Ho Jung Choo

Luxury customer value

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize luxury customer value and empirically test the reliability and validity of the proposed structure of it. In addition, it aims to identify luxury customer value factors that influence brand relationship and behavioural intention.Design/methodology/approach – A thorough literature study produces a comprehensive model of luxury consumer value. For an empirical test of the model, a web‐based on‐line survey is performed using a consumer sample in Korea. Statistical tests including CFA, second order factor analysis and structural model testing using covariance analysis are conducted.Findings – The findings show that the luxury customer value represents a second‐order construct. The results provide satisfactory support for the four‐value structure model composed of utilitarian, hedonic, symbolic and economic values. Utilitarian value includes excellence and functional values, whereas hedonic value encompasses aesthetic, pleasure and experiential values. Sym...

The motivational drivers of fast fashion avoidance

– This study aims to investigate the conceptual structure of fast fashion avoidance among young consumers in Korea. The effects of negative beliefs on the behavioural intention regarding fast fashion avoidance are empirically examined., – A conceptual model of fast fashion avoidance is proposed and tested based on the literature and blog analyses. Web‐based online survey data are analyzed by second‐order factor analysis and hierarchical regression., – The second‐order structure of eight negative beliefs is statistically supported. Among these negative beliefs, poor performance and deindividuation have positive effects on fast fashion avoidance. While inauthenticity has a negative effect, big store discomfort and foreignness have an interaction effect with regards to the lack of alternatives., – The results are based on convenient sampling of young female adults. However, it is tested in Korea, of which global fast fashion retailing is in its growing stage., – This study represents a new attempt to apply the concept of brand avoidance to an explanation of fast fashion avoidance, and test it using empirically‐collected survey data.

Understanding usage intention in innovative mobile app service

This study sought to analyze the impact of consumer technological and fashion innovativeness on usage intention to use a fashion image search app. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which was proven quite robust, the study introduced an additional variable of playfulness to verify the relationship between variables related to technological innovativeness and fashion innovativeness. Consumers with a high degree of technological innovativeness tended to find the fashion app easy to use, derived enjoyment from using it, and adopted it if the app is useful. However, those with a high degree of fashion innovativeness adopted the fashion service simply because it was fun to use rather than beneficial or useful. In addition, this study analyzed the differences in acceptance with respect to cohort group, particularly regarding millennial consumers compared to their mature counterparts. The results of this research improved understanding of the generational differences in accepting innovative marketing technology. We study consumers with high technological innovativeness.They adopt app services if they find it easy to use and useful and they enjoy it.We study consumers with high fashion innovativeness.They adopt fashion service because it is fun to use rather than useful.We analyze the differences in acceptance between millennials and mature consumers.

The Roles of Benefit and Risk Perception in Ethical Fashion Consumption

This research investigates the mechanism of ethical fashion consumption by examining the effects of benefit and risk perception on ethical fashion consumption attitudes and behavioral intention. To test the hypotheses, 300 female consumers between the ages of 20 and 49 were invited as study participants. The reliability and the validity of multi-item constructs were tested by Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The hypotheses were tested by utilizing Structural Equation Analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The benefit perception of ethical consumption was composed of three benefit types, which were altruistic benefit, social image benefit, and self-oriented benefit. Benefit perception, except social image benefit, had significant effects on consumer attitudes towards ethical fashion consumption; similarly, benefit perception had significant effects on behavioral intention (except self-oriented benefit) which had an effect on behavioral intention only when it was mediated by attitudes. Further analysis was conducted to understand the reason for the weak relationship between attitudes and behavioral intention. Financial and performance risk perceptions were tested for the moderating roles of attitudes and behavioral intention; subsequently, only financial risk interacted with attitudes and showed that the positive effects of attitudes on behavioral intention were weakened by a high financial risk perception. Performance risk had a main effect on behavioral intention independent of attitudes. Managerial implication and future study directions are also discussed.

Managing the visual environment of a fashion store: Effects of visual complexity and order on sensation-seeking consumers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of a fashion store’s visual complexity on consumers’ behaviour. Considering environmental order and individuals’ sensation-seeking tendencies, the authors examine the effect of visually complex fashion stores on consumers in a more conclusive way to address the inconsistent effect found in the previous literature. Design/methodology/approach This study features a 3 (visual complexity level: low, medium, high) × 2 (environmental order condition: low, high) between subjects design, with individual sensation-seeking tendency included as a moderator. Using this design, an online survey was administered to 188 participants in South Korea. Findings The results indicate that there is a three-way interaction, where the interaction effect of visual complexity and environmental order is moderated by individuals’ sensation-seeking tendency. The effect of visual complexity on approach behaviours had an inverted U-shape in the low-order condition, while had a positive linear shape in the high-order condition, and the interaction effect was significant only for high-sensation seekers. Practical implications The findings assist practitioners in establishing strategies for visual merchandising and store design within fashion stores. It is suggested that retailers consider environmental order when organising a large amount of varied merchandise in a complex environment. Store managers must adjust the complexity and environmental order to meet the optimal stimulation level of their target consumers. Originality/value This study strengthens the literature on visual complexity by applying the concept to the retail environment. The results provide a significant contribution to the literature because they show how individual-level and store-level variables interact to influence consumer behaviour.

