Online Fashion Retailers Research Articles

Nexus Between Consumer's Motivations and Online Purchase Intentions of Fashion Products: A Perspective of Social Media Marketing.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of customers’ motivations (specifically young consumers) on online purchase intentions as mediated by commitment toward online fashion retailers. The survey method was used to collect data from Chinese respondents using a questionnaire. The convenience sampling technique was used to collect data from 275 respondents. Collected data were analyzed on smart-PLS using the structural equation modeling technique. Results of the study show a significant and positive impact of social empowerment and remuneration motivations on consumer commitment online purchase intention. Further results show that consumer commitment partially mediates the relationship between social empowerment, remuneration, and online purchase intention. This study contributes to the literature in the domain of consumer commitment by focusing on the underlying needs and motivations of consumers. The researchers have demonstrated a strong need to understand the dynamics of commitment due to its importance in affecting purchase intention. This study also has several implications that guide online retailers how to motivate consumers with social, remuneration and empowerment incentives to develop their intention to purchase online. Fashion retailers are suggested to gratify certain consumer motives to increase commitment. Specifically, among the three motives, empowerment motivation emerged as the strongest predictor of consumer commitment in social media environment. This study will help to the online brands to attract more customers by providing the motivation such financial, empowerment and socialization.

Some Interactions Are More Equal Than Others: The Effect of Influencer Endorsements in Social Media Brand Posts on Engagement and Online Store Performance

This study investigates the value of influencer endorsement within brand-owned social media posts in terms of engagement and online store performance. Specifically, it focuses on how endorser-caused engagement translates to online store performance. The authors examine metrics that capture short-term performance (online shop visits and immediate sales) by tracking immediate responses to social media posts. They conduct an empirical analysis based on real Facebook posts published over 1.5 years by a leading European online fashion retailer that targets young adults. To confirm results and shed light on the underlying mechanisms, the authors further conduct a randomized online experiment (N = 305) that mimics the field study. They find that influencer endorsements are associated with increased engagement and that engagement is associated with higher online store performance. The results show that endorsement negatively moderates the effect of engagement because it distracts from the products (i.e., the “vampire effect”). The authors conclude that consumers’ underlying intentions of engaging with social media posts vary, which implies that engagement caused by an endorser has less economic value than engagement motivated by other (e.g., product-related) reasons. From a practical perspective, social media brand post endorsement should be considered a tool for brand marketing rather than for performance marketing, and social media metrics should be interpreted with care, because not all engagement may help online store performance.

Investigating the moderating role of AI-enabled services on flow and awe experience

Interactive technology is rapidly transforming the modern e-tail landscape by applying reality-enhancing technologies, i.e., augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality-led sensory, emotional and cognitive mechanisms. These wide-ranging AI-enabled services improve user interface and enhance customers’ experience in the online shopping environment. The current study integrated the flow dimensions and the broaden-and-build theory to investigate the moderating influence of AI-enabled service quality on flow dimensions and customers' awe experience. The model examined the role of online flow dimensions, i.e., perceived control, concentration, and cognitive enjoyment, in using AI-enabled services to enhance customers’ awe experience in the Indian fashion e-tailing context. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze and validate a sample of 739 online fashion retail shoppers. The findings posited that individuals are encouraged by the (1) concentration and (2) cognitive enjoyment facilitated by online flow, and in the case of (3) perceived control, the effect size was small. Further, the moderating role of AI-enabled service in deepening and positively influencing the awe experience with perceived control, concentration, and cognitive enjoyment was also established.

Customer models for artificial intelligence-based decision support in fashion online retail supply chains

Fashion is a global, multi-trillion dollar industry devoted to producing and selling clothing, footwear, and accessories to individuals or groups of people. Its sheer numbers, together with social and environmental sustainability concerns, and the move towards digitalization of customer-centric operations, make the fashion business a prime target for Decision Support Systems (DSSs). On the other hand, decision support in fashion retail is particularly problematic and embraces all major supply chain domains. Decisions in an online fashion retail supply chain (FRSC) are highly dependent on time-varying customers' preferences and product availability, often leading to a combinatorial explosion. To address such a problem, DSSs could greatly benefit from high-quality information stored in customer models (CMs), constructed by using Artificial Intelligence techniques, allowing informed decisions on how to personalize (adapt) to match the customer's needs and preferences. Combinations of CMs with recommender systems (RSs) have been increasingly utilized in fashion e-commerce to provide personalized product recommendations. Nevertheless, works on enhancing CMs for e-commerce or other decision-making chain domains are scanty. This paper offers a systematic review of the literature on fashion CMs with applications to decision-making in FRSCs, mining topics for a research agenda. Research on the theme is relevant and urgent for the fashion business, which is still in its infancy. Work on the agenda topics could benefit distinct fashion stakeholders, not just customers, and produce well-grounded decision-making in varied FRSC contexts and dynamics.

