Garment fit expectations as determinants of men’s ready-to-wear business apparel purchase decisions: The personal appearance revelation

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine male consumers’ functional expectations, aesthetic expectations and socio-psychological expectations of the fit of ready-to-wear business apparel as potential antecedents of the purchase decision among a sample of male consumers in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Data were collected from 216 respondents using anonymously completed online questionnaires. Research scales were operationalized based on previous work, and modifications were made to match the current research context and purpose. ‘Functional expectations’, ‘aesthetic expectations’ and ‘socio-psychological expectations’ all used eight-item scale measures. All the measurement items were on a five-point Likert scale anchored by 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = undecided, 4 = agree and 5 = strongly agree to express the degree of agreement. The three posited hypotheses were empirically tested. The results significantly supported all the hypotheses, except for H1. The study findings indicate that a robust relationship exists between socio-psychological expectations and purchase decisions, suggesting that socio-psychological expectations can have a strong, direct influence on male consumers’ decision to purchase business apparel. This could be indicative that when consumers evaluate garments, they do not only consider styles that fit comfortably, but also its aesthetic and cognitive impact. Both practitioners and academics may benefit from the implications of this study. A significant contribution is made to the fashion apparel marketing literature by systematically exploring South African male consumers’ functional expectations, aesthetic expectations and socio-psychological expectations of readyto- wear business apparel, and its effect on their purchase decision. Empirically, an understanding of consumers’ motivation to purchase ready-to-wear business apparel can assist retailers in developing more effective marketing strategies. While existing literature claims male consumers focus on the functional expectations of apparel, this study found that socio-psychological and aesthetic expectations have a significantly greater impact on South African male consumers’ business apparel purchase decisions. Overall, the current study’s findings support the proposition that there is a need to acknowledge aesthetic and sociopsychological expectations of business apparel as significant antecedents of male consumers’ purchase decisions in South Africa. This study, therefore, stands to contribute new knowledge to the existing body of consumer decision-making literature and male apparel shopping behaviour.