Consumer Characteristics and Their Influences on Fashion Leadership - Focused on Centrality of Visual Product Aesthetics, Consumer Innovativeness, Consumer Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influences, and Role-relaxed Consumption -

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the relationships among the characteristics of consumers and their influence on fashion leadership. Two kinds of variables were investigated in this study: centrality of visual product aesthetics and consumer innovativeness as personal characteristics, and role-relaxed consumption and consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence as interpersonal characteristics. Data were gathered by surveying university students in the Seoul metropolitan area, using convenience sampling, and 322 questionnaires were used in the statistical analysis. In analyzing data, correlation analysis, factor analysis, and regression analysis were conducted. Factor analysis on the centrality of visual product aesthetics revealed three sub-factors: value, acumen, and response intensity. Meanwhile, factor analysis for consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence revealed two sub-factors: informative and normative conformities. However, consumer innovativeness, role-relaxed consumption, and fashion leadership revealed only one factor. Regression analysis showed that visual product aesthetics, especially acumen and response intensity, were the most influential factors; furthermore, consumer innovativeness and normative conformity had positive influence on fashion leadership. However, role-relaxed consumption had negative influence on fashion leadership.