The Impact Of Gender And Emotional Influences On Fashion And Buying Decisions: An Essay Study.

Discuss about the Garment Quality Evaluation for Influence of Fashion Leadership.

The Cultural and Social Phenomenon of Fashion in Shaping Identity

Fashion is often perceived simply as the way one dresses and presents oneself. However, it must be remembered that fashion or the way one styles oneself plays a crucial role in determining identity. At present, human beings are living in a postmodern, consumerist society where material goods embody the identity of a person. In other words, every individual is driven by an innate desire to find a distinct identity for himself, which would give him a voice in society. Fashion, therefore, forms a vital aspect of one’s identity. Fashion helps a person sculpt, construct and express his or her own identity (Shephard et al., 2016). Fashion can thus be defined as a cultural and social phenomenon which helps an individual make a statement and consequently visually communicate with other members of the society. However, the concept of fashion has always been a grossly gendered subject and that is significantly visible with the variations in the fashion that both the male and female are having. The difference in the fashion or the dresses that the people of both the genders are wearing, are significant in specifying the boundaries of the fashion for both male and female. However the people of conventional societies consider that the fashion is only dedicated for the females, but the modern world is significantly opposite to that mindset where the fashion has its own charm for the males as well.  As a result, it is only recently that men’s fashion has gained recognition and is now regarded as a legitimate aspect of fashion as a cultural phenomenon (Entwistle & Mears, 2013). The research will attempt to study the role of gender in fashion and study how emotional experiences can have an impact on the way people perceive fashion.

There are two vital aspects which determine and shape gender. These are fashion and dressing, or the way an individual presents himself or herself. Since the early 16^th and 17^th centuries when the major fashion movements started, fashion has always been guided by gender roles. In other words, there is a clear demarcation in the way men and women dress. Men and women are expected to dress in ways which are distinct to their gender roles (Stokes, 2015). For instance, women have frequently been considered as the weaker sex while men are considered to be the superior sex. As a result, women’s fashion has always been shaped to reflect the way society perceived them – dainty, frail and quaint. On the other hand, men’s fashion has always been characterized by apparel and accessories that are considered “manly.” However, changes in attitude and trends have increased the level of gender fluidity in fashion. Fashion has helped individuals express their gender identity, by restructuring the way girls’ and boys’ fashion are perceived in society (Gitimu, Workman & Robinson, 2013).

Gender and Fashion: A Gendered Subject

It is also important to analyze the role of store designs and emotional experiences on the fashion or buying behavior of an individual. For instance, the way an individual perceives a store would have an impact on the contentment and satisfaction levels of the shoppers. It is not simply the items that a person buys which affect the pleasure and happiness of a person visiting a fashion store. There are a number of factors which contribute to the emotional experience of a shopper. These emotional influences further have an impact on the repurchase decisions of a shopper.

The purpose of this research is to study the impact of gender and emotional influences on fashion. Over the years, there have been several changes in fashion trends, which have been determined and shaped by gender. For instance, it is believed that the gender roles that a person assumes would have an impact on the way he or she dresses. The fact that gender differences play a crucial role in determining the shopping behaviors of people is to be taken into consideration while devising marketing strategies for various products. This is because men and women perceive fashion differently, and their individual preferences and choices must be taken into account. For instance, store environment and store design are two aspects which can influence shopping behaviors of people. The way a person perceives a shop or a store and the products being sold would have an impact on their purchase and repurchase decisions. Hence what I believe is that the sections specified for both the men and women in the stores are the representation of the fact that both the genders have their different taste of fashion. These segmentations of the stores are also significant for me in understanding the difference and the reasons of the difference in the fashion preferences of the males and females of the society.

The research questions are:

• Does gender have an impact on the way individuals perceive fashion?
• How do store environment and shopping experiences determine the purchase and repurchase intentions of customers?

Aims of the study

The aim of the research paper is to study the impact of gender and store experience on fashion and the buying decisions of customers. Gender is a social construct, and as such shapes the attitudes of individuals. A person’s gender role would determine the way he or she perceives the world around them. It would also determine his or her fashion sense and dressing style. The research attempts to study how gender differences would influence the buying decisions of customers in a store. As such, the influence of store and shopping experience would also be studied. It is also assumed that gender differences also impact the way people perceive shopping experiences.

