International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management

Internet apparel shopping behaviors: the influence of general innovativeness

Young Ha, Leslie Stoel,
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Internet apparel
shopping behaviors: the
influence of general
innovativeness
Young Ha and
Leslie Stoel
The authors
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Young Ha is a Doctoral Student and Leslie Stoel is Assistant
Professor, both in the Department of Consumer and Textile
Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Keywords
Internet, Shopping, Consumer behaviour
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to understand how general
innovativeness is related to Internet apparel shopping based on
Rogers’ innovation decision process. Due to the newness of
Internet apparel shopping, consumers’ general innovativeness
may influence the adoption of Internet apparel shopping among
young consumers. Using a convenience sample of 178 students
in different majors at a large US university, this study examined
the influence of general innovativeness on Internet apparel
shopping. The results show that general innovativeness is
related to Internet usage for information search, but not to
actual purchase. Also, students’ gender is related to general
innovativeness. Female students are more likely to use the
Internet for information search for apparel products than male
students.
Electronic access
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is
available at
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The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
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International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 32 · Number 8 · 2004 · pp. 377-385
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited · ISSN 0959-0552
DOI 10.1108/09590550410546197
377
Introduction
In 1999, US apparel retailers experienced an
estimated $3.3 billion in lost revenues simply
because shoppers were hesitant to buy online
(Beck, 2001). One reason for this may be that
many people have not accepted the Internet as a
way to make an actual purchase, especially for
something requiring such “hands-on”
examination as apparel products (Beck, 2001).
This may be due to the relative “newness” of
Internet shopping. Because the Internet is a
relatively new medium by which to make
purchases, some people may be hesitant to use it
(Bhatnagar et al., 2000).
This reluctance may be due to a low level of
innovativeness of the consumer. Innovativeness is
defined as how willing a person is to adopt a new
product or service, and how quickly he or she does
so (Goldsmith et al., 1995). An innovative person
will adopt and utilize a new product or service
before others do (Goldsmith et al., 1995). Because
the Internet can certainly be classified as a “new”
or “innovative” shopping format, companies with
online stores might be very interested to learn how
innovative their customers are. The present
research might help retailers to better understand
their customers, in terms of general innovativeness
and its relationship to Internet apparel shopping
behaviors. Thus, the purpose of this study is to
learn how general innovativeness of consumers is
related to Internet apparel shopping.
Understanding the relationship between consumer
innovativeness and shopping behaviors may help
online retailers learn how to convert browsers to
purchasers to capture revenues lost to abandoned
shopping carts.
General innovativeness
Innovativeness is defined as “the degree to which
an individual . . . is relatively earlier in adopting
new ideas than the other members of a system”
(Rogers, 1995, p. 22). Some research has found
that certain characteristics of people are associated
with high innovativeness. Highly innovative people
tend to:
.
have higher incomes (Leung, 1998;
Pepermans et al., 1996; Summers, 1972);
.
have higher levels of education (Leung, 1998;
Pepermans et al., 1996; Rogers, 1995);
.
be younger in age (Chau and Hui, 1998;
Darden and Reynolds, 1974; Hirschman and
Adcock, 1978; Leung, 1998);
.
have greater social mobility (Darden and
Reynolds, 1974; Robertson and Kennedy,
1968);
 Internet apparel shopping behaviors
Young Ha and Leslie Stoel
.
be more risk taking (venturesome) (Darden
and Reynolds, 1974; Leung, 1998; Robertson
and Kennedy, 1968; Rogers, 1995);
.
have greater social participation (Hirschman
and Adcock, 1978; Rogers, 1995);
.
have higher occupational status (Rogers,
1995);
. have higher opinion leadership scores (Chau
and Hui, 1998; Darden and Reynolds, 1974;
Rogers, 1995); and
.
be women (Goldsmith et al., 1987).
Goldsmith et al.’s study (1987) focused on the
effects of race and gender on innovativeness and
showed that women in both race groups (middle
class blacks and whites) were more likely to have
higher innovativeness than men in both race
groups.
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Several studies show that innovativeness is
related to the adoption of new products (Chau and
Hui, 1998; Leung, 1998; Pepermans et al., 1996).
