The online shopping market is expanding, with online shopping malls now subdivided into personal computer(PC) and mobile versions. Meanwhile, various efforts to promote online sales are being carried out in a bid to improve performance, and detailed research is required to inform such strategies. The purpose of this study was to classify online shopping mall types into PC fashion malls and mobile fashion malls with the aim of assessing sales promotion satisfaction and investigating the relationship between sales promotion satisfaction and consumers’ behavioral intentions. Data were collected by a survey firm in June 2023, and 248 copies of the data were used for analysis. SPSS 28.0 was used to process the data, and frequency analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis, and regression analysis were performed. The satisfaction factors for various sales promotions used by PC and mobile fashion shopping malls were empirically subdivided in consideration of consumer perspectives, and potentially effective marketing strategies were presented. Differences were observed in the type of satisfaction with sales promotion between PC fashion shopping malls and mobile fashion shopping malls and in the effect of sales promotion satisfaction on behavioral intention. Based on the study’s findings, effective sales promotion strategies that can increase satisfaction and enhance behavioral intention may be developed and implemented through the use of various and different sales promotion strategies in PC and mobile fashion shopping malls.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented crises to societies and economies around the world and has brought drastic changes in the way consumers behave. Fashion business is one of the industries that has been significantly affected by Covid-19 as many consumers reduced their discretionary spending during the pandemic. While the world is entering the post-pandemic era and recovering from the pandemic, it is important to uncover and reflect on the reasons behind varying patterns of consumers’ coping behaviors associated with fashion shopping. However, current research on consumer fashion behavior during the pandemic primarily focuses on a particular type of shopping behavior, without addressing varying patterns of fashion consumption behaviors. In addition, most of these studies attributed such changes in behaviors to motivations toward protection against health-adverse threats based on the Protection Motivation Theory, which mostly focuses on protective behaviors and has limited power in understanding varying internal reasons toward various coping behaviors. Considering the varying adaptive and maladaptive patterns of fashion consumption behaviors observed in the market, it is important to address the psychological mechanism behind varying adaptive and maladaptive patterns of fashion consumption behaviors. Thus, drawing from the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework, this study aims to investigate how cognitive appraisal of threats affects the affective/emotional state of consumers and consequently their intention to engage in various coping behaviors in the context of fashion shopping. Specifically, this study aims to investigate how individuals’ cognitive appraisals on risks and uncertainty induce varying emotional feelings (i.e., fear, anxiety, and hope), which further leads to their decisions to engage in problem vs. emotion-focused coping through fashion shopping during the pandemic.

Offering a good shopping experience on the web is key for fashion luxury brands. However, it is not a field much analyzed by researchers. This research presents a systematic analysis of the usability of the web and its content in more than 60 fashion luxury e-commerce.

To compete with the growth of fashion shopping platforms in the online fashion market, general shopping platforms have begun to expand their product categories to include fashion items. This research examines the characteristics that influence consumers’ trust in each of these platforms and their intention to reuse them. Applying the concept of platforms, this study also distinguishes between general shopping platforms and fashion shopping platforms and compares their characteristics. This study surveyed 788 consumers in their 20s and 30s with experience in using general shopping platforms or fashion shopping platforms (389 and 399 respondents, respectively). SPSS was used to conduct frequency analysis, factor analysis, and cross-tabulations, and AMOS was used to conduct confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation analyses. The results were as follows: platform reputation, shopping convenience, and interactivity all influenced consumer trust. For fashion shopping platforms, the product quality factor significantly improved consumer trust. However, for general shopping platforms, the product quality factor only influenced reuse intentions to reuse and did not contribute to improving trust. Platform reputation and information offering have influenced reuse intentions for both shopping platforms. Regardless of the type of shopping platform, platform reputation has influenced reuse intentions and consumer trust, and platform esthetics didn’t have affect consumer trust and consumers’ reuse intentions. Consumer trust influenced the intention to reuse on both platforms.