Comforting or rewarding myself: Choices for self-gifting

Abstract This study aimed to empirically explore consumers’ preferred self-gift products depending on the motivation to give self-gifts. Perceiving the distinctive motivations for self-gifts led to the postulation of likely distinctiveness in selecting types of attractiveness-relevant products (enhancing vs. problem-solving products) for self-gifts. Two empirical studies were conducted to test the hypotheses with 319 female consumers in their 20s and 30s. Study 1 was an experiment through which different preferences were tested and verified. Here, two types of attractiveness-relevant products showed differing preference levels when the motivation was to give a self-gift reward, thus representing a therapeutic motive. This study also revealed that among enhancing and problem-solving products, experiential products and material products showed different levels of preferences. Study 2 was conducted to provide empirical evidence of the moderating effect of regulatory focus on product type preferences and self-gift motivation. This study expanded the scope of the research in this field as it examined consumer behaviors regarding self-gifts and linked consumer motivations to give self-gifts with relevant product types. We also clarified that different situations exist for self-gift consumption and the preferred products vary depending on a consumer’s motivation to give a self-gift.

Visual merchandising strategies for fashion retailers

This article discusses the emerging role of visual merchandising for fashion retailers as a competitive strategy. Three research papers are introduced for the Journal of Global Fashion Marketings 2014 special issue on visual merchandising. The fashion retail market has been changing faster than any other market and this change is not a gradual one; it is, rather, revolutionary. One of the most important factors leading this change is the emergence of online shopping, including all different kinds of non-brick-and-mortar commerce through mobile devices, television and kiosks. Fashion retailers who maintain their physical stores must cope with the raised expectations and evolved shopping habits of customers, who are concurrently able to enjoy cyber shopping anywhere in the world.

Consumer experiences in fitting rooms in SPA stores

This study explores fashion consumers’ experiences and behaviors in the fitting room, and tries to understand what their behavior means. The research design is based on the grounded theory and the research question is “What do fashion consumers experience in fitting rooms in SPA stores?” Customers carry out four major actions when using fitting rooms in SPA stores. Firstly, they inspect the physical and aesthetic aspects of the clothing items. Secondly, purchase decision of an item in consideration of its function and price, and the advice of the people who accompany them or friends via social networking sites are processed. Thirdly, consumers are simply enjoying trying them on as a form of entertainment. Fourthly, consumers explore other shopper’ choices when they are waiting in long line to use the fitting room. Then, “enjoying trying on clothes” and the conditions affect it were identified. The pleasure of trying on clothes can be experienced more readily when the reason for shopping is simply leisure, or when the spacious store, wide variety of products, the liberal and independent atmosphere in the fitting room are provided. In this context, participants regarded advice from sales assistants as rather burdensome.

The Effect of Mobile Image Exaggeration on Product Attitude

Abstract : This study investigated how the image exaggeration influence consumer attitude toward product in mobileshopping. Image exaggeration was manipulated by adding light effects on image and adjusting the width for slender mirroreffect. Subjects were randomly allocated to four mock-mobile website stimuli. The overall results showed that the imageexaggeration had negative effect on product attitude mediated by diagnositicity. First, the mediation effect of diagnositicitybetween exaggeration and product attitude was tested by bootstap method. The diagnositicity fully mediated between twovariables and exaggeration had negative total effect on diagnositicity. The image exaggeration had no direct effect on prod-uct attitude. Second, to test the moderating effect of image congruence between the image exaggeration and diagnositicity,conditional indirect effect of diagnositicity was analyzed. As a result, the moderating effect of image congruence was sig-nificant. When consumers perceived high self-image congruence with picture image on mobile website, the exaggerationhad no negative effect on product attitude. This indicates self-image congruence counteracts the negative effect of theexaggeration on diagositicity. And the moderating effect of image aesthetics between the image exaggeration and productattitude was examinated by the conditional direct effect model. The analysis found that image aesthetics had significantmoderating effects particularly on high or low levels of aesthetics. When image aesthetics was perceived as high, imageexaggeration had negative effect on product attitude, whereas image aesthetics was low, image exaggeration had positiveeffect on product attitude. This result indicated that the positive exaggeration effects existed when images were aes-thetically appealing. Key words :mobile shopping (모바일 쇼핑), image exaggeration (이미지 왜곡), diagnositicity (진단성), imagecongruence (이미지 일치성), image aesthetics (이미지 심미성)

Effects of art in retail environments

Abstract Artworks have been introduced to retail environments outside of the art gallery and museum setting, with the assumption that art can transfer everyday consumption experiences into special and memorable ones. However, the question on the effectiveness of the placement of artwork in retail environments in influencing consumers’ behaviors and experiences has not been addressed. Using the Sacred Heart sculpture by Jeff Koons, we conduct two studies to test the influence of art on an individual’s behavioral intention to visit a restaurant and expected experience of food consumption. Study 1 corroborates that the effect of attitudes toward an artwork on behavioral intentions is amplified when consumers’ art knowledge and levels of openness to experience are low, indicating that consumers who lack art appraisal skills are likely to be dependent on their attitude toward art. Study 2 examines the mediating roles of attitudes toward an artwork and an artist by manipulating art attractiveness and artist information as the sources of esthetic perceptions. The artist information serves as the factor boosting the effect of art attractiveness on the behavioral intention through the mediation of attitudes toward the artwork and the artist. Results show that how consumers perceive an artwork, namely artistic processing in a retail environment, is powerful in leading them to enter a store and have desirable consumption experiences. Retailers can also enhance consumer experience by selecting artworks based on target consumers’ level of art knowledge and openness to experience.