CONSUMER INNOVATIVENESS AND FASHION PURCHASING BEFORE AND DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The subject of this paper is the analysis of the fashion products consumers’ innovativeness and consideration of fashion purchasing, before and during COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of the paper is to examine the speed of adoption of new fashion products, as well as to learn how consumers of different degrees of innovativeness behave when buying fashion products, before and during the pandemic, in Serbia, considering the frequency of purchases and the factors that influence fashion purchasing. The results of empirical research, conducted in Serbia between March and June 2021, prove that a significant percentage of consumers are innovators (5%) and laggards (44%). The frequency of ordering fashion products has been in decline during the pandemic among all categories of consumers. Innovators most often ordered fashion clothing items before and during the pandemic, while early adopters most often ordered footwear and fashion accessories before the pandemic. During the pandemic early adopters share the first place with innovators. Before the pandemic, influencers were the most important factor for innovators, and during the pandemic for early adopters. During the pandemic, the geographic origin of a fashion product has become more important to innovators, early adopters and early majority.