Psychological antecedents to customized apparel purchases

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the influences of consumers’ internal-oriented psychological factors (i.e. self- promotion, need for uniqueness, self-expression and self-monitoring) and external-oriented psychological properties (i.e. social identity and other-directedness) on the perception of customization and the sense of extended-self; further to identify whether the perception of customization and the sense of extended-self lead to purchase intention toward customized apparel products. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through an online survey among college students in the USA, generating a valid sample size of 338 participants. Factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling were utilized to test proposed hypotheses. Findings The results indicated that need for uniqueness and self-monitoring were significantly related to consumers’ perception of customization and the sense of extended-self, whereas impacts of self-expression and other-directedness were not significant. Furthermore, the results also confirmed that consumers’ perception of customization and the sense of extended-self were positively associated with purchase intention of customized apparel products. Originality/value This study investigates consumers’ psychological features that influence consumers’ buying intention of customized apparel products, which is the first attempt. The study results are insightful and beneficial for marketers to construct target consumer segmentation under different cultural and social settings.