Consumer Intention to Purchase Apparel by Mail Order: Beliefs,Attitude,and Decision Process Variables

The purpose of the study was to investigate consumers' intention to buy apparel items by mail order. More specifically the objectives were (a) to test two conceptual models of consumer behavior in the context of mail order shopping of apparel, especially concerning consumers' beliefs about and attitude toward mail order purchasing of apparel and decision process variables and (b) to identify factors that might distinguish those who have a high level of intention to purchase apparel through mail order from those who have a low intention in terms of decision process variables: individual characteristics, social influences, and situational influences. A random sample of consumers (n=348) was collected via a self-administered questionnaire mailed nationwide. Based on a series of t-tests, the results showed that those who had high intention to utilize mail order purchase of apparel showed significantly higher belief scores on all of the nine attributes of shopping and a more favorable attitude toward mail order purchasing of apparel than did those who had low intention. A stepwise multiple discriminant analysis revealed that two groups of high intention and low intention to utilize mail order shopping for apparel have relatively distinct profiles in terms of individual characteristics, social influences, and situational influences. The paper discusses theoretical implications as well as managerial implications.