본 연구에서는 온라인 패션시장에서 소호 패션쇼핑몰의 성공적 창업의 성장 과정을 알아보기 위해 현재 성공적으 로 운영되고 있는 4개 소호 패션쇼핑몰을 대상으로 기업가 과정을 창업기회포착, 사업모델, 위기관리 및 사업성과 등 3개 단계로 구분하여 분석하였다. 사례연구의 결과는 다음과 같다. S사는 짧은 경력의 창업자가 패션감각과 기업 가정신으로 전자상거래를 창업한, 가격경쟁력과 디자인력, 다양한 상품구색을 갖춘 캐주얼 쇼핑몰로 데이터 관리/분 석, 유통채널 다각화를 통해 성장한 사례이다. B사는 짧은 경력의 창업자가 SNS 네트워크 역량과 기업가정신으로제조업/전자상거래를 창업한, 아이템 경쟁력과 스타트업 특성을 갖춘 컨템포러리 쇼핑몰로 브랜드 정체성 확립, 시장 확장을 통해 성장한 사례이다. M사와 C사는 보다 긴 경력의 창업자가 브랜드 인지도가 있는 소호 패션쇼핑몰 사례 이다. M사는 풍부한 경력과 디자인 정신의 창업자가 감성적/감각적 패션디자이너 브랜드를 창업하여 기업 지평을 넓히는 다양한 활동을 통해 성장하였고, C사는 디자인 역량과 기업가정신의 창업자가 감성 표현에 집중한 럭셔리 패션브랜드를 창업하여 적극적인 고객관리를 통한 브랜드인지도 및 매출 확보 등을 통해 성장한 사례이다. 본 연구 결과는 소호쇼핑몰 예비창업자나 창업과정의 교육 및 연구에서 기초자료로 활용될 수 있다.

최근 패션 e 커머스 시장이 팽창됨에 따라, 온라인쇼핑몰시장이 급격히 증가하고 있으며 경쟁이 치열한 상황이다. 많은 유통업자들은 온라인 쇼핑몰에 뛰어들어 물류서비스 품질에 대한 노력을 기울이고 있다. 본 연구는 패션온라인 쇼핑몰에 대하여 고객만족도와 재구매율에 영향을 주는 물류서비스 품질이 무엇인지, 또 성별에 따라서 차이가 있는 지 조사하였다. 200명의 온라인 쇼핑몰 이용자를 대상을 표집하였으며 SPSS25 패키지를 이용, 분산분석, 요인분석, t-test, 상관분석 등 통계 분석하였다. 그 결과, 반품이유에 따라서 성별에 따른 차이를 나타내었는데, 품질에 차이를 보이거나 다른 제품이 배달되어도 남성은 여성보다 반품을 덜 하고 있었다. 또 패션온라인 쇼핑몰에서도 반품물류서 비스는 일반적인 물류서비스 요소와 동일하게 정보성, 신뢰성, 신속성 등 3가지로 나눌 수 있었으며, 이에 대한 평가 와 고객만족은 정적인 상관관계를 나타내었으며, 이는 재구매 의도에도 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 셀 렉 쇼핑몰이 반품이유, 재구매 의도와 만족도가 높은 반면에 전문쇼핑몰이나 일반 쇼핑몰은 비교적 낮은 것으로 나타났다. 반품물류 유통은 물류서비스의 품질과 구성요소 뿐만 아니라

As fashion and distribution companies have increasingly turned to implementing marketing activities that use omni-channel strategies, it is imperative to explore consumer-oriented evaluations of omni-channel shopping for fashion products. Through contributing to the growing research flow of consumer behavior within omni-channel contexts, the current study explores consumer motivations for omni-channel fashion shopping and their impacts on the decision-making stages of fashion products. The authors first performed in-depth interviews with six Korean consumers and confirmed the four types of consumer motivation for omni-channel shopping, and how decision- making processes react to fashion companies’ omni- channel marketing strategies. These findings were used to set survey items for the main study. Based on the results and findings of previous literature, an online survey was conducted with 300 participants who had actual experience with omni-channel shopping for fashion products. The statistic results from the survey revealed the following: First, the in-depth interviews allowed the authors to confirm four factors of omni-channel shopping motivation (ubiquity, efficiency, convenience, and impulsiveness). Second, the survey showed the authors that among the four factors of omni-channel shopping orientation, impulsiveness had the greatest effect on consumer behaviors at the preand on-purchase stages, while the ubiquity factor had the greatest effect at the post-purchase stage. As such, the study empirically tested the omni-channel-specific factors of shopping orientation and motivation. In addition, it showed the effect of omni-channel marketing on various stages of the decision- making process and the study’s limitations and implications were discussed.

Social media has become an integral part of consumers’ daily lives. Individuals connect with one another on social networking sites to like, share, and post information and experiences. As social media become popular among millennials, a growing number of fashion retailers use social media networks in the context of online commerce transactions. Accordingly, an increased number of fashion retailers has been using social media as an advertising tool and a retail channel. Despite the popularity of social media among millennials, empirical findings are limited to reveal factors associated with young consumers’ intentions to use social commerce in fashion shopping. This study sought to examine factors affecting millennials’ intentions to use social commerce in fashion shopping by adopting the technology acceptance model. A total of 524 college students completed an online survey in the U.S. The results of structural equation model confirmed that perceived ease of use, usefulness, and enjoyment had a positive impact on millennials’ attitudes and intentions toward fashion shopping in social commerce. While both perceived ease of use and usefulness positively influenced enjoyment, usefulness had a stronger impact than ease of use. Compared to usefulness, enjoyment had much stronger impact on attitudes. Further structural model analysis revealed a direct, positive influence of perceived usefulness of social commerce on perceived enjoyment of social commerce, which has not been explored in prior studies. These findings provide theoretical and managerial implications.