Augmented Reality Try-On Watch Application

Augmented reality is a growing trend in marketing and sales strategies in recent times. Augmented reality ads are immersive, meaning that marketers help build a specific emotional connection with customers. Unlike images or banners, for example, AR ads are interactive and lifelong users can see and interact with them. These days people prefer online shopping over traditional window shopping and augmented reality brands allow them to provide unique experiences with the convenience of allowing customers to tap their mobile devices. So, the main goal of creating the "AR Watch Tri-On Application" is to develop an Android application to try out different watches in a virtual manner using a mobile that supports the AR camera. The application can be used on online watch shopping websites and on applications such as Titan, Fastrack, Sonata, etc. This application eliminates the human effort of physically visiting watch shops which is a very time-consuming activity. The user can try many watches and different types of watches. Among the ongoing opportunities, augmented reality (AR) is widely accepted as the new game changer for big tech companies. The idea of augmented reality is much older than creating gaming experiences like Pokémon Go. It is used to improve customer experience and provide excellent solutions for easy detection of manufacturing defects. Throughout this paper, we will evaluate whether AR can be used for online shopping for fashion accessories and its future range. According to several studies conducted, approximately 20% -40% of garments sold through online fashion retailers are returned by consumers. Of this percentage, 60% - 70% is due to product return size issues. The main reason for this inefficiency is the wrong size ordered by the customer - many times by mistake. Because of this, the extra shipping cost for items returned by the retailer can lead to huge money loss and customer dissatisfaction.

A Review of AI (Artificial Intelligence) Tools and Customer Experience in Online Fashion Retail

Artificial Intelligence tools and processes have hugely impacted the ecommerce industry and the satisfaction of online customers. With technology largely pervading all facets of our lives, people want meaningful experiences. Artificial intelligence has the ability to deliver positive experiences for customers that helps build brand trust and customer satisfaction. Whether you are using your smartphone, laptop or voice assistants such as Alexa or Siri, service on the internet is gaining new ground. This paper does a literature review of the various technological advances that optimize the customer experience to evoke e-satisfaction, i.e. satisfaction while shopping online. E-satisfaction as a construct will be reviewed and its impact on customer purchase intention. This review will provide businesses and other researchers a frame of reference to conduct empirical studies in the area of AI and technology enabled retail.

How does model type influence consumer and online fashion retailing?

PurposeModel's physical attractiveness plays an important role in online shopping. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships among model type, consumer's perceived amount of information and consumer's approach behaviour.Design/methodology/approachConstrual level theory and anchoring effect are used to develop hypotheses. The authors conducted an online experiment in China, and 229 females participated in this experiment.FindingsCompared with the professional model, the nonprofessional model triggers consumers' more perceived amount of information and approach behaviour. The latter effect is significantly enhanced in the website retailing context. Moreover, perceived amount of information positively affects approach behaviour.Practical implicationsThe findings can help fashion brands understand the roles of model type and the online retailing context in consumer behaviour. It offers guidance on how to improve its marketing strategy scientifically. It can also provide consumers with suggestions for making objective purchasing decisions.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to examine the effects of two model types (professional model or nonprofessional model) on consumers' perceived amount of information and approach behaviour within two online retailing contexts (website stores or webcast studio).

