Exploratory investigation of the decision processes and psychographic characteristics of fast versus slow fashion consumers, An

Department Head: Mary Ann Littrell.2010 Summer.Includes bibliographical references (pages 90-98).The purpose of the present study was to explore the differences between fast fashion and slow fashion consumers in regards to their consumer decision process stages (i.e., purchase/consumption, post-consumption evaluation, and divestment). More specifically, the objectives of this study are threefold. First, this study attempts to characterize fast (vs. slow) fashion consumers by potentially defining them based on their decision-making characteristics and perceptions of fast (vs. slow) fashion. Second, this study investigates whether fast fashion and slow fashion consumers differentiate on the consumer decision process stages and several psychographic dimensions (i.e., fashion orientation, conspicuous consumption, and self construal). Finally, this study proposes two scales to quantitatively measure fast fashion and slow fashion consumers, which will allow for these consumers to be characterized based on their decision-making. The consumer decision process (CDP) model is used as the theoretical foundation for the study. The key areas under evaluation in this study are purchase/consumption, post-consumption evaluation, and divestment. A mixed method research design was utilized for this study. The researcher distributed surveys and proctored focus groups to profile fast fashion consumers and created a quantitative means to measure consumers' tendency to consume fast (vs. slow) fashion. An exploratory mixed method design with a concurrent nested strategy was implemented. Thirty-eight female participants with a mean age of 21.2 were recruited. Three groups of themes emerged based on the purchase and post-purchase stages of the CDP model. Results show that participants were different based on those themes, but not different on the psychographic variables explored. The results of this research procured definitions for both slow fashion and fast fashion consumers. Future research can continue to explore fast (vs. slow) fashion consumers during all seven stages of the consumer decision process model. Theoretical and managerial implications and limitations of the study are discussed