Apparel shopping styles of Ghanaian female young adults

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of the study was to identify the apparel shopping styles of Ghanaian female young adults and to assess the applicability of the consumer styles inventory (CSI) within the Ghanaian context. Design/methodology/approach – A multistage random sampling technique was used to select 405 Ghanaian female undergraduate students aged 18–25 years from the University of Ghana. The CSI was used to collect data and these were analyzed using principal component analysis. Findings – The results showed that the subjects adopted multiple shopping styles when scouting for stores and selecting apparel for managing their appearance. Seven of the CSI dimensions were confirmed (perfectionism, brand consciousness, novelty-fashion consciousness, confused by over-choice, impulsive carelessness, recreational hedonism and habitual brand loyalty). A new shopping style, indifference shopping orientation was identified. Practical implications – Market segmentation, product development and marketing strategies should be tailored to the shopping styles of female young consumers in Ghana. Originality/value – This study, for the first time, uses the consumer characteristic approach and the CSI to identify the apparel decision-making styles of young adult female Ghanaians. This fulfils the need for the study of shopping styles, which is vital for producers and marketers to enable them to make informed decisions to meet specific needs and expectations of these cohorts of consumers.