An investigation into the Online Sales Channels of Small Business Fashion Retailers on Portal Shopping and Fashion Shopping Malls

The aim of this study was to analyze the perceptions and entering status of small business online fashion retailers on portal shopping and fashion shopping malls. Case studies were conducted on a total of 10 research samples. The results were as follows: first, regarding the strategic factors of online fashion stores, ‘price competitiveness’ is important, especially in portal shopping and low-cost brands; ‘product assortment’ is important but not essential in all platforms; and ‘differentiation’ is important to continuously secure loyal customers in fashion shopping malls. Customer satisfaction leads to customer loyalty, and customer loyalty affects the sales conversion rate and brand growth of online sales channels. Factors that promoted sales activities in online sales channels were exposure, advertisements, SNS, events, special exhibitions, and events. Hindrance factors were low price competition, overheated competition, and the MD of sales channels. Second, the research samples used multiple online sales channels, including portal shopping malls and fashion shopping malls, in addition to their own malls. The selection factors were platform reputation and commission, branding, and customer inflow through exposure. Portal shopping malls were perceived as providing easy access, advertising/customer communication, exposure/search, price competitiveness, scalability, and intense competition, whereas fashion shopping malls were perceived as providing a brand image and concept, brand promotion, high commissions, difficult entry, and low profits. The factors for success in portal shopping malls were exposure/search, price competitiveness, and brand recognition, whereas the factors for success in fashion shopping malls were differentiation, brand, exposure/advertisement, product assortment, and MD.

Profit uplift modeling for direct marketing campaigns: approaches and applications for online shops

In order to select “best” customers for a direct marketing campaign, response models are widespread: a sample of customers receives an ad, a catalog, a sample pack, or a discount offer on a test basis. Then, their responses (e.g., website visits, conversions, or revenues) are used to build a predictive model. Finally, this model is applied to all customers in order to select “best” ones for the campaign. However, up to now, only models that reflect website visits, conversions, or revenues have been proposed. In this paper, we discuss the shortcomings of these traditional approaches and propose profit uplift modeling appoaches based on one-stage ordinary regression and random forests as well as two-stage Heckman sample selection and zero-inflated negative binomial regression for parameter estimation. The new approaches demonstrate superiority to the traditional ones when applied to real-world datasets. One dataset reflects recent discount offers of a large online fashion retailer. The other is the well-known Hillstrom dataset that describes two Email campaigns.

A STUDY OF FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMERS PURCHASE INTENTION FOR ONLINE SHOPPING OF FASHION PRODUCTS AMONG OMANI CUSTOMERS

Online fashion retailers in Oman are facing challenges such as high competition from traditional retailers and moderate customer interest in making online purchase. The present study investigated this issue with the aim to identify and test the factors which can influence customer online purchase intention. Based on customer-oriented and technology-oriented perspectives, we tested the influence of four factors namely trust, perceived risk, shopping enjoyment, and web-site design quality on customer’s online purchase intention. We utilized quantitative approach and convenience based non-random sampling to collect data from customers who are engaged in online transactions (n=170). Our findings indicate that trust (Beta=.255, P<.05); perceived risk (Beta=-.276, P<.05); and website design quality (Beta=.118, P<.05) exert significant influence on customer’s online purchase intention. The four factors together explain 58% variation in the dependent variable of customer online purchase intention. Based on these results, we concluded that both customer as well as technology related factors are important in online context. Keywords: Trust, Risk, Shopping Enjoyment, Website Quality, Purchase Intentions, Online, Fashion, Oman.

FASHION CONSCIOUSNESS, BEHAVIORAL INTENTION AND PURCHASING BEHAVIOR IN THE ONLINE FASHION RETAIL SECTOR

Due to the current situation in all over the world, online shopping industry has grown up and fulfilling the needs and requirements of consumers. To understand consumer behavior and their intention in online fashion retail industry with having uncertain situations, marketers and different brands have great opportunity to learn attitude and behavior of potential audience. The paper represents some of the factors that assist in learning their behavior so that brands can increase their sales and helps them in improving their weak points. Fashion consciousness, celebrity endorsement, social influence, time pressure, behavioral intention and purchasing behavior are the factors involved in online shopping. The model was validated using structural equation modeling, and a two-step approach to evaluate the measurement and structural models for the research. The research uses theory of planned behavior to match the conceptual framework with the help of hypothesis and literature review. Closed-ended questions were used in the study to get responses from general public and university students. Furthermore, the study collected data through online and offline with total sample of 208 responses. This paper uses graphical representative that interpret and clarify each questions answers and their ratio of all the participants of the university students. The results shown that time pressure is relatively more effective towards behavioral intention in regards with online shopping as compare to celebrity endorsement and social influence. However, fashion consciousness is very crucial because as per the graphical representation it has a great influence on consumer behavior. The examination results give recommendations to for competitive marketing strategies for online fashion retail organizations working in the developing business sectors. The current investigation utilizes theory of planned behavior to find fundamental connection between the factors

A review of studies on virtual layout and atmospherics - potential applications to the fashion industry