People high in innovativeness use ATM machines
more than people with lower innovativeness
(Pepermans et al., 1996). Innovativeness was also
related to lifestyles and acceptance of new media
(Leung, 1998). Higher innovativeness in using a
specific product (e.g. the World Wide Web) can
influence the use of the Internet for shopping
(Citrin et al., 2000). Goldsmith et al. (1995) also
found that consumer innovativeness was
significantly related to new clothing purchase.
According to Scarborough Research, Internet
shoppers were more likely to adopt and use new
products and services such as ATM cards, cellular
phones, and television shopping than Internet
non-purchasers (Pastore, 1999). Thus, Internet
shoppers may have higher innovativeness than
Internet users inexperienced in Internet shopping.
In other words, Internet users with high
innovativeness may use the Internet for actual
purchasing more than Internet users with low
innovativeness.
Nature of apparel shopping
Purchasing over the Internet is one of the most
rapidly expanding channels of shopping, and
online shopping is the fastest growing application
of the Internet (“Internet usage, commerce
statistics and demographics”, 2001; Shim et al.,
2001). Online apparel sales are estimated to total
$12 billion in 2002 (Beck, 2001). However, this
figure is dwarfed by apparel sales from other
distribution channels, totaling around $200
billion, and total US online sales, estimated at
about $2.5 trillion (“Internet usage, commerce
statistics and demographics”, 2001; Retail apparel
sales statistics and trends 1999-2000, 2000).
Growth in online apparel sales lags far behind
other online product sales, such as books or CDs,
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International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 32 · Number 8 · 2004 · 377-385
and online apparel sales figures currently stand at
only 27 percent of all online sales (Beck, 2001;
“Internet usage, commerce statistics and
demographics”, 2001).
One key reason for this is the nature of apparel
shopping. When consumers are shopping for
apparel, they like to physically examine the
products to assess color, size, design, and fabric.
Also, for apparel products, fit is very important.
Due to the sensory and interactive nature of the
apparel purchase process, apparel products are
categorized as high-risk items (Bhatnagar et al.,
2000) and apparel shopping has been associated
with high perceived risk (Hawes and Lumpkin,
1986). Several studies found that the inability to
examine apparel products contributes to the high
risk associated with the in-home shopping channel
(Bhatnagar et al., 2000; Kwon et al., 1991). Kwon
et al. (1991) found that non-catalog shoppers
tended to have higher risk perceptions related to
catalog apparel purchases than catalog shoppers.
For Internet shopping, consumers consider
apparel products to be risky to purchase on the
Internet because of uncertainty about color,
fabrics, and fit (Bhatnagar et al., 2000).
However, highly innovative people, who tend to
have higher incomes (Leung, 1998; Pepermans
et al., 1996; Summers, 1972), higher levels of
education (Leung, 1998; Pepermans et al., 1996;
Rogers, 1995), greater risk propensity
(venturesome) (Darden and Reynolds, 1974;
Leung, 1998; Robertson and Kennedy, 1968;
Rogers, 1995), and higher occupational status
(Rogers, 1995), are more likely to adopt new
products and services than people with low general
innovativeness (Pastore, 1999). Research shows,
for example, that innovators are frequent catalog
apparel shoppers, despite the higher risk (Seitz and
Massey, 1990). Therefore, an innovative person
might adopt and utilize the Internet for apparel
shopping even though high risk is associated with
purchasing apparel on the Internet.
We might also expect gender differences in
Internet apparel shopping behaviors. Previous
research has shown that women tend to be more
innovative than men (Goldsmith et al., 1987). In
addition, research has shown that women are still
the primary shoppers for personal clothing in
married households (Dholakia et al., 1995). And,
among students, gender stereotypes exist relative
to shopping formats and product types with both
males and females perceiving the typical shopper
to be a woman (Dholakia and Chiang, 2003).
Thus, men and women might exhibit different
adopting intentions and utilization behaviors
about using the Internet for apparel shopping.
