Pamela S. Norum

Analysis of the demand for counterfeit goods

Purpose – The production, distribution and consumption of counterfeit goods have been increasing at an alarming rate. Current legislation addresses the supply side of the problem, but not the demand side of the problem. The purpose of this paper is to examine, empirically, factors affecting consumer demand for counterfeit goods were analyzed.Design/methodology/approach – The economic theory of consumer demand provided the theoretical framework. Data were collected from students enrolled at a major mid‐western university, and logistic regression was used to estimate demand functions for counterfeit goods.Findings – The results indicated that student sensitivity to the counterfeit problem did not significantly deter the purchase of counterfeit goods.Research limitations/implications – Educators in textiles and apparel should have a vested interest in providing education about counterfeiting, resulting in students with greater sensitivity to the issue.Originality/value – The production, distribution and cons...

Economic Analysis of Quarterly Household Expenditures on Apparel

This study provides an updated view of factors affecting U.S. clothing demand. The effects of various socioeconomic and demographic variables on household expenditures for apparel were examined. A theoretical model explicitly acknowl edging the durable nature of clothing was presented. In addition, quarterly ex penditures over a one-year period were examined, accounting for variations due to seasonality. Data from the 1980–81 Consumer Expenditure Survey were used to estimate the expenditure functions. Income, the age and sex composition of the household, marital status, education, occupation, and sewing activity were found to significantly affect household apparel expenditures.

Student Internet Purchases

Since the onset of the Internet shopping format, e-commerce sales have soared, and Generation Y consumers, the first generation to grow up with the Internet, have turned into young adults. As part of Generation Y, college students represent a lucrative market for businesses selling a wide array of goods and services, and they are extremely computer savvy. The purpose of this study was to empirically analyze online buying behavior among college students. Based on an economic framework, factors affecting the online purchase of nine different merchandise categories were examined. Data were analyzed from 4,688 students enrolled in a major Midwestern university. Logistic analysis revealed that variations in the effect of age, gender, income, car ownership, ability to identify a secure Internet site, and compulsive buying behavior existed between the merchandise categories. This study has implications for educators, marketers, and policy makers.

Consumer value structures reflected in clothing advertisements

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to construct consumer value structures for clothing.Design/methodology/approach – Using content analysis, a total of 301 advertisements from the New Yorker and Esquire magazines are analyzed during one representative year out of each of the last four decades.Findings – Consumer values reflected in clothing ads are identified as functional, social, emotional and epistemic. Functional value dominated throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, but showed a decreasing trend. By the 2000s, emotional value had overtaken functional value in emphasis. Consumer consequences and product attributes, which fell under each of the consumer values, are also revealed. Of all the consumer consequences, high quality was connected the most frequently with functional value. At the same time, high quality served as an intermediary qualifier for symbols of social status, a consequence of social value. Fabric was the attribute linked most frequently to functional and social consequences.Pract...

Textile Knowledge for Merchandising Professionals: Significance for Pedagogy in Clothing and Textiles

Designed to explore ways in which undergraduate textile education could be strengthened, this study assessed perceived security with and importance of textile knowledge of merchandising graduates with regard to their job performance in retailing. Data are reported for 21 individual textile topics including importance/security interactions by topic and for perceptions of expectations of textile knowledge on the part of supervisors and peers. While the results are seemingly reassuring, they suggest problems with both superficiality and time specificity. They also raise a number of broader issues for pedagogy in the field. These include (a) concern with appropriating responsibility for curricular content, (b) the problem of communicating product knowledge as the structure of the communication system changes, (c) the preparation of students for participation throughout the soft-goods channel, and (d) the value of teaching from a global perspective so that students/professionals can remain adaptive to ongoing change.

