The four faces of apparel consumers: Identifying sustainable consumers for apparel

Abstract

The aims of this study are to identify apparel consumer segments based on consumer attributes related to sustainability-related factors and traditional apparel shopping-related factors and to profile the identified segments in consumer characteristics. Using a sample of 754 US consumers, a factor analysis, a cluster analysis, χ2 test, and ANOVA were used in identifying and profiling the segments for sustainable consumers for apparel. Four consumer segments were identified: Concerned Shoppers, Holistic Shoppers, Traditionals, and Apathetic Shoppers. Each consumer segment exhibited significant differences in sustainability-related attributes (i.e. sustainability knowledge, sustainability consciousness), traditional shopping-related attributes (i.e. fashion consciousness, price sensitivity, product quality), behavioral outcomes (i.e. ecologically-conscious apparel consumer behavior, socially-conscious apparel consumer behavior, purchase intention of fast fashion products), and demographic characteristics (i.e. gender, age). The results provide marketing suggestions for each consumer segment.