 Internet apparel shopping behaviors
Young Ha and Leslie Stoel
Theoretical framework
The innovation-decision process (Rogers, 1995)
shows how an individual adopts an innovation.
This process consists of five stages:
(1) Knowledge.
(2) Persuasion.
(3) Decision.
(4) Implementation.
(5) Confirmation.
In the knowledge stage, based on prior conditions
such as previous practice, recognition of the
problem, innovativeness, norms of the social
system, and characteristics of the decision-making
unit, an individual recognizes the existence of an
innovation and develops an understanding of its
functions.
In the persuasion stage, the individual develops
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positive or negative attitudes of the innovation
based on perceptions of characteristics of the
innovation acquired in the knowledge stage. Five
perceived characteristics (Rogers, 1995) of the
innovation influence its adoption:
(1) Relative advantage – if consumers perceive the
innovation to be relatively advantageous, then
the rate of adoption of the innovation may
increase rapidly.
(2) Compatibility – if consumers consider the
innovation compatible with their lifestyles,
then they are likely to adopt the innovation.
(3) Complexity – if consumers think that the
innovation is easy to use (not complex), then
they may rapidly adopt the innovation.
(4) Trialability – if consumers can try out the
innovation, then they may be more
comfortable using the innovation.
(5) Observability – if consumers observe the
results of adopting the innovation, they may
rapidly adopt the innovation.
Robertson (1971) found that relative advantage,
compatibility, trialability, and observability are
positively related to adoption of an innovation and
complexity is negatively related to adoption of an
innovation.
In the decision stage, the individual makes a
decision to adopt or reject the innovation based on
his or her attitude developed at the persuasion
stage (Rogers, 1995). Adoption is a decision to use
the innovation and rejection is a decision not to
adopt the innovation.
The first three stages of the decision process are
a mental exercise, but the implementation stage
involves obvious behavior change. In the
implementation stage, the individual puts his
decision to adopt or reject the innovation into
actual practice. However, the individual still has a
degree of uncertainty about the consequences of
the innovation, so he will keep seeking information
379
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 32 · Number 8 · 2004 · 377-385
regarding the innovation he adopted. This stage
may continue until the innovation loses its
distinctive quality (Rogers, 1995). In the
confirmation stage, based on satisfaction with the
previous decision, the individual reconsiders the
innovation and makes a new decision regarding
whether or not he will continue to adopt the
innovation (Rogers, 1995).
Internet apparel shopping and the innovation-decision
process
In adopting the innovation-decision process, this
study assumes that each stage of the innovation-
decision process applies to Internet apparel
shopping. In the current study, Internet shopping
refers to online information search for apparel
products and online purchase of apparel products.
In the knowledge stage, consumers become aware
of and understand Internet apparel shopping in
terms of information search and actual purchasing
based on previous conditions such as prior
Internet usage, previous in-home shopping
experiences, and personal characteristics of the
shopper such as general innovativeness and
demographic characteristics (e.g. gender). To
reduce uncertainty about Internet apparel
shopping, consumers seek information about
Internet information search and Internet
purchasing for apparel products. In the persuasion
stage, based on their knowledge about Internet
apparel shopping in terms of information search
and actual purchasing, consumers develop
favorable or unfavorable attitudes and beliefs
about Internet apparel shopping. These attitudes
and beliefs are influenced by the five perceived
characteristics of Internet apparel shopping as an
innovation. For example, in terms of relative
advantage, if consumers perceive Internet apparel
shopping to save time and money compared to
traditional retail shopping, then the adoption of
Internet information search and purchasing for
apparel products may increase rapidly. In terms of
compatibility, if consumers perceive Internet
apparel shopping to be compatible with their
lifestyles, then they may rapidly adopt the Internet
for information search and purchasing of apparel
products. In the case of complexity, if consumers
think that the Internet is easy to use for
information search and actual purchasing for
apparel products, then they may rapidly adopt the
Internet for apparel shopping. For trialability, if
consumers can try out the Internet, then they may
be more comfortable using the Internet for
information search and purchasing for apparel
products. And for observability, if consumers
observe the results of adopting the Internet for
information search and actual purchasing for
apparel products, they may rapidly adopt the
Internet for apparel shopping. During the decision
 Internet apparel shopping behaviors
Young Ha and Leslie Stoel
stage, consumers will decide whether or not to
adopt the Internet for information search or/and
actual purchasing for apparel products based on
their attitudes and beliefs developed in the
persuasion stage. In the implementation stage,
consumers who decide to adopt Internet apparel
shopping actually engage in Internet shopping
behaviors (e.g. information search and actual
purchasing). For example, if consumers decided to
adopt the Internet to search for information about
apparel products, then they would use the Internet
for apparel information search and if consumers
decided to adopt the Internet for actual apparel
purchasing, then they would purchase some
apparel products online during this stage. In the
confirmation stage, based on satisfaction with the
actual shopping experience during the
implementation stage and new information about
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Internet apparel shopping, consumers will
reconsider whether or not to continue to use the
Internet for information search and actual
purchasing for apparel products.
