Factors affecting purchase intention of customers in the apparel

industry
Group#6

Abdul Wasay-22248

Zohaib Malik-22207

Haider Khan-21643

Zain Ali-22088

1. Introduction:
Clothing is a major aspect in everyone's life since it serves as the body's second skin. Clothing,
according to Maslow's hierarchy of needs (Maslow 1987), falls under the category of
physiological needs and fulfils the fundamental need of all persons for protection. However, in
today's world, clothing has an extra purpose. It not only meets a basic human need, but it also
represents a person. People wear clothes to express themselves and distinguish themselves from
others. Clothes have evolved into a medium for conveying a person's identity. Gender, age, race,
employment, social and financial position, fashion choices, color preferences, time orientation,
liking, pride, attitudes, degree of maturity, self-confidence, and self-esteem are all visual things
that represent a person's identity and personality. Clothing also serves other important functions.
Clothes have also been linked to national identity, religious beliefs, political events, and
historical eras.

In today's competitive and dynamic business climate, where retailers' influence and consumers'
demand levels are always increasing, developing long-term relationships with customers is
critical to businesses' success and survival. Previous research has indicated that pricing is a
significant element, but other factors such as product and service quality, as well as merchandise
mix, are also crucial in the purchase choice process.

Market researchers and companies have spent billions of dollars on consumer research in order
to find key elements influencing customer decisions. Consumer behavior analysis is useful in
determining consumer behavior orientation. According to studies, customers can barely
distinguish between a few brands. The key issue is that brand promotion alone does not ensure
brand success. As a result, marketing professionals demand a clear plan based on a full grasp of
the factors that drive customers to repurchase a brand in the midst of a chaotic market.

As a result, academics have undertaken various studies on marketing challenges. According to

the findings of research on consumer satisfaction and brand awareness, while a few companies
were successful, the most of them are indistinctive and suffer from brand loyalty decline.
According to previous research, the main factor in company success and the creation of
competitive advantage is an increase in perceived value, perceived quality, and customer
satisfaction. Creating valuable products and instilling the desired brand image are also
recognized as basic requirements of customer behavioral intention.

To thrive in a competitive environment, the apparel industry must maintain long-term and
profitable relationships with its customers. As a result, the first step is to identify the factors
influencing customers' purchase intentions. There is a need to address this issue seriously due to
a lack of research in this area, so primary goal of this study is to investigate how merchandise
mix, price, brand loyalty and brand image affect the purchase intention of customers in the
apparel industry.

2. Literature Review and Hypotheses:

2.1 Purchase Intention :

Purchase intention is a type of decision-making that investigates why a consumer would buy a
specific brand. Purchase intention is a situation in which a consumer intends to buy a specific
product in a specific condition. Customers' purchasing decisions are complicated. Purchase intent
is typically related to consumer behavior, perceptions, and attitudes. Purchase behavior is an
important factor in a consumer's ability to access and evaluate a specific product. (Dr. Vahidreza
Mirabi, 2015)

Price, as well as perceived quality and value, can influence purchase intent. Furthermore, during
the purchasing process, consumers are influenced by internal or external motivations.
Researchers proposed six stages before purchasing a product: awareness, knowledge, interest,
preference, persuasion, and purchase. (G., 2010)

Customers who are loyal to a brand will pay more money for that brand over similar products.
Previous research has shown that repeat purchases by customers due to long-term loyalty led to
company profitability and growth. Additionally, previous research has tested the influence of
brand image on consumer purchase intention and found a significant relationship between these
variables. (Zeeshan, 2013) in his study found that brand image has a significant effect on the
purchase intention of men.

A brand is both a name and a symbol. It is a critical tool for establishing a positive image with
customers. Brand plays a critical role in retaining a company's market share and creating loyal
customers. Loyal customers are brand loyalists who repurchase and recommend the brand to
others. (Dr. Vahidreza Mirabi, 2015) Product quality is an important consideration when
determining purchase intent. It is a continuous process of improvement in which continuous
changes increase product performance and, as a result, customer satisfaction. The price is defined
as the amount of money that customers pay in exchange for a service or product, or the value
they receive. (Lee, 2010) studied the effects of consumer perception of price fairness on its
purchase decision and referred to it as a proper predictor for purchase decision of consumer.

