The emotional effects of sizing and fit on purchasing behaviour in women's clothing

Abstract

Satisfying consumers’ needs and wants has always been a primary goal of marketing. These are fulfilled when consumers make the right choices of products to purchase. The driving force behind such purchasing decisions is generally regarded as motivation and this varies between consumers, with each one having their own reasons for their respective choices. For the convenience of consumers, women’s clothing is displayed in stores according to the body sizes of the garments, as reflected on each of their labels. However, this practice can be confusing to consumers because manufacturers use differing sizing systems. The resultant sizing and fit problems in women’s clothing have been documented in many studies around the world. The aim of this study is to explore the emotional effects of sizing and fit on purchasing behaviour in women’s clothing. It looks at current literature regarding emotions in purchasing, consumer decision making and sizing and fit and focuses on sizing and fit problems encountered when women try on clothing in a store. Their emotions whilst going through this process are identified and the subsequent effects of these emotions on their purchasing behaviour are examined. The study firstly reveals that emotions are felt, in varying degrees, by women consumers arising from sizing and fit problems when trying on clothing in stores. The results show that positive emotions are not felt strongly. Secondly, the study identifies the influences which emotions have on purchasing behaviour. The results indicate that positive emotions have a significant influence on purchasing, whilst negative emotions have a lesser effect. Thirdly, the study reveals that in the relationship between satisfaction and the demographic profile, age played a significant role in the scoring of positive emotions when respondents experience inconsistency of sizes between stores.