Consumer buying behaviour in online fashion retail : a study of South African millennial males

[摘要] ENGLISH SUMMARY : The Internet has expanded into a dynamic network where consumers can continuously connect with people, products and services at any time within a global spectrum. This growth has empowered consumers to connect with and search for products and services in the convenience of their own home or preferred environment. As the Internet phenomenon caused dramatic changes in the fashion industry resulting in new business opportunities for retailers, the motivations of consumers to repurchase a product or service were bound to change. Millennial consumers in particular form a technologically advanced consumer group with tremendous spending power; nevertheless, limited knowledge is available about the online shopping behaviour of millennial male consumers from a South African perspective.This study aimed to explore the potential relationship between a number of motivational factors and the repurchasing intent of South African male millennials buying fashion apparel online. The objective was to investigate the relationship between online shopping factors, namely system quality, information quality and security quality and the repurchase intention of South African millennial men in online fashion apparel shopping. The research assessed the relationship between the three qualities of Internet shopping websites and the utilitarian and hedonic values of Internet shopping. The correlation between the perceived levels of Internet shopping value, customer satisfaction and repurchase intention was also considered. Data were collected using a non-interactive, self-administered questionnaire distributed by e-mail to millennial males registered on the database of the South African online fashion retailer, Spree. The non-probability sampling technique realised 349 responses.The findings of the study suggested there was a significant relationship between information quality, service quality and system quality with utilitarian and hedonic shopping values. The results further indicated that utilitarian and hedonic shopping values were critical factors affecting customer satisfaction but only hedonic shopping value reflected a significant direct relationship with repurchase intent. However, use of a specific sample and a specific industry category meant results could not be generalised to the entire online retail market in South Africa. In the future, researchers could include other generations and industries to enable generalisation.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University