Fashion and Shopping Perceptions, Demographics, and Store Patronage

Abstract

Rural (n = 320) and urban (n = 278) female consumers were studied to determine if the psychographic dimension of perceptioms of fashion and perceptions of apparel shopping was related to store patronage as well as to demographic characteristics. The 20 comrumer perception items were reduced to five factors by factor analysis: Shopping Involvement, Importance of Clothing Image, Fashion Commitment, Quality Conscious, and Fashion Aversion. An analysis of variance revealed that rural and urban consumers held similar perceptions offashion and of apparel shopping as measured by the five factors. Significant differences in the factor scores that measured perceptions of fashion and of apparel shopping were noted in ANOVA with type of stores patronized, shopping locales favored, time spent shopping for apparel for self and family, ethnicity, age, marital status, education, work status, and total family income. Implications for retailers and educators are discussed.