Introduction Consumers can easily combine the online and physical channels in their shopping process. This new reality is changing the nature of the customer-firm interactions and is challenging retailers to effectively manage their customers. In this line, two antagonistic shopping patterns can be identified: showrooming (visiting physical retailers to check out products and then buy online) and webrooming (research products online before making the purchase offline). In this way, the fashion industry has been deeply affected by these cross-channel shopping behaviour (Lee and Kim, 2008; Cho and Workman, 2010). In this way, according to the Google Consumer Barometer 2015 (www.consumerbarometer.com), webrooming represents the dominant channel combination in fashion shopping around the globe. Cross-channel shopping patterns can threaten traditional retailers though, in the form of free-riding behaviors, such that consumers use one retailer’s channel to prepare, and then switch to another retailer’s channel to purchase (Chiou et al., 2012). Both showroomers and webroomers can free ride, yet the latter is less problematic, because online retailers’ costs are largely fixed (Van Baal and Dach 2005), and consumers often use multiple online sources to search for product information. In an omnichannel era, retailers must learn to integrate channels to offer seamless and unique experiences that retain consumers throughout their entire purchase experience (Verhoef et al, 2015). However, there is a lack of studies analysing the situational characteristics that lead consumers to adopt a specific combination of channels. Specialised literature has emphasised the role convenience (e.g. Verhoef et al., 2007), overlooking the impact of other relevant factors. This research examines the differences between webrooming and showrooming in terms of the degree of the consumer’s involvement with the purchase. Specifically, we examine the differences between webrooming and showrooming in terms of involvement, and how these differences translate into different preferences for the virtual and physical channels to search for information and carry out the purchase. Hypotheses Formulation The consumer’s cross-channel behavior is defined as the use of a combination of channels at different stages of the same shopping process (Dholakia et al., 2005). As previously stated, showrooming and webrooming are two antagonistic forms of cross-channel behavior. We propose that the degree of involvement will shape the consumer’s tendency to carry out one of the two cross-channel sequences. Involvement is defined as the individual’s degree of interest or relevance with a product or purchase situation (Zaichkowsky, 1985; Mittal, 1989). The fashion industry encompasses products whose characteristics prevent consumers from evaluating their quality without physical interaction (Weathers et al., 2007). Thus, they are sensitive to be acquired by means of a cross-channel process. However, when consumers are involved with the purchase of the product, their informational needs are increased (Brunelle, 2009), which lead them to carry out an exhaustive information search. Purchase involvement entails that the consumer is motivated to choose the best option. In this way, the Internet is widely acknowledged as the best channel to satisfy consumers’ need for an extensive information search (e.g. Ratchford et al. 2003), except for the physical inspection of the product (Citrin et al., 2003). This lack of complete knowledge leads them to carry out a webrooming purchase process. On the other hand, when consumers are not involved with the purchase of the product, they seek for convenience in their experiences and paying a low price (McGoldrick and Collins, 2007), which are the main defining factors of showrooming. Showroomers go the physical store to find the product they want to acquire and then take the advantage of the convenience and low prices of the Internet to buy the product. Therefore: H1: Purchase involvement is higher in webrooming than in showrooming. For showroomers, the use of the Internet is more limited to the search for lower prices and to carry out the purchase. In webrooming, consumers use the Internet to research about products and then go to the store with a higher knowledge of the product they want, to corroborate the information they have seen online, and to gain power in the interaction with the salesman (Orús, 2015). Webroomers value the information richness that the Internet offers. Therefore, the relevance of the Internet as channel to search for product information should be higher in webrooming experiences than in showrooming experiences H2: The preference for the Internet to search for information about the product is higher in Webrooming than in Showrooming. Finally, if involvement determines the differences between webrooming and showrooming, it should also explain the preferences for the purchase channel. Specifically, highly involved consumers will be more likely to use the physical store because they can have a physical interaction with the product and the sales personal, which helps them to take the shopping decision with a high degree of confidence (Flavián et al., 2016). Low involved consumers will purchase from the channel which allows them to pay a low price and to make the purchase in a convenient way (i.e. the Internet). Thus: H3: The degree of consumer’s involvement with the purchase mediates the effects of webrooming versus showrooming experiences on the preference for the purchase channel. Methodology Three studies were developed to test the hypotheses. The Study 1 consisted of an exploratory