Internet apparel shopping behavior
From the shopping process, people derive several
different outcomes such as products, information,
and pleasure (Lee and Johnson, 2002). In other
words, shopping includes both information
searching behavior and purchasing behavior. Lee
and Johnson (2002) investigated differences
among Internet apparel purchasers, browsers, and
non-purchasers. They found that purchasers were
significantly different from browsers and non-
purchasers in terms of perceptions of relative
advantages and ease of Internet shopping. In
addition, compared to browsers and non-
purchasers, Internet apparel purchasers tended to
perceive Internet shopping as safe for using credit
cards. Browsers and non-purchasers showed
similar attitudes toward Internet apparel shopping.
Researchers have studied how and why consumers
use the Internet to make purchases. They have
discovered two basic consumer usage patterns:
information search and purchase.
Online information search
Information search is the process by which
consumers gather information about goods or
services before a purchase is made (Shim et al.,
2001). Due to the ease of viewing the vast amount
of information available and to the interactive
nature of the Internet, information search on the
web (a.k.a. browsing or “exploratory behavior”) is
a crucial element in online consumer decision-
making (Shim et al., 2001). When a consumer has
enough information about a product’s price, size,
color, function, etc., he/she will make a decision as
to the purchase of that product. Therefore,
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International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 32 · Number 8 · 2004 · 377-385
information search can be directly linked to
purchasing behaviors. In fact, it is crucial to
purchasing behaviors. Shim et al. (2001) proposed
that intention to search for information online is a
predictor of intention to buy online.
Online purchasing behavior
Online purchasing behavior is the act in which
consumers actually pay for goods over the
Internet. Many consumers are hesitant to buy
online, and more than half abandon their
selections before payment occurs (Shim et al.,
2001). For apparel purchases, this fear of
purchasing may be related to many factors,
including perceived financial or product risk
(Beck, 2001). However, due to convenience,
(“Internet shopping”, 1998; Beaudry, 1999), good
price (“Internet shopping”, 1998; Beaudry, 1999),
and product variety (“Internet shopping”, 1998),
consumers used the Internet for product
purchasing as well as information search. The
present research intends to discover how
innovativeness of the consumer is related to
information search and purchasing behavior.
Hypotheses
Applying Rogers’ (1995) theoretical framework,
general innovativeness is one consumer
characteristic that may influence the adoption of
Internet apparel shopping. In addition,
consumers’ demographic characteristics such as
gender may also influence the adoption of Internet
apparel shopping. As shown in previous studies
related to general innovativeness, more innovative
people have different characteristics than less
innovative people and they tend to adopt new
products more readily than people with lower
innovativeness. Therefore, consumers with high
innovativeness may adopt and use the Internet for
apparel shopping more often than consumers with
lower innovativeness. Based on Rogers’ (1995)
theoretical framework and previous studies, the
present study developed three hypotheses:
H1. General innovativeness is positively related
to frequency of Internet apparel information
search.
H2. General innovativeness is positively related
to actual Internet apparel purchasing.
H3. There are significant differences between
females and males in terms of general
innovativeness, information search, and
actual purchase for apparel products.
 Internet apparel shopping behaviors International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Young Ha and Leslie Stoel Volume 32 · Number 8 · 