An Exploratory Study of Immoral Consumer Behavior: Apparel Retail Salespeople's Perspectives+

The purpose of this study is to identify apparel consumers ' immoral shopping behaviors from apparel retail sales associates ' perspectives. As a first step to understand immoral consumer behaviors in apparel retail setting, the study took an exploratory approach using five focus-group interviews with 35 apparel salespeople. The immoral behavior of fashion (product) consumers was divided into two categories: one was the immoral behavior associated with the product, and the other was the immoral behavior relative to the consumer. The immoral behavior associated with the product was classified into three types: shoplifting, inappropriate returns, and damaging to merchandise. Immoral behavior relative to the consumer was classified into two types: abusive behavior by a consumer toward sales associates and excessive demand. Although, shoplifting was the primary immoral behavior mentioned by all interview participants, most sales associates failed to recognize shoplifting as a serious criminal behavior. Another commonly mentioned immoral consumer behaviors was retail borrowing, which may pose serious problems to the fashion industry. The findings of this study will provide a basis for approaches that may help decrease immoral consumer behavior at fashion retail stores and provide a basis for developing materials for consumer education over the long term. Key Words: immoral behavior, shoplifting, retail borrowing, returns