survey to identify and characterise different cross-channel shopping behaviours. In Study 2 we directly manipulate the degree of the participants’ involvement in order to examine their preference for the Internet as a channel for searching for information and their preference of the channel to carry out the purchase. Finally, Study 3 put participants into a webrooming or a showrooming shopping scenario and examines differences in the degree of involvement and purchase intentions. All the studies are carried out with samples of millennials or Generation Y (Parment, 2013) and focus on the purchase of clothing and accessories. Study 1 Participants were 192 millennials (60.9% female; between 18 and 35 years old). They were asked to think about a recent purchase experience of clothing or accessories in which they combined different channels during the purchase process. The participants reported the product purchased and the channels employed to search for information and buy the product. Finally, they indicated, on a 7-point scale (1 = not at all, 7 = extremely), to what extent the purchase of the product was (1) important, (2) interesting, (3) relevant, (4) meant a lot, (5) significant, to measure their degree of involvement (Zaichkowsky, 1985; Mittal, 1989; α = 0.89, 70.51% of variance explained). Due to space constraints, only a summary of results is presented. Out of the 192 participants, 109 (57%) reported a webrooming experience, whereas 28 (15%) recalled a showrooming experience. This result confirms that webrooming is a more extended behavior than showrooming. Moreover, purchase involvement for participants who recalled a webrooming experience (M = 5.56, SD = 0.86) was significantly higher than for those who recalled a showrooming experience (M = 4.33, SD = 1.46; U Mann-Whitney non-parametric test: p < 0.001). Evidence in favor of H1 was found. Study 2 This study consisted of an experimental design with one between-subjects factor with two levels. Specifically, participants (n = 68; 58% female; between 18 and 35 years old) were asked to think about the purchase of a clothing and fashion product with a cost of either €20 or less (low involvement condition) or €100 or more (high involvement condition). Among other measures, participants reported the probability of using the Internet to search for product information before purchase (from 1 = very unlikely, to 7 = very likely), and the preference for the channel to carry out the purchase (from 1 = definitely the Internet, to 7 = definitely the physical store). The participants also indicated their degree of involvement in the same way as in the previous study (α = 0.91, 75.41% of variance explained). In this way, the manipulation was successful since participants’ involvement with the purchase of the expensive product (M = 5.14, SD = 1.32) was significantly higher than with the purchase of the cheap product (M = 4.31, SD = 1.19; t(66) = 2.688, p < 0.01). The results of the analyses were consistent with our expectations. The probability of using the Internet for searching for product information was significantly higher for participants in the highly-involving purchase (M = 5.55, SD = 1.92) than for those in the low-involving purchase (M = 3.07, SD = 1.84; t(66) = 5.391, p < 0.001). In addition, participants’ preference for the purchase channel was also affected by the experimental treatment. In the purchase of the expensive product, participants indicated a higher preference for the physical store (M = 5.95, SD = 1.33), whereas for the cheap garment, participants were more indifferent, slightly leaned toward the Internet though (M = 3.87, SD = 1.68; t(66) = 5.701, p < 0.001). H2 is supported. In addition, two ANCOVAs were carried out to test the mediator effect of involvement. Involvement significantly influenced the preference for the Internet to search for information (F(1, 67) = 13.589, p < 0.001) and the purchase preference (F(1, 67) = 11.364, p < 0.001). The effect of the treatment was reduced in both cases, supporting partial mediation (H3). Study 3 The last study manipulated the type of information search sequence. Participants (n = 54; 53.7% female; between 17 and 24 years old) had an initial interaction with the product (a strap bag) and then changed the channel to have a cross-channel search experience with the same product. In this way, participants in the webrooming condition first had an online experience with the product and then had the opportunity to physically interact with it. Participants in the showrooming condition had the reverse sequence. After having both experiences with the product, the participants indicated the likelihood of purchasing the product in the channel where they had had the last experience (from 1 = very unlikely, to 7 = very likely). A set of additional measures were gathered. At the end of the questionnaire, participants indicated the degree of involvement with the experience (α = 0.86, 63.70 % of variance explained). The results of the analyses further confirmed H1. Participants in the webrooming scenario indicated a higher degree of involvement (M = 5.22, SD = 0.67) than participants in the showrooming scenario (M = 4.67, SD = 0.95; t(52) = 2.505, p < 0.05). Moreover, purchase intention at the physical store was higher for webroomers (M = 5.87, SD = 1.92) than purchase intentions in the online store for showroomers (M = 4.83, SD = 1.24; F(1, 53) = 11.789, p < 0.01). When involvement was included as a covariate in the analysis, it had a positive effect on purchase intentions (F(1, 53) = 13.591, p < 0.01), whereas the effect of the type of search sequence decreased (F(1, 53) = 5.785, p < 