2.2 Merchandise Mix and Purchase Intention:

The merchandise mix is essential initially to attract customers and then eventually make them
brand loyal. A merchandise mix is basically a combination of goods and services offered by a
company. Effective merchandise mix effects the purchase decision of the customer in many
direct and indirect ways. However, it is necessary to acknowledge that any retailer, thrives by
delivering its consumers not what the retailer wants, but what the customers want. This is the
only way a retailer can stay in business. This might not be a concern for discounted giants
because they sell everything, but for smaller independent businesses, it is a significant challenge.
In order to provide an increase in the overall quality of their lives, they are required to provide
significant value to their clients. (Samli, 2015). This can only be ensured by extensive market
research and understanding what the customers need and what the competitors are offering.
Therefore, giving the store's customers access to an extremely attractive range of goods. As the
needs of the store's target market customers evolve, this mix will need to be modified to reflect
those changes. It is necessary to have a particular kind of preplanning process, which is backed
up by an adjustment mechanism, in order to establish a merchandise mix that is desirable and
suitable to acceptance. (Samli, 2015). It is only through such procedures that it is possible to
guarantee that the firm will come in line with the customer's intended buy.

As a result of the fact that satisfied consumers may "leave," it is recommended that marketers
escape the "customer satisfaction trap" and build a more thorough grasp of brand loyalty.
(Reichheld, 1996) Brand Loyalty means whether or not the company has accurately analyzed and
estimated the intention of the client and then carried out the client's intention in the most efficient
manner. Therefore, a firm should not only work toward satisfying a client by supplying just a
few goods that a company can comfortably manufacture, but it should also strive to understand
how to make a consumer brand loyal as well as comprehend how to grasp buy intention.

Another aspect of purchase decision that must be taken into consideration is people who have a
greater demand for variety, or a higher ideal stimulation level are more likely to indulge in
exploratory purchase behaviors like switching brands. (Faison, 1997)There has been a substantial
amount of investigation into the impact that the need for variety plays in consumer decisions
such as brand switching. For example, (Van Tripj, 1996) It has been suggested that the need for
variation, in combination with characteristics of the product category as a whole, could have an
effect on variety seeking, repeat purchase, and resultant switching. Therefore, if a customer's
intention to make a purchase is exploratory, for example if he or she is unsure of what to
purchase and wants to have a look at a variety of products, then that customer will most likely
switch to other brands in search of a better merchandise mix. This is because exploratory
customers have less commitment to making a purchase.
Previous research has shown a number of internal and external elements that may help to explain
variety-seeking behavior. These aspects include contentment with product features, emotional
responses, purchase quantity and timing, choice context, and personal versus public consumption
(Sang, 2018). In addition, more research is needed to examine brand-switching behaviors in a
global setting, taking into consideration multichannel

In addition, further research needs to be done to investigate the elements that influence
consumers' brand-switching behaviors in a global context. This research should consider the
effect of multi channels on purchase intention and identify the online and offline factors that
have an impact on it. Conventional wisdom holds that offline merchants are limited in the
number of product selections they can provide for customers compared to online retailers who do
not have to worry about the amount of shelf space they have available. According to the findings
of a study, customers may experience some difficulty when evaluating and comparing a number
of product options while shopping online. This is likely due to the fact that there is no possibility
for consumers to physically look at and feel the products (Alok Gupta, 2004). This suggests that
online retailers have a responsibility to make it easier to evaluate products by offering more
comprehensive information about those products. Another conclusion is that online merchants
should not expand the variety of products they sell without considering the capability of
customers to do research and comparisons while shopping online. (Alok Gupta, 2004). However
even though we take this into account still brands have some limitations since even if they
physical features of a product. Still, it cannot be at par with what they feel in their hand. Hence
just having a greater merchandise mix in multi-channel is not the ticket to success rather the
brand always must continue hustle and always have the competitive edge in terms of attracting
customers through merchandise mix.