ABSTRACT Retail layouts and atmospherics have been widely investigated within the physical retail environment, Research suggests that there is limited understanding of these elements in the virtual environment despite the fact that they would appear to be the easiest and most effective combination to implement by online fashion retailers. Considering potential applications in the fashion industry, a review of current literature on layout and atmospherics has identified the freeform layout as a valuable format for online fashion retailing. The freeform layout has been found to increase consumers’ hedonic motivations to purchase. Furthermore, design and visual cues have a significant influence on consumers, while aural cues despite being very important to the consumers’ experience appear to be underexploited in the online fashion space. This paper contributes a review of established retail elements, and identifies those that adapt well from the offline to online retail environment.

ONLINE SALE OF FASHION GOODS

The main channel for the distribution of retail goods is gradually becoming the Internet. It is also a binding distribution channel for the sale of fashion goods. It allows the retailer to take opportunity not only to post photos, video and audio material showcasing their latest collections, but also to sell the goods directly to the consumer through a website. In Latvia, the purchase of goods in the Internet is growing very fast, especially during the Covid - 19 restrictions, when the purchase of goods in stores is restricted. Throughout Europe and especially in Latvia the crisis caused by Covid-19 has led to the questions, such as - what to do now, what should change and what decisions should be made by fashion retailers so that employees and buyers are not so vulnerable in such unpredictable force majeure situations? According to data from the Interactive Media Retail Group, for example, the UK's online retail turnover increased by 42% in September 2020, by 35.7% in October and by 39% in November compared to the previous year. The aim of this article is to analyze researches about online fashion retailers conducted by US and British researchers and the results of surveys among Chinese and Latvian students. The questions included in the researches and surveys are: Who sells fashion items online? Who helps to create a good fashion website? How do fashion retailers design websites? Who buys online? Conclusions and proposals have been made for retail web developers in Latvia.

온라인 패션 리테일링의 데이터 융합을 이용한 사이즈 추천 테크놀로지 서비스 품질이 지각된 가치를 매개로 만족에 미치는 영향

COVID-19 팬데믹 이후 패션 리테일러들은 온라인 채널을 강화하기 위하여 IT를 이용한 다양한 방법을 적용 중이다. 그리하여, 본 연구는 온라인 리테일링 테크놀로지의 하나인 사이즈 추천 테크놀로지의 효과를 검증하고자 시작되었다. 본 연구의 목적은 사이즈 추천 테크놀로지의 서비스 품질을 밝히고, 이것이 소비자의 지각된 가치와 만족에 이르는 경로를 검증하는 것이다. 따라서 본 연구는 웹사이트 아마존 미케니컬 터크 (Mechanical Turk)의 20세 이상 65세 미만 여성 워커(worker)를 대상으로 219부의 자료를 수집하여 SPSS 27.0과 Process Macro를 이용하여 분석을 이행하였다. 연구의 결과 및 내용은 다음과 같다. 첫째, 사이즈 추천 테크놀로지의 서비스 품질 하위차원은 사용 편의성과 신뢰성으로 나타났다. 둘째, 사용 편의성과 신뢰성은 가치와 만족에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 셋째, 지각된 가치의 부분 매개 효과가 확인되었다. 이러한 연구 결과를 바탕으로 본 연구는 사이즈 추천 테크놀로지의 상용화를 위한 전략적 제언을 하였다. 가까운 미래에 사이즈 추천 테크놀로지가 온라인 패션 리테일링에서 강화된 개인화 서비스의 주축이 될 것을 기대한다.

온라인 패션 리테일링의 사이즈 추천 기술 동향

As the sales of the entire fashion industry are declining due to the Covid-19 pandemic fashion retailers introduce retailing technologies to enhance the shopping experience online. The Size Recommendation Technology(SRT) is one of the retailing technologies to support customers by recommending customers the right size by using data analysis. This study classifies the size recommendation technologies according to data types and finds the implications for online fashion retailers. 5 types of size recommendation technologies are as follows. First the size recommendation technology with virtual try-on using customer body size data, this model is meaningful as it helps customers imagine the fit and size of the product by using an avatar made with the customer

Pricing in online fashion retailing: implications for research and practice

ABSTRACT Drawing on 55 interviews with executives across five online fashion retailers, this paper explores the challenges of price setting and management. We develop a descriptive model of ‘locked-in’ pricing practice to explain organisational routines focused on cost-plus pricing, alignment with competitor prices and historical pricing. Drivers include the complex and uncertain outcomes of pricing, and lack of investment in leading-edge pricing methodologies, together with inadequate training and pricing ownership. Outcomes comprise an aversion to price risk-taking, sees decisions guided by heuristics and a lack of openness to alternative pricing methods. We offer implications for pricing practice to overcome these locked-in behaviours and suggest that research addresses challenges encountered in the implementation of new pricing techniques in organisational settings to narrow the gap between theory and practice.

