Store Status and Country of Origin as Information Cues: Consumer's Perception of Sweater Price and Quality

Abstract

Consumers use many information cues to determine the quality of a product. Price, the most obvious cuing device, has been used as an independent variable in many studies dealing with consumer's perception of quality. This study takes a different perspective; store status (high prestige vs. low prestige) and country of origin (domestic vs. imported) are used as the independent variables with price and quality used as the dependent variables. Subjects in this study were asked to assign a price and quality designation to four identical women's sweaters where the information cues, store status and country of origin, were experimentally ma nipulated. The sample consisted of 49 female students at a major midwestern university (Fall 1983). The results of this study indicate that store prestige had a significant influence on consumer's perceptions of price while country of origin was insignificant. Store prestige was significant in explaining consumer's percep tion of quality while country of origin was insignificant. Implications of these findings for domestic manufacturers are discussed.