0.05). Again, we find support for H3, given that involvement partially explained the effect of webrooming on the preference for the physical store to purchase the product. Discussion and Conclusions Consistent with previous reports (Sevitt and Samuel, 2013; Google Consumer Barometer, 2015), the results of the first study confirmed that webrooming is a more frequent cross-channel shopping than showrooming. Thus, traditional retailers may take the advantages of the Internet to offer enhanced shopping experiences to customers, instead of fearing of a possible cannibalization of the online channel. Importantly, the results of the three studies show differences between webrooming and showrooming in terms of the involvement with the purchase situation. The first study measured the degree of consumers’ involvement depending on the type of cross-channel behavior, revealing that involvement was higher for webroomers than for showroomers. The second study directly manipulated the degree of involvement and demonstrated a clear preference for a webrooming experience when the purchase of the product entailed a higher degree of involvement. The third study showed that, depending on the type of search sequence (webrooming or showrooming) the involvement with the purchase experience was different. Furthermore, the level of purchase involvement determined the preference for the online and physical channels to search for information and purchasing the product. This finding entails important implications for both theory and practice. Nevertheless, this research has several limitations which open avenues for further research. Specifically, we only focused on a specific segment of the market and on a specific product category. Future studies should replicate these findings with more representative samples and a wider set of product categories, which have been found to determine multichannel behaviour to a great extent (Kushwaha and Shankar, 2013). Further research should also include convenience- and price-related variables which can explain the differences between webrooming and showrooming.

The purpose of this study is to develop a multi-dimensional scale measuring consumers’ perceived challenge in shopping fashion products online, and to verify its validity and reliability. Relevant literature is first reviewed to identify possible dimensions of perceived challenge. Next, Study 1 is conducted in order to explore the dimensions empirically and to see whether the dimensions that emerged were consistent with prior findings. A total of 190 responses to an open-ended question was qualitatively analyzed by using content analysis. The findings of Study 1 generate 26 items reflecting four dimensions (i.e., product knowledge, previous experience, website functionality, and product availability), which correspond to the dimensions suggested in literature review. Study 2 is subsequently conducted to refine the items so that the perceived challenge scale establishes cross-validation, convergent validity, discriminant validity, reliability, and predictive validity. A total of 238 responses is quantitatively analyzed by using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. In the results of Study 2, the perceived challenge scale is found to consist of a total of 16 items reflecting three dimensions: E-commerce Challenge (corresponding to Previous Experience reported in Study 1), Retailer Challenge (corresponding to Website Functionality), and Product Challenge (corresponding to Product Knowledge); all Product Availability items have been eliminated through the item refinement process. Specifically, E-commerce Challenge and Retailer Challenge are found to predict flow, supporting flow theory, while Product Challenge fails to lead to flow significantly. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future studies are also discussed.

The purposes of this study were to: 1) identify sub-factors of fashion shopping orientation (FSO) in adults aged 20 through 39, and analyze the differences among those FSO factors according to classified groups, which were based on gender and purchase frequency in a mobile shopping mall, and 2) to investigate the effects of FSO factors on mobile purchase intention according to the same classified groups. The questionnaire was conducted from November 10, 2015 to November 20, 2015 and its 432 respondents were classified into four groups, which were male/heavy purchaser, male/light purchaser, female/heavy purchaser, and female/light purchaser. The results of this study were as follows: First, fashion shopping orientation consisted of five sub-factors, which included “conspicuous brand pursuit”, “economic pursuit”, “pleasure/trend pursuit”, “impulse shopping”, and “convenience pursuit”. Second, There were significant differences in three factors of FSO between male purchasers and female purchasers. Male purchasers showed higher tendency than female purchasers in “conspicuous brand pursuit”, while female purchasers showed higher tendency than male purchasers in “economic pursuit” and “convenience pursuit”. All the factors of FSO showed significant differences among the classified groups. Third, “economic pursuit”, “pleasure/trend pursuit” and “convenience pursuit” affected mobile purchase intention in the case of male purchasers while “economic pursuit” and “conspicuous brand pursuit” had a influence on mobile purchase intention in the case of female purchasers. Fourth, the factors of FSO affected mobile purchase intention partly in each group. In conclusion. “economic pursuit” was proven to be the main influential factor to induce consumers to have a mobile purchase intention.

