward the retailer. Perceived informativeness, however, had a positive impact on attitude confidence. These findings suggest that consumers who have high perception of an e-tail website's entertainment are more likely to exhibit favorable attitudes toward the e-tailer, while consumers who have high perception of an e-tail website's informativeness are more likely to hold strong confidence in their attitudes toward the product displayed on the website. Both consumer attitudes toward the e-tailer and their attitude confidence lead to their purchase intentions.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.617-627
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• 2020

This study investigates the apparel sizing communication presented in online retail websites focusing on women's ready-to-wear tailored jackets and to analyze the meaning of these information as the actual product size guide factor. A total of 34 retail websites were selected based on the highest growth fashion companies list and the best fashion brands list. We collected size information in two types: size specifications including sizing code, body measurements, garment measurements, and size references including customized size guide tools, size information in customer reviews, model size information, and others. Most websites prefer to present garment measurements rather than body measurements that are recommended notations under Korean standards and related regulations. In addition, there was the absence of consistency in presenting measurements list and terms that can confuse consumers in size communication. This study found that the stature measurement was a key factor in size reference despite that it did not represent a proper garment size. The obsolete Korean numbering sizing code such as '55 and '66 was still used in many ways such as idiomatic expressions for body shape. It also implied that we can take advantage of the old sizing code for accessible size information. The finding of this study gives an in-depth diagnosis of current online sizing information problems and suggests useful basic data for developing online apparel size standards and marketing strategies.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.117-126
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• 2022

This study aims to analyze the sizing information of women's ready-to-wear pants as indicated on online retail websites and to suggest better sizing communication that can assist customers in making successful apparel size selections. We gathered size specifications and size reference information for basic straight pants from 34 online apparel retail websites. Although the Korean standard recommends labeling the body dimension-based sizing code and specification, most websites preferred to use various types of sizing codes. Body measurements were only used by a few websites, and garment dimension descriptions were the most common method to indicate product size. Many websites provided size reference information through customer review boards and fit model images, however, there was insufficient body size information to allow customers to infer the fit of their body type. When using the size guidance tools, the major data input points were stature and weight measurements. However, the waist measurements of pants sizes guided only by stature and weight values revealed inconsistent ease allowance for corresponding body size populations, especially in the overweight group. Based on our findings, we propose a more effective method of communicating the size information of pants online. We expect that this will contribute to the efficiency of online apparel product display and build a better shopping environment that satisfies both sellers and consumers.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.29-42
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• 2011

With the many advantages of the internet, online shopping has become one of the fastest growing types of retail businesses. However, internet-based firms are much more firmly required to retain existing customers rather than secure new ones, and to make them revisit the site by strengthening trust and loyalty, thereby improving profits and outrivaling competitors. Commitment is an essential part of successful long-term relationships between buyers and sellers. Although commitments by both parties in an exchange can provide the foundation for the development of relational social norms, disproportionate commitments can lead to opportunism by the less committed partner. Moreover, flow, which is characterized by intense concentration and enjoyment, was found to be significantly linked with exploratory use behavior, which in turn was linked to the extent of computer use. The level of flow was, itself, determined by the individual's sense of being in control, and the level of challenge perceived in maneuvering a website. Website attractiveness goes hand in hand with the attractiveness of an internet shopping mall, and it can be conceptualized as the persuasive effectiveness of a message by the use of familiarity, favor, similarity, etc. It occurs when information receivers try to achieve self-satisfaction when they actually or emotionally identify themselves with an information source. This study investigates the relationship between the perceived system characteristics of an internet shopping mall and the loyalty of online consumers, and it examines how perceived website attractiveness and flow play mediating roles between the perceived system characteristics of an internet shopping mall and the affective commitment in the context of a clothes internet shopping mall. For these purposes, a structural model comprising several variables was developed. That model was tested with an analysis of moment structure (AMOS) using data from respondents who had purchased clothing through the internet during the past three months. In this model, the perceived system characteristics of an internet shopping mall, such as familiarity, reputation, uniqueness, positive emotions, self-efficacy, and interactivity, were proposed to affect the website's attractiveness and flow, and lead to a higher affective commitment over time. Thus, the perceived website attractiveness and flow were proposed as core mediating variables between perceived system characteristics and affective commitment. The results of a reliability test using Cronbach's Alpha, and a confirmatory factor analysis warranted using unidimensionality for the measures for each construct. In addition, the nomological validity of the measures was warranted from the results of a correlation analysis. The results of empirical analyses indicated that systematic attributes resulting in website attractiveness and user's characteristics, thereby triggering customers' flow, play a crucial role in inducing customers' affective commitment, and a user's characteristics are twice as important as systematic attributes in this study. Moreover, familiarity, reputation, and uniqueness all have a significant effect on website attractiveness, and the research showed that uniqueness took the first place, and that familiarity and reputation followed in order of magnitude. The fact that reputation was not the most important factor that affects the attractiveness of an internet shopping mall, with uniqueness or familiarity having a greater impact, suggests much deeper implications. Finally, positive emotion, self-efficacy, and interactivity all have a significant effect on customers' flow. In particular, the fact that positive emotion, compared to self-efficacy or interactivity, has much more impact on flow is very suggestive.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.15-31
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to classify male consumers and examine their clothing consumption values and the perceived importance of store attributes. Using Internet-based research service, survey data were collected from 651 male consumers aged between 20 and 40. The questionnaire included questions regarding respondents' preference of different store types, clothing consumption values, perceived importance of store attributes. According to the results, the respondents were categorized into 5 distinct groups based on their store type preferences: discount store preference group, multi-channel preference group, store indifferent group, brand store preference group, online store preference group. Multi-channel preference group was the largest among these groups. The five store type preference groups statistically varied in clothing consumption values, i.e., epistemic value, brand/conspicuous value, and economic value. The groups also differed in the importance they placed in the store attributes of: service and product quality, promotion, fashionability, salesperson and store environment, store atmosphere, convenience, and website image. The results of this study have direct implication for retail marketers of fashion companies who are targeting male consumers. Marketers can apply findings of this study in implementing retail strategies for different types of stores.