THE ROLE OF CUSTOMER REVIEWS IN THE PERCEPTION OF SAFETY WHEN BUYING CLOTHES AND FASHION ACCESSORIES ONLINE

Digitalna i internetska tehnologija trenutno su jedne od najbrže rastućih inovacija koje rapidno mijenjaju svijet i društvo, pa tako i kupovinu. Sve više marki gradi svoje internetske poslovnice i prodaje proizvode putem interneta, što omogućuje potrošačima da kupuju proizvode i usluge izravno od prodavača pomoću web-preglednika na internetu. Iako ovakav način kupovine potrošačima pruža mnoge prednosti, potrošači i dalje percipiraju određene rizike i nesigurnosti vezane uz kupovinu putem Interneta. Odjeća i modni dodatci jedna su od vrlo prisutnih i popularnih kategorija proizvoda koji se prodaju putem interneta. Iako je kupovina predmeta iz te kategorije putem interneta vrlo popularna, to je kategorija u kojoj je fizički kontakt s proizvodom često prijeko potreban jer materijali, veličine, kvaliteta i krojevi ovise od proizvoda do proizvoda što kupovinu tih predmeta putem interneta osobito rizičnom za potrošače. Na smanjenje percepcije tih rizika i donošenje odluke o kupnji potrošača često utječu mišljenja i stavovi njihovih prijatelja, obitelji i ostalih potrošača, odnosno WOM (eng. word-of-mouth; komunikacija od usta do usta) komunikacija. Korisničke recenzije jedan su od oblika elektronske WOM komunikacije koja može umanjiti percepciju rizika potrošača prilikom kupovine odjeće i modnih dodataka putem interneta. U radu je provedeno istraživanje o ulozi recenzija korisnika u percepciji sigurnosti prilikom kupovine odjeće i modnih dodataka putem interneta. Prikupljeni i analizirani podatci pokazuju da ispitanici imaju blago pozitivne stavove prema korisničkim recenzijama u modnoj industriji. Također, može se zaključiti i da korisničke recenzije imaju određenu ulogu prilikom kupovine odjeće i modnih dodataka putem interneta jer ih ispitanici često koriste kao izvor informacija. Bez obzira na prethodno donesene zaključke, ispitanici se prilikom donošenja odluke o kupnji odjeće i modnih dodataka online se ne oslanjaju na korisničke recenzije, već u obzir uzimaju neke druge elemente koje smatraju važnijima prilikom odabira internetske kupovine odjeće i modnih dodataka.Digital and Internet technologies are currently one of the fastest-growing innovations rapidly changing the world and society, including shopping. More and more companies are building their brand on the Internet and opening online stores, allowing consumers to buy goods and services directly from sellers through an Internet web browser. Although this way of shopping offers consumers many advantages, consumers still perceive certain risks and uncertainties related to online shopping. Clothing and fashion accessories are a very present and popular categories of products sold online. Although buying items from this category online is very popular, it is a category in which physical contact with the product is often essential because the materials, size, quality, and cuts depend from product to product, which makes buying these items online particularly risky for consumers. The opinions and attitudes of their friends, family, and other consumers, i.e., WOM communication, often influence the reduction of the perception of these risks and the decision-making process of consumer purchases. User reviews are one form of electronic WOM communication that can reduce consumers' risk perception when purchasing clothing and fashion accessories online. In the paper, research was conducted on the role of user reviews in the perception of safety when buying clothes and fashion accessories online. The collected and analyzed data show that respondents have positive attitudes towards user reviews in the fashion industry. Also, it can be concluded that user reviews play a particular role when buying clothes and fashion accessories online because respondents often use them as a source of information. Regardless of the previous conclusions, the respondents do not rely on user reviews when deciding on buying clothes and fashion accessories online but take into account some other elements that are considered more important when choosing an online clothing and fashion accessories store