When substitute products are recommended, online consumers are more likely to evaluate products based on concrete attributes than abstract attributes and to perceive subordinate attributes as more important. When complementary products are recommended, concrete or subordinate attributes considered relatively less important, leading to less choice difficulty during the comparison process. Introduction Retailers use recommendation systems to support Internet shoppers who face the problem of searching for and selecting the right product from a vast assortment of options. Previous research argues that online recommendations help decision making by reducing consumers’ cognitive effort, while other studies claim that online recommendations increase consumers’ confusion (Xiao & Benbasat, 2007). One of the reasons for this lack of consensus seems the characteristics of recommendations not considered in the research. This study attempts to investigate how recommended product types, whether they involve complementary or substitute products, influence consumers’ decision-making process when shopping for fashion products. We address recommendations of complementary and substitute products prime consumers’ construal levels in different ways; consumers compare products at a lower construal level when substitute products are recommended than when complementary products are. We also demonstrate that consumers, as a consequence, evaluate alternatives based on concrete attributes (i.e., the physical and aesthetic characteristics of products), as opposed to abstract attributes (i.e., values and qualities), when substitute products are recommended, and perceive product attributes previously considered less important as being more important after recommendations. Literature Review Recommendations of Complementary and Substitute Products A recommendation system is the electronic software that implicitly and/or explicitly elicits the interests or preferences of consumers and provides recommendations (Xiao & Benbasat, 2007). In online fashion stores, such a recommendation system is often found as a form of recommendations of substitute (i.e., similar) or complementary (i.e., matching) products on the product detail pages. Presenting complementary or substitute products on a webpage can serve as a product display that affects consumers’ purchase decision. Because online shoppers move through webpages vertically (i.e., between product list pages) or horizontally (i.e., from product list pages to product detail pages), the simultaneous comparison of all alternatives can be difficult (Lee & Yi, 2014). Accordingly, consumers make local choices after comparisons on a single page, which subsequently affects the global choice (Simonson & Tversky, 1992). To explain how recommending complementary or substitute products affects decision making, this study adopts Construal Level Theory (Liberman & Trope, 1998) as its theoretical framework. It claims that people construe an event or an object at different levels of abstraction, from a lower-level, concrete to a higher-level, abstract construal, and represent it more abstractly as psychological distance increases (Liberman & Trope, 1998). Recent studies of assortment found that benefit-based organizations of assortment lead to more abstract construal, relative to attribute-based organizations of assortment (Lamberton & Diehl, 2013). Given that recommended substitute products share similar attributes with alternatives and are from the same product categories, the distance between the alternatives and recommended products is relatively short. Meanwhile, complementary products are recommended based on their benefits and selected among different product categories relatively far from the alternatives. Therefore, we suggest H 1 that consumers evaluate and compare alternatives in a concrete way when substitute products are recommended, on the other hand, in an abstract way when complementary products recommended. Recommendations and Product Comparison The attributes considered during evaluation are expected to differ since different levels of construal are induced by two types of recommendations. During the purchase decision, consumers often perform relative comparisons across options on attributes (Bettman, Luce, & Payne, 1998). For fashion products, both concrete and abstract attributes exist within a hierarchical structure, whereby abstract attributes are determined by concrete ones (Kim & Rhee, 1991). Prior research on construal level indicates that concrete attributes are emphasized as psychological distance decreases, whereas abstract attributes become salient as this distance increases (Liberman, Trope, & Wakslak, 2007). Accordingly, we posit H 2 that when substitute products are recommended, consumers weigh concrete attributes more than abstract attributes. On the other hand, when complementary products are recommended, where abstract benefits are emphasized, consumers consider abstract attributes more important than concrete attributes. Recommendations also influence consumers’ experience of difficulty during the comparison process. When examining alternatives based on attributes, consumers have a tendency to give more weight to attributes that they think are important (Dhar, Nowlis, & Sherman, 1999). Thus, choice task entails distinction between more and less important attributes (Sela, Berger, & Nardini, 2013), which leads to clear preference and less difficulty of choice. Research suggests that construal level affects the change in attribute weights for central or peripheral features in that a high construal level decreases comparison relative to a low construal level by shifting attention away from low-level details (Khan, Zhu, & Kalra, 2011). This finding implies that one can distribute attribute weights better at a high construal level, while one may weigh unimportant attributes heavily at a low construal level. Accordingly, we propose H 3 that consumers distinguish important core attributes from less important subordinate ones when complementary products are recommended. On the contrary, when susbtitue products are recommended, consumers consider subordinate attributes more important after recommendations, making the comparison of the alternatives difficult. Method Seven hundred and two females in their 20s and 30s in South Korea participated in online survey. The survey used a 2 (products: shirts and jackets) × 2 (recommendation: substitute and complementary) between-subject design. We randomly assigned half the participants to the shirts condition and the other half to the jackets condition. After giving purchasing scenarios with product assortments of six products, we asked participants to look around the assortments and select tentative