Household Demand for Market Purchased, Home Producible Commodities

The purpose of this study was to obtain a better understanding of the household-s choice to purchase market commodities that could be substituted for home pro duced commodities. A household production model provided the theoretical framework. Logit demand functions for 12 different market commodities were estimated. The commodities were house cleaning, car repair, home repair, lawn care, exterior painting, interior painting, wall papering, food preparation, clothing construction, clothing repair, clothes laundering, and day care for children. The empirical results were used to classify these various activities as relatively sepa rable or inseparable household production activities. The value of time was found to be an important determinant in the purchase of market commodities. The results have implications for family economists and for marketers of household services.

A Reassessment of Age and Gender Specifications on Household Clothing Expenditures: Development of Age Category Guidelines for Determining Clothing Allotments

There are many situations (e.g., foster care and child support payments) in which a monetary allotment for childrens clothing is explicitly or implicitly included as part of a household transfer. Typically, the amount of payment is related to the age of the child although universally accepted guidelines for determining clothing allotments, based on age, do not exist. This research empirically examined various age and gender specifications in an effort to identify a categorization that sufficiently captures the differing effects of childrens ages and gender on household clothing expenditures. Clothing allotments based on school-age categories appeared most appropriate and were evaluated in light of both developmental and economic factors.

Consumer Trade-Off Analysis and Market Share Estimation for Selected Socially Responsible Product Attributes for Cotton Apparel

In light of the growing interest in socially responsible apparel consumption, this study examined the effect of fiber origin, fiber production method, and price on consumer purchase preferences for cotton apparel. Using data collected from a nation-wide telephone survey and conjoint analysis, the relative importance of product attributes and the potential market shares for products with different levels of each attribute were estimated. Analyses based on the average of each respondent’s part-worth utilities indicated that price is the most important criterion for cotton apparel with a relative importance value of 58.5%. The importance values for U.S.-grown fibers with transparency and fibers grown with sustainable farming methods were 30% and 11.5%, respectively. Cotton apparel with the combination of the aforementioned attributes was estimated to garner 32% of market share among U.S. consumers. Cotton apparel made from U.S.-grown fibers with transparency, using sustainable farming methods and offered at a medium price level accounted for a 7% market share. In general, the results indicated that consumer placed greater importance on fiber transparency relative to sustainable farming.

Analysis of home furnishings expenditures in the USA during the 1990s

The purpose of this study is to provide an updated view of the effects of selected socioeconomic and demographic factors on household expenditures for home furnishings among US households. Using consumer demand theory as the underlying theoretical framework, Tobit analysis was used to estimate expenditure equations for household textiles, floor coverings, and furniture using the 1995 Consumer Expenditure Survey. Although the home furnishings industry grew significantly during the 1980s and 1990s, the results of this study indicate that the socioeconomic and demographic factors underlying home furnishing expenditures have remained fairly stable. However, long‐run trends in the age distribution and ethnic composition of the US population suggest that the young adult market and Hispanic consumers are market segments that could provide greater opportunities for companies in the home furnishings industry. In addition, building on the fashion orientation that has developed in home fashions during the past 20 years may provide further opportunities. Finally, future research could benefit from the inclusion of more dwelling‐specific variables, such as the number of rooms in the household, and whether or not remodeling occurred.

A Comparison of Apparel Garment Prices By National, Retail, And Private Labels

Although it is generally acknowledged that brand name merchandise costs consumers more than private label merchandise, the reason for this difference is unclear. Are brand name items priced higher because they have different characteristics than private labels? Also, if items have similar characteristics, how much more do consumers pay for brand name merchandise? The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of brand name on the price of apparel while accounting for variations in product attributes. Based on the characteristics model of demand, a hedonic price equation was estimated using data collected on a sample of sweaters from moderately priced stores in a midwestern town. The results indicated that, while holding fiber content, styling, and country of origin constant, both national name brands and retail-store brands were priced higher, on average, than private labels. These results have implications for consumers and retailers. In particular, it may behoove private label retailers to augment their efforts to inform consumers about the attributes of their product relative to brand or retail-store names, given the price differential.