New insights in online fashion retail returns from a customers\u2019 perspective and their dynamics

Returns are an inconvenient problem in the mail-order business, not only for the merchant but also for the customer. With an estimated return rate of 50% in the fashion sector, the seller has to deal with the expense of restocking and possibly reprocessing, the buyer, who must reship the return, and the environment. We do not consider returns to be generally bad, but rather an explicit, integral part of the online business model. Therefore, we investigate potentially suitable measures to avert or avoid returns in the pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase phases. We look at current and technological developments in return management and the most critical drivers for fashion assortment returns. The measures we investigate deliver a holistic view of the issue and target all three purchase phases. The resulting measures were assessed via an online questionnaire with 8393 participants (customers of a German fashion online retailer) to impact customer satisfaction using Kano’s method. There are clear measures that promise high customer satisfaction (such as 360° view) and a clear hierarchy regarding monetary and non-monetary measures. By applying a new method, the segmented Kano perspective, we found different customer segments, which are different in their expectations towards returns. That allowed us to conclude dynamics regarding return management. This assessment is followed by discussing the results, conclusions, and indications for further research fields.

The impact of free returns on online purchase behavior: Evidence from an intervention at an online retailer

AbstractWhether free returns create economic value for online retailers is a question of increasing importance. Using order‐level data from an online fashion retailer in Sweden, we investigate the introduction of free returns for customers in Denmark starting November 1, 2017, but not for customers in Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, Germany, and the rest of Europe (the control group). Using difference‐in‐differences, with and without sample matching, the introduction of free returns increased the order bill by 54.95 Swedish Krona (SEK) (9.15%), product variety per order by 0.057 (8.74%), gross margin per order by 29.90 SEK (9.71%), and returns by 0.195 items per order (7.86%). This likelihood of increased returns was generally similar across different product categories. The findings are robust to parallel trends, event studies, placebo effects, alternative control groups (with Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Norway), country‐time trends, and correlations between outcome variables. Based on back‐of‐the‐envelope calculations, the cost of offering free returns is greater than the increase in gross profit driven by free returns. Though our results show that free returns may not be of short‐term benefit, retailers must also consider the long‐term strategic implications of free returns.

More than what meets the eye: Understanding the effects of poly-contextual cues in online fashion retailing

While previous studies have examined the presence (vs. absence) of contextual cues or the product-context fit, the effect of multiple cues (poly-cue) remained underexplored. In response, this study investigated the effects of poly- (vs. mono-) cues on the valuation of a product and the underlying mechanism behind these effects. Findings suggest that a poly-cue increases the product valuation via increased consumption vision (Study 1–3), which was pronounced for global processors (Study 2) and attenuated for a product with low contextual versatility (Study 3). This study provides actionable insights for online retailers as well as enrich the relevant literature.

Confused Customer: Sizing and Styling Related Matters in Online Fashion Shopping in Sri Lanka

The increased popularity of online shopping due to easy access, fashion retailers were opting for a different approach to increase their online sales. This study investigates the sizing and styling related matters in online fashion shopping in Sri Lanka. The study has taken a qualitative approach through a comparative content analysis of Sri Lankan and international fashion shopping websites selected from purposive sampling, and an inductive reasoning of fashion consumer survey of Sri Lanka, conducted among hundred participants who have been recruited in a mixed method approach of purposive and random sampling. The results of web content analysis highlight standard sizing and styling related indicators in fashion shopping websites and essential sizing related key indicators to be added to Sri Lankan fashion websites. The consumer survey identifies size and quality of product as key for conventional shoppers in making purchasing decisions. The study concludes the lack of such vital information in fashion shopping websites result in detaching consumers from online shopping in Sri Lanka. The study identifies web contents and presentations to attract more consumers, especially amidst the impact of Covid-19 pandemic in fashion retails. The findings are valuable for the countries sharing similar attributes in online fashion retailing globally.