Effects of Model Age on Adult Female Consumers’ Purchase Intentions and Attitudes for an Age-Specific Product, Clothing

Joy M Kozar

doi:10.5539/ijms.v4n2p22

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of model age on female consumers’ purchase intentions and attitudes for an age-specific product such as clothing. The sample for this study consisted of 377 women between the ages of 30-80. The instrument designed for this study included four major scales to assess participants’ beliefs about fashion models depicted in clothing advertisements, participants’ purchase intentions of the clothing worn by the models in the advertisements, participants’ perceived similarity to the models shown in the ads, and participants’ perceived fashionability of the clothing worn by the models. The stimuli used in this study included four full-colored photographs of current fashion models. Findings revealed that participants preferred older models over younger models, with consumers exhibiting greater purchase intent of clothing appearing on older models. Moreover, perceived similarity was found to be a significant predictor of participants’ perspectives of the models, in terms of appearance and attractiveness, fashionability, and purchase intentions.

Highlights

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of model age on female consumers’ purchase intentions and attitudes for an age-specific product such as clothing
Consumer spending accounts for 70% of total economic activity; a drop in retail sales in May and June of 2010 "raised fears that the economy could be in danger of slipping back into recession” (“Department store sales,” 2010)
According to a report published by CNBC (“American boomers,” 2006), targeting Baby Boomers is a lucrative strategy for invigorating consumer interest, when considering the $2 trillion spending power of Boomers

Summary

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of model age on female consumers’ purchase intentions and attitudes for an age-specific product such as clothing. Sales at specialty clothing retailers fell 0.5% in March 2009, while department and general merchandise stores reported a 0.1% drop (“Retail Sales Fall,” 2009). In a national study of over 5,000 American consumers, participants noted reduced overall spending for numerous product categories, including purchases for new apparel goods and accessory items (“Americans expect,” 2009). In response to the current economic and marketplace conditions, it is evident that retailers must identify strategies or methods to re-stimulate consumer spending and drive sales. ISSN 1918-719X E-ISSN 1918-7203 www.ccsenet.org/ijms consumer groups is typical It is these “other” consumer groups, including Generation X and Baby Boomers, that have greater spending power and aren’t nearly as capricious as younger target markets (O’Donnell, Petrecca, & Butrymowicz, 2008; WGSN, 2007). As reported by Florin, Callen, Mullen, and Kropp (2007), Baby Boomers have acquired greater sums of wealth and have more spending power than any other cohort in history

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