purchase options. Participants then were asked to rate the perceived importance of concrete and abstract product attributes. Later, we recommended four substitute or complementary products for each of the two most preferred alternatives. After allowing participants sufficient time to explore the recommended products, we asked them to make their final decision. After indicating their choices, participants completed several questions related to their choice process on seven-point scales. We measured behavioral identification, perceived importance of concrete and abstract attributes, information overload during the selection process, and choice difficulty. To investigate the possibility that participants’ personal tendencies affect the choice, we additionally measured maximization tendency, fashion involvement and perceived fit for recommendation and Internet shopping experience. Finally, demographic characteristics were measured. The stimuli photos used in the study were collected from five Internet shopping malls to increase external validity, and selected on the judgments of the researchers and experts after a pre-test. Results Respondents exhibited no differences in maximization tendency, fashion involvement, perceived fit for recommendation, or experience of Internet shopping regardless of the recommended stimulant. However, as expected, respondents of substitute products with recommendations showed a lower behavioral identification score than did those of recommended complementary products. This result indicates recommendation of substitute products induces a lower construal level, accepting H 1. The perceived importance of product attributes varied by recommendations. Prior to product recommendations, no difference in the importance of concrete or abstract attributes was observed between the groups. However, the perceived importance of concrete attributes increased after recommendation of substitute products, while no significant change in the importance of concrete attributes was found after recommendation of complementary products. Recommendation have no effect on the change in the perceived importance of abstract attributes. Rather, product type did have an effect: the importance of abstract attributes increased after recommendations when jackets were compared. These results imply that recommendation of substitute products solely had an effect on the evaluation of concrete attributes, partially supporting H 2. Recommendations were also found to affect the increase in the importance of subordinate product attributes. Participants were likely to weigh subordinate, concrete attributes more after recommendation of substitute products than after recommendation of complementary products. In addition, when substitute products were recommended, participants considered subordinate, concrete attributes more importantly than subordinate, abstract attributes. The increase in the importance of subordinate, abstract attributes was irrespective of recommendation type. This result supports the notion that recommendation types can systematically influence the evaluation of options. When substitute products were recommended, consumers tend to assess products based on concrete attributes and perceive subordinate attributes as more important than before recommendations. On the contrary, when complementary products were recommended, the types of attributes served as evaluation criteria were unchanged and did not accompany an increase in the importance of subordinate attributes. According to Sela et al. (2013), the distinction between important and unimportant attributes blurs as the importance of subordinate attributes increases, which implies it becomes difficult to compare options. Indeed, regardless of product types, respondents in the present study were more likely to experience difficulty in making a decision when substitute products were recommended than when complementary products were, supporting H 3. Conclusion This study contributes to theory and practice in many ways. Our work demonstrated that the recommendation type alters the perception of the importance of the attributes of fashion products by affecting consumers’ construal levels. Furthermore, we extended the literature on recommendation systems by identifying additional factors that influence consumers’ decision-making process. Prior research has focused on the horizontal presentation of recommendation. We, however, investigated how vertical presentation, namely recommendation on product detail webpages, affected the evaluation of alternatives. Practically, the findings have important managerial implications. Retailers provide recommendations to increase sales by helping consumers efficiently make a purchase decision. Nevertheless, consumers may engage in a complex comparison process when substitute products recommended. When complementray products recommended, the attributes used as comparison criteria are relatively consistent and steady. Thus, retailers can predict a consumer’s final choice based on the early prediction of his/her preferences. The results of this study are useful for offline retailers as well as online retailers wishing to marketing and sales strategies.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the differences in fashion shopping orientation and perceived value according to the level of use of mobile fashion shopping. Furthermore, the effect of fashion shopping orientation on perceived value was analyzed. To estimate the level of use of mobile fashion shopping, respondents were classified into four different groups in terms of their frequency of buying fashion products and the period for which they had bought fashion products. The survey was limited to adults aged 20-40 years who had purchased fashion products in a mobile shopping mall. The questionnaire was carried out from April 15, 2015 to April 22, 2015 and 430 sets of useful response data were analyzed using SPSS 17.0. The results of this study were as follows: First, fashion shopping orientation for mobile shopping consumers was divided into four factors as follows: convenience/ economic shopping, ostentation/trend shopping, enjoyment shopping, and impulse shopping. Second, there was a significant difference in all the fashion shopping orientation factors except for convenience/economic shopping according to each classified group: short/few, long/few, short/many, and long/many. In addition, there was a significant difference in perceived value according to each group. Third, all the fashion shopping orientation factors except for impulse shopping had a significant influence on perceived value. Fourth, fashion shopping orientation factors had a slightly significant influence on the perceived value according to each group.

