Smart healthcare clothing combines IoT, new technology, and clothing construction to perform specific care functions, and its utility has been expanding rapidly within aging and diversified societies. However, the related market remains at an early stage of development due to limited regulation, lack of consumer awareness, and the need for not only technical development but promotion plans for potential users. This paper aims to analyze factors influencing purchase intention for smart healthcare clothing with biosignal monitoring, including variables in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), clothing attributes, health-related lifestyle factors, and fashion innovativeness. A survey was conducted on a sample of 300 males and 300 females ranging in age from 20 to 50 years, and data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0. The results show that perceived usefulness, perceived aesthetic attributes, health responsibility, and fashion innovativeness were overall significant predictors of using smart healthcare clothing. Additionally, perceived ease of use and physical activity in the male subsample, and perceived compatibility within the female group, also had significant effects. Furthermore, age was a determining factor; for subjects in the 30s age group, perceived usefulness, compatibility, and health responsibility had significant positive associations. The results of this study can provide basic guidelines for designing merchandising plans to expand user acceptance of smart healthcare clothing.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in various fashion lifestyle segments’ perceived benefits and design preferences for outdoor clothing to improve the development of outdoor clothing. Data were collected by questionnaire from 600 subjects aged 30 years and over with experience purchasing outdoor clothing in the past year. Frequency analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis, reliability analysis, ANOVA, and chi-square analysis were used for the data analysis. The results of this study were as follows. Four segments were identified based on fashion lifestyle: manifoldly conscious, sensation conscious, practicality conscious, and brand conscious. Perceived outdoor clothing benefits generated three dimensions, including premium brand, practicality, and functionality, and preferred image produced two factors, tasteful/refined and comfortable/casual. Significant differences were found in the purpose of purchasing outdoor clothing, perceived benefit, and image and t-shirt pattern design preference among the segments. The manifoldly conscious group had a higher tendency to pursue various benefits and images of outdoor clothing and to prefer t-shirt textile designs with foulards and stripes. The sensation conscious group considered fashion and individuality in daily life but not in outdoor clothing. The practicality conscious group showed a preference for simple and casual styles with functionality and foulard patterns for t-shirts. The brand conscious group tended to prefer a striking design to functionality. This study is expected to be used as preliminary data for merchandising planning of outdoor clothing.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in the dissatisfaction with and design preferences for mountain gear among the segments divided by specialization activity-pursued for recreational mountaineering. Data were collected by questionnaire survey from 900 subjects with the experiences of mountaineering and purchasing mountain gear in the past year, and 891 were used for the data analysis. The results of the study were as follows: Three factors were formulated based on mountaineering specialization activity-pursued: expertise-pursued mountaineering, mountaineering with psychological attachment and activity-oriented mountaineering. Four segments were identified based on the specialization activity-pursued: the emotionally-committed, the continuously-participated, the expertise-pursued, and the passively-participated. Significant differences were found in dissatisfaction with and design preference for mountain gear among the segments. The expertise-pursued tended to be more dissatisfied with color and fabric than the others, and preferred various mountain gear design of shape, color combination and construction line. On the other hand, the passively-participated tended to prefer simple and comfortable style with solid color and simple color combination.