How do consumers’ fashion lifestyles differentiate their logistics preferences for fashion products?

Abstract

PurposeThis study addresses the knowledge gap on consumers’ logistics preferences for online fashion retailing. Despite the effects of operational attributes, including fulfillment cost, speed, time, and convenience, this study further characterizes consumer heterogeneity in fashion shopping with a fashion lifestyle measurement scale, and examines how such heterogeneity differentiates logistics preferences. Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire that consists of attitudinal measurements on fashion lifestyles and a stated choice experiment is disseminated to an online panel in Singapore. The collected responses are analyzed using the Integrated Choice and Latent Variable model. FindingsThis study concludes the significant effects of fulfillment cost, speed, specificity of home delivery slot, and distance to pickup locations on consumers' logistics choices. Meanwhile, consumers’ fashion lifestyles, including fashion consciousness, brand focus, and enjoyment orientation, are found to have considerable correlations with their heterogeneous logistics preferences. Originality/valueThis study fills the knowledge gap regarding online fashion consumers’ logistics preferences. Despite the generic operational attributes, special attention is dedicated to the unique feature of fashion shopping with differentiated shopping motivations. With such treatments, this study advocates the incorporation of segment-specific attributes in future consumer logistics research. Meanwhile, this study pioneers the inspection of the nexus between shopping motivation and logistics preference, which paves a new direction for future exploration. Practical implicationsThis study allows practitioners to predict channel demand with consumer profiling, and make informed logistics decisions, such as inventory management. This can effectively strengthen practitioners’ economic sustainability to remain competitive in contemporary consumer-centric shopping landscapes.