The Role of Store Design and Emotional Experiences on Buying Behavior

Literature review

Wei Yin in his article tries to explain the different aspects of gender differences in the costumes of male and female. The article evaluates the differences present in apparels of male and female in the society. The clothing of a person tells many things about their nature and identity and the clothing industry is segregating both the sexes by the production of differentiated apparels. There are certain strict taboos that restrict the industry from making changes in fashion apparels. A woman can come up with masculine clothing but a man is not allowed to wear feminine clothes. So, is can be said that culture also plays a great role in inflicting these happening in the clothing industry. However, the progress of civilization is support both the sexes equally and people have started seeking similarity from diversity (Yin, 2009). It is also important to study the role of gender in the marketing and sales strategies that are adopted by fashion and retail stores. Teller and Thomson (2012) on the other hand argue that gender differences play vital role in perceptions and evaluation of retail agglomeration. There is various gender difference present in the preferences of shoppers present in the market that cause problems for the stores to market their product in such a way that it attracts the interest of all types of customers. Differed gender groups perceive things differently on the basis of their understanding and emotions thus, features that are attractive to one might not attract others. Retail tenant mix and atmosphere are the two most important aspects derived in the process of attractiveness. Performance analysis methods also help in increasing the satisfaction of store by offering various effective market strategies in the environment (Teller, & Thomson, 2012).

In this aspect, it is also important to study how male fashion has been perceived over the years. Algie and Korlimbinis (2005) in their article have elaborated on the concept of male fashion and have depicted the preferences of men fashion apparel stores while shopping for men fashion. A research conducted on university students explained the shopping preferences of males. This survey explained that males buy the products from the stores that they think are properly organized. Organization of clothes helps them to find the right apparel for them. This aspect is directly related to the experience and first expression of the client while visiting the store that certainly generates positivity in them and they buy the products. Further, prices, selection of merchandise and quality are the three most important factors that affect the customer for selection of a fashion store. This article evaluated the male customers (specifically young) present in the market as “Hunter”. In order to satisfy the needs and requirements of such type of customers, the stores need to re-design their outlet (Algie, &Korlimbinis, 2005).

Research Questions

Thus, based on the above article, it can be said that store experiences and emotional aspects do have an impact on the purchase and repurchase intentions of a customer. Yoo, Park and MacInnis (1998) have undertaken a different perspective on customer buying behavior. Their study is aimed to evaluate the various impacts of the store characteristics and emotional experiences on the consumer’s attitude. Every place has its own aura affects the interest of the customer and motivate or demotivate them to buy a certain product from the store. If a customer is emotionally attached from an organization, then he will certainly make purchases every time he goes into the store. The research for this article is done using the sampling method of 294 consumers of Korea that works as a critical mediator between store attitude and relationship. Thus, it can be said that this article evaluated the role of store characteristics and sales of the products. These characteristics also affect the shoppers' behaviour and their emotional experiences as well (Yoo, Park, &MacInnis, 1998).

Going by the above piece of literature, it must be ascertained that shopping does not involve only purchase of a product. It is a wholesome experience which entails the shopping experience as well. Tulipa, Gunawan and Supit (2014) have explained the shopping experiences of people in the society stated this article. The paper helped in knowing that shopping experiences are not only those experiences that a person gets acquires from goods purchased, but also how the experiences fulfil pleasure and happiness. The apparel store environment has been looked after in the article to recognize the physical facilities, the point of purchase and ways in which products are displayed. These aspects influence the emotional ability of a person, make them satisfied, and dissatisfied towards a certain brand. These emotional influences also affect the repurchase decision of the customer. So, the research conducted in Indonesia 260 customers helped in attain results that physical attributes and various other aspect mentioned above have the strong influence on the emotion and re-purchase initiatives of the customers (Tulipa, Gunawan, &Supit, 2014).

References:

Algie, J. A., &Korlimbinis, K. (2005). Improving the store design of male fashion and apparel retailers. Retrieved From: https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2616&context=commpapers

Bashar, A., Ahmad, I., & Wasiq, M. (2013). A Study of Influence of Demographic Factors on Consumer Impulse Buying Behavior. Journal of Management Research (09725814), 13(3).

Entwistle, J., & Mears, A. (2013). Gender on display: Peformativity in fashion modelling. Cultural Sociology, 7(3), 320-335.

Gitimu, P. N., Workman, J., & Robinson, J. R. (2013). Garment quality evaluation: Influence of fashion leadership, fashion involvement, and gender. International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, 6(3), 173-180.

Shephard, A., Pookulangara, S., Kinley, T. R., & Josiam, B. M. (2016). Media influence, fashion, and shopping: a gender perspective. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 20(1), 4-18.

Stokes, A. (2015). The glass runway: How gender and sexuality shape the spotlight in fashion design. Gender & Society, 29(2), 219-243.

Teller, C., & Thomson, J. A. (2012). Gender differences of shoppers in the marketing and management of retail agglomerations. The Service Industries Journal, 32(6), 961-980.

Tulipa, D., Gunawan, S., &Supit, V. H. (2014).The influence of store atmosphere on emotional responses and re-purchase intentions. Business Management and Strategy, 5(2), 151-164.

Yin, W. (2009).Discussion on Gender Differences and Costume. Asian Social Science, 4(8), 137.

Yoo, C., Park, J., &MacInnis, D. J. (1998). Effects of store characteristics and in-store emotional experiences on store attitude. Journal of Business Research, 42(3), 253-263.