Are US consumers ready to adopt mobile technology for fashion goods?

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of ease of use, usefulness, and enjoyment, and subjective norm regarding the use of mobile phones on US consumers' attitudes toward mobile communication and mobile commerce, and mobile technology use intention for shopping.Design/methodology/approachThis work integrates the technology acceptance model of Davis and Fishbein and Ajzen's theory of reasoned action for its theoretical framework. In total, 341 college students in two large US universities provided usable responses. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed model and research hypotheses.FindingsThe results showed that the perceived ease of use, usefulness, and enjoyment, and subjective norm were the significant predictors of attitudes toward mobile communication and mobile commerce as well as mobile technology use intention for shopping. The findings also suggested that attitude toward mobile communication positively influenced attitude toward mobile commerce, which in turn positively influenced mobile technology use for shopping.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample of this study is slightly biased by gender and age. However, this demographic segment is meaningful to examine consumer attitudes and mobile technology use intentions for fashion goods due to its extensive usage of mobile services.Originality/valueThis study offers an integrated theoretical framework for future studies investigating consumer behavior in a technologically advanced retail environment.