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Information seeking by female apparel consumers in South Africa during the fashion decision‐making process
Author(s) -
van Staden Johanna,
van Aardt Annette Marie
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
international journal of consumer studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.775
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1470-6431
pISSN - 1470-6423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1470-6431.2010.00894.x
Subject(s) - clothing , information seeking , categorization , decision making , marketing , section (typography) , process (computing) , psychology , information source (mathematics) , advertising , business , geography , computer science , library science , artificial intelligence , purchasing , operating system , statistics , mathematics , archaeology
Fashion information is sought during the fashion decision‐making process and can be obtained from various sources such as magazines, fashion consultants, websites and store displays. Various levels and methods such as internal and external search for information are used to assist the consumer in making informed fashion decisions. The broad research aim of this study was to determine which methods, sources and economics of fashion information are sought and used by female educators in Vanderbijlpark (South Africa) during the fashion decision‐making process, and to which extent. A self‐administered, structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Section A measured methods of information seeking, section B determined the economics of information search and section C investigated sources of fashion information. Demographic information was investigated in Section D. A random cluster sample of eight schools was chosen from the female educating staff of 22 schools. The biggest group of the educators (40.18%) was between the ages of 41 and 50, which according to a South African categorization represents baby boomers. Almost all (95.5%) had a higher education qualification obtained at a university and most (82.14%) were married. Regarding the methods of information seeking, the respondents depended on internal information seeking more than on external methods and were moderately involved in the process. Shopping in stores was regarded the most important source of fashion information. Cluster analysis revealed that four clusters of respondents could be distinguished, each with a specific disposition towards the methods and economics of search as well as sources used during the fashion decision‐making process.