The purposes of this study was to identify fashion shoppers’perceived risk and satisfaction while shopping at overseas online shopping malls based on their internet shopping values. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection and an internet survey was conducted from April 12~15, 2015. Most consumers purchased one or two fashion items at overseas online malls directly, motivated by low prices, and spent 200,000~400,000 won during the last one year. The factors of consumers’ internet shopping values were information, hedonics, and practicality. Factors of perceived risk were delivery and refund, price and approval, and product and shopping mall. Consumers were divided into three categories: heavy pursuit shoppers, intermediate shoppers, and uninformed shoppers based on their internet shopping values. Heavy pursuit shoppers were primarily female; they spent more, felt a deeper patronage with overseas online shopping malls and their perceived risk regarding delivery and refund was higher than the other shoppers. The group of uninformed shoppers were primarily male. They spent less, had low patronage with overseas online shopping malls, and their perceived risk regarding delivery and refund was lower than other shoppers. Overall satisfaction was positively affected by information provided while shoppers were surfing the overseas online shopping malls and practicality. Satisfaction was negatively affected by perceived risk regarding price and approval and difficulty in finding specific products while shopping at overseas online shopping malls.

The present study aimed to figure out current situation and consumer perception on the advertising of functional climbing wear in Korea. Advertising is about showing consumers how products meet their needs. In case of functional clothing, the most basic need of consumer should be a functional need (Lee, 2014;Shimp, 2010). However, research on advertisement of functional clothing, especially focused on the functional information, has not carried out in Korea. Recently research by Liu and Yoo (2014) investigated changing patterns of magazine advertising of functional climbing wear from 2008 to 2013. It is found that advertisements of professional climbing wear had been changed like fashion apparel ads in terms of functional information, celebrity model dependence, and appeal type (Liu&Yoo,2014). On 2013, over 70% of functional climbing wear ads did not provide any functional information and percentage of celebrity model dependence was dramatically increased from 1.48%to35.30%. In this study, 388 adults in their 20-50’s were surveyed in order to figure out general satisfaction on advertisements of functional climbing wear. The survey consisted of eight questions including satisfaction with reliability, communicability, type of expression, model, and contents of functional climbing wear advertisement. For analysis of characteristics of respondents, years of climbing experience, frequency of climbing, average expenses per single purchase, and frequently exposed advertising media types were asked as well as demographic characteristics. Most of respondents (83.85%) were in their 30-50’s and had 3-5 years climbing experience (29.50%).Frequency of climbing was ‘once every two months’ (35.70%) and ‘1~2 times every month’ (25.26%), and the most frequent average expenses per single purchase was ‘100~300 thousand won’ (65.25%). Frequently exposed advertising media types were TV commercials (33.60%), magazine (23.10%), and internet (9.50%). Purchase frequency was ‘once every two tears’ (31.14%), ‘3~4 times in a year’ (29.11%), ‘1~2 times in a year’ (25.06%). Results showed respondents want ‘more precise information for better understanding of performance of functional climbing wears’ (4.22point out of 5.00). Significant differences in ‘advertisement of functional climbing wear is reliable’ were observed across age and gender; male rather than female group and ages 30 are than other age groups showed higher average value. Age 40’s significantly more wanted to be informed precise information via advertisement and preferred celebrity model than other age groups. Overall, ages 20-30’s were more satisfied with the advertisement of functional climbing wear than age 50’s. The results from this study could provide practical insights to establish guidelines for providing product information in the functional clothing industry.

The purpose of this study is to identify mobile commerce characteristics and their influence on consumer’s purchase intention in mobile fashion shopping mall. To figure out the path of influence, TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) was applied. This model explained attitudes and behaviors of users toward acceptance of innovation technology like information technology. Davis (1989) proposed perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) as belief variables affected attitudes of users and the attitudes in turn affected the intention of acceptance in acceptance of information technology. However it is necessary to incorporate additional constructs to the original model in the quest for increased predictive power to explain consumer’s purchase intention (PI) in mobile shopping mall. Clarke (2001) suggested constructs of mobile commerce characteristics as ubiquity, convenience, localization, personalization and so on differentiated from internet commerce. Therefore, ubiquity, personalization and enjoyment were included as external variables to explain mobile commerce characteristics besides PEOU and PU in this study. 436 adults in their twenties and thirties which were included in panels of specialized Internet research institutions nationwide were answered on questionnaires about mobile commerce characteristics, PEOU, PU, PI (Purchase Intention) and demographics. Structural equation model was made to examine the entire pattern of inter-correlations among the constructs and the hypothesis of each path was verified using AMOS 16.0 package. As a result, the fitness of the extended TAM to explain the influence of mobile commerce characteristics on consumer’s purchase intention in mobile fashion shopping mall was proven.