Both attitudes toward shopping on a site and intentions to make a purchase are influenced by
consumers' assessments of the level of confidence they have in on-line retailers. Despite this, the
influence of trust may be different for different things that are offered online. For instance, trust
may be particularly vital when purchasing "high-touch" products, which are those that customers
prefer to physically inspect before making a purchase. Some examples of such things include
clothing, antiques, and specific delicacies.

When consumers gain a greater familiarity with the online shopping environment and a greater
knowledge of and confidence in the online purchasing process, their focus shifts from
comparison within chains across the online and offline channel to comparison within the online
channel across chains. This occurs because consumers become more confident in their ability to
make informed purchasing decisions when they shop online. (Kristina Melis, 2015). Hence this
is the time brand should focus most on the customer as he or she can switch to a competition
resulting in losses to brand image and profits.

H1: Brands having a better merchandising mix positively impact customers’ purchase
intention.
2.3 Brand Image, Brand Loyalty, and Purchase Intention:

The importance of brand image in marketing and consumer behavior research has been
acknowledged. Customers regularly interact with a variety of goods and services; therefore,
brand distinctiveness is mostly driven by brand image. (Morgan, 2004)

In order to create a favorable perception of their brand in customers' minds, businesses compete
to provide good information about their goods and services. Therefore, a positive brand image
would be formed by the customer as a result of a positive perception of the product and service
quality. According to a growing body of literature, a brand's image is intimately tied to the
product category in which it is being advertised. According to brand management experts, strong
brands must have a strong brand image in order to set themselves out from the competition.

The strength, distinctiveness, and favorability of brand connections are the three most crucial
facets of image. Additionally, associations may develop based on a product's characteristics, the
advantages it provides, or consumer sentiments toward the brand. Every business seeks to foster
associations that are good and beneficial and that enhance the brand's perception. (Keller, 1993)

In other words, when a brand name is uttered, the consumer thinks of the brand image. In
essence, brand image describes how consumers feel and think about a product or service. (Roy,
2007). The interaction between the receiver and the product stimulation produces the product
image. Product attributes, the company, the marketing mix, consumer perceptions of the brand,
individual brand users' experiences, personal beliefs, and contextual variables are all factors that
affect brand image creation. Direct brand interaction or brand communication are two potential
image-formation sources.

The majority of big merchants currently work across numerous channels thanks to the rapidly
expanding Internet consumer base. Consumers frequently access the websites of traditional in-
store merchants, TV home shopping networks, or catalogue retailers on the Internet. A decade
ago, the bulk of these businesses only had one channel of operation. According to a recent poll,
only 6% of the conventional in-store merchants are still operating offline. (Koubaa, 2008)

More than 75 percent of consumers are “brick-and-click” multichannel shoppers, who search for
products in one channel but purchase them from another. As compared to single-channel
shoppers, multichannel shoppers are more shopping oriented and spend more money on
shopping.

To improve customers' experiences with their online stores, online merchants spend a lot of
money improving the content, structure, and methods for product presentation on their websites.
Online merchants must therefore assess the success of their investments in enhancing consumers'
perceptions of their brands and their online buying habits. Additionally, brick-and-click multi-
channel merchants are particularly interested in the degree to which offline and online brand
representations influence consumers' expectations of website performance and behavior toward
the website.

The fundamental issue in brand loyalty research is defining the concept of brand loyalty and
measuring it. Because this variable is made up of two distinct elements—attitudes and behaviors
—researchers have found it difficult to define and measure brand loyalty. Both elements help to
explain how brand loyalty develops. (Jacoby, 1978)

On the one hand, the attitudinal component suggests that loyalty development results from a
positive bond or commitment between the customer and the brand, and that this attitude, in turn,
results from the alignment of the brand's attributes with the customer's preferences. In contrast,
the behavior component explains how a consumer develops a particular purchasing habit as a
result of their earlier purchases. (Dick AS, 1994).

