The Effect of Customer-to-Customer Interactions on the Preference of Fashion Purchase Environment

Abstract

This study identifies the effect of customer-to-customer interactions on the preference of fashion purchase environment. An empirical study surveyed male and female consumers 25 years of age and older in Daegu, Korea, in August 2011. A total of 338 responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis of SPSS 19.0. The results identified the effects of the number, gender, age, attractiveness, and taste of other customers in fashion retail settings. In addition, differences in the effect of customer-to-customer interactions according to consumer attributes were also verified. The sample of this study preferred a shopping condition of many shoppers in the store, the same gender shoppers in the store, the same aged shoppers in the store, an attractive shopper in the store, and a shopper having the same taste in the store. Female consumers showed a preference for a store environment with many shoppers and the same gender shoppers to a store of no shoppers and different gender shoppers compared to male consumers. Aged consumers and fashion-involved consumers liked to shop with more attractive persons than less attractive persons. Fashion-innovative consumers wanted to enter a store where the other customers have similar tastes.