Segmenting young adults through their consumption styles: a cross‐cultural study

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to validate the CSI scale and segment young adults from a developed and a developing country on the basis of their consumption styles as consumers.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted in France and Turkey. To determine the consumption styles, the CSI scale was used. The data were collected from college students aged 18‐24 by a self‐administered questionnaire. To define the segments, cluster analysis was used. The segments are profiled by young adults' demographic characteristics, attitudes towards shopping influence, and reliance on media.FindingsIn both of the countries, four segments were distinguished and defined as “fashion‐brand conscious consumers”, indifferent consumers”, “recreation seekers” and “quality seekers”.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was executed in just one city (Istanbul) in Turkey and one city (Toulouse) in France. The study focused on a single product class, apparel products, since young adults act more as decision makers for that product class.Practical implicationsThe expectations and attitudes of the identified segments should be taken into consideration while developing marketing programs by firms.Originality/valueThis study examines a cross‐cultural validation of CSI scale for new country settings and segments young adults. Moreover, this study put forwards a cross‐cultural comparison of young adults' consumption segments.