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Information search patterns for gift purchases: a cross‐national examination of gender differences
Author(s) -
Cleveland Mark,
Babin Barry J.,
Laroche Michel,
Ward Philippa,
Bergeron Jasmin
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of consumer behaviour
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.811
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1479-1838
pISSN - 1472-0817
DOI - 10.1002/cb.120
Subject(s) - situational ethics , clothing , construct (python library) , psychology , confirmatory factor analysis , sample (material) , marketing , exploratory analysis , personality , exploratory factor analysis , macro , social psychology , advertising , business , computer science , political science , psychometrics , developmental psychology , data science , chemistry , chromatography , law , programming language , service (business)
This exploratory study examines the underlying determinants as well as the dimensionality of in‐store information searches for a Christmas clothing gift, focusing specifically on the differential effect of gender on information acquisition. A self‐administered survey, containing personality, situational and standard demographic measures, was administered to actual consumers in three Western countries, shortly after the Christmas season. Confirmatory factor analysis verified that in‐store information is indeed a multidimensional construct, composed of three distinct factors: macro information search, micro information search and salesperson help. Consistent with expectations, compared to males, females tended to acquire macro and micro information to a greater extent; males were more apt to seek the assistance of store sales personnel than females. This pattern was generally robust across the three countries. Other observed gender and/or country‐sample differences are discussed. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications Ltd.