The difficulty of an audience that is predominantly time-starved is not being met by many of the
experience brands that are less successful. According to our research, time has surpassed money
as the object of desire in the majority of modern countries. People value experiences more than
items in general today. Consumers are genuinely looking for strategies to maximize regularly
occurring "lived experiences." Therefore, marketers must continually reflect on the question:
Does our brand contribute to the problem or to the solution? Customers may be drawn to a brand
because of its function as a solution for its target market. Therefore, the use of a brand defines its
meaning. When a strong brand promise is kept by a brand experience that exceeds expectations,
profitable customers are created. (Jim, 2003)

All businesses benefit from having a good name and reputation since it influences customers'
purchasing decisions and how they view the brand and its communications. Brand image serves
four functions: it conveys expectations, shapes how people view a company's actions, is shaped
by consumer experiences and expectations, and has an internal impact on the business (Wiley,
2000).

Online channels with good website look also attract customers and take influence on them. For
example, if some person visits some website with bad front look, then he will be least interested
in buying from that site because now a day’s people judge things a lot. They will think that if
their website is like this then we are not going to trust this brands stuff. Consumers are attracted
towards brand image and brand loyalty because due to good image about any brand in their
mind, they don’t want to waste time in searching other good brands and changing their
purchasing decision according to that. That’s why most frequently they go with the brand with
good image in their mind. Even if we take example of ourselves, we also go with the brand with
good image in our mind. Other reason is that people now a days, when there is that much
inflation, don’t want to take risk of buying from new brands because everyone is afraid being
deceived and loss of money. On the other hand, some people are attracted towards brands with
less price even though they have good image about some brand in their mind.
On the other hand, some consumers just try always different brands just because they want to try
everything, but these types of consumers are very less in number. Some just want to wear costly
clothes just to grab attention from the public even though the brand is not good in providing stuff
according to price. But the brand loyal customers are large in number because they believe that a
certain brand represents higher quality and better service than any competitor and price does not
matter.

So if one brand who wants to increase its sales to large extent and take influence on people’s
mind, then that brand should take care of its online as well as offline marketing, website should
be in good look because these things influence the mind of consumer most, the logo should be
catchy, and website should also be fast. And the most important the stuff should be good to
create good brand image. Because one brand should have to do a lot to create good image and
make its consumers loyal towards it, because they are surviving in the era of high inflation. Some
brands with good stuff don’t have good sales just because they are not following the right way to
make their image good. We are going through era of social media. And this is the most important
tool with which we can take anything to new heights.

H2: Good brand image and brand loyalty has a significant positive impact on purchase
intention.

2.4 Product Price and Purchase Intention:

The decision of a consumer to buy a product is significantly influenced by price perception.

Consumers' understanding of a product's price conveys information about it and gives them a
meaningful information. (Obeid, n.d.). Price is therefore a key consideration when making a
purchase decision, particularly for goods that are regularly purchased, and thus influences the
decisions deciding which brand, product, and store to buy from (Safitri, n.d.). Customers
consider determining the advantages they will get from purchasing goods or the services they
purchase. Considering a fact that price is an important factor in building a brand’s image.
Moreover, it helps brand in its positioning strategy as consumers relate prices with product. High
price means high quality.

A study conducted to analyze pricing effects on buying intention used two models: discriminant
analysis and regression analysis. Discriminant analysis results prove that price and brand image
both have a positive influence on consumers’ purchasing decisions to buy well-known replicas,
either partially or simultaneously. By regression analysis, it is determined that the price variables
have a positive effect on brand image. (Safitri, n.d.)

A company can thrive in the current global business environment if its products are sold in the
market. All marketing efforts are made to promote product usage and trial in order to boost sales.
Previous studies have uncovered a variety of sales promotion strategies and price techniques to
attract larger pool of customers via multichannel. The best methods for promoting brand
switching, purchase acceleration, and increased spending were shown to be price reductions and
more free product offerings. Sweepstakes and games, on the other hand, were discovered to be
relatively less successful in causing the three behaviors examined. (Al-Salamin et al., 2015)

Prices are now a key factor in customers' purchase decisions, and both academics and
businesspeople are focusing their research on this topic. Prices have two significant roles in
customers' value perception and buying decision-making, according to research by Western
academics. Allocating finite resources is the first step. Prices represent the financial
compromises customers must make in order to purchase things. In general, consumers perceive a
stronger sense of currency and a lower perception of price attractiveness the higher the price is.
For instance, depending on the price of the goods, consumers can deduce the quality and value of
the products. The reference price serves as a benchmark against which the consumer assesses
the product's pricing and represents their expectation of that price. It is the outcome of consumer
information research and information processing analysis. Companies are placing more
significance on reference price as a tool for consumers to preserve cognition and intrinsic price
measurement during the purchasing decision process. (Lin, 2018)

The process of reference price in traditional theoretical studies and framework helps us in
investigation of how the reference price for online shoppers is created. According to the theory
of adaption level, people's internal models are formed through the integration of their recent and
prior experiences. The expectation theory believes that consumers will produce different decision
responses based on different results. However, some consumers fall under expectation theory
which says consumers will form a price range with upper and lower limits based on past memory
prices.

Although some studies have examined the antecedents of cross-buying in contractual and non-
contractual these studies mainly focus on cross-selling products to consumers who have
successfully purchased focal products. Now technology helps human mind to decide on the basis
of artificial intelligence being used by big names across globe. Here recommended product is
controlled by information filter system based on the purchase and browsing histories of other
customers without price promotion. For example, results are posted under the title "Customers
who bought this item also bought" on a website like amazon. As an extra discount is often
offered for purchasing a bundle of the focal product and the recommended products, this kind of
cross-buy intention has effect on the purchase intention of consumers. (Zhu et al., 2018)
However cross techniques are being sued widely now a days, but it limits to audiences, products,
and geographies. Researchers are still figuring to maximize recommendations process and more
exposure online.

Consumer purchasing behavior is significantly influenced by the relationship between product

pricing and packaging, whereas customer happiness acts as a mediating factor. According to
(Al-Salamin et al., 2015) The purchasing process is significantly impacted by affordable costs
for popular products. Young people want to acquire brands, but they are unable to do so due to
their limited financial resources. Price is the sole component of the marketing mix that generates
income; all other components result in costs. The authors also mentioned that consumers'
perceptions of price and how much they value a product's actual cost are key factors in their
decision-making. Understanding how clients arrive at their price perception is the primary
objective of marketing. Regardless of age, education, income, or talent, we are all customers. As
result, advertisers, distributors, and salespeople face a significant barrier in understanding
customer behavior.

Product pricing serves a major factor in customer satisfaction. A satisfied consumer believes that
the value of goods and services is comparable with the price, which will encourage them to
repurchase the products. According to (Zhao et al., 2021) quality can be characterized as
superiority or excellence in a broad sense. From the customer’s perspective, the price is given up
or sacrificed to get the product or service”(Zhao et al., 2021). Customers will look at the pricing
their colleagues are paying, and nobody wants to pay more than their peers do. The impression of
a product by consumers and, eventually, their desire to purchase it, can be impacted by how fair
a pricing is. Usually, most marketing strategies assume that customers will purchase products at
bargain pricing. However, this presumption might not always be accurate when we start
employing equity theory and Veblen’s theory of the leisure class. Explaining this marketer
should concentrate on marketing and generating the perception of fair price in their products and
brands since buy intention increases when prices are fair, even when price is high. Consumers
should be informed of fair prices via various means, such as advertising and public relations
initiatives. Second, given that levels of consumer brand familiarity were observed to affect the
moderating effects of pricing fairness, marketing tactics should be implemented with this
consideration in mind. When the price is reasonable, customers who have a high level of brand
familiarity are more inclined to buy expensive products. As a result, marketers should try to
educate consumers about their goods and brands to help them build brand familiarity.

H3: Fair pricing relates positively with purchase intention

Research Model:

Independent Variables

Merchandise
H1
Mix
Dependent Variable
Brand Image Purchase
and Brand H2
Intention
Loyalty
H3

Product Price

References
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Contribution Sheet:

Abdul Wasay-22248 Wrote the introduction, discussed purchase

intention and various factors influencing it,
made the research model and did overall
editing.
Haider Ali Khan-21643 Defined merchandise mix and how brands
having a better merchandising mix positively
impact customers’ purchase intention and
wrote the hypothesis.
Zohaib Malik-22207 Discussed brand loyalty, brand image and
how it has a positive significant impact on the
purchase intention of the customers and wrote
the hypothesis.
Zain Ali- 22088 Discussed pricing and how it affects the
purchase intention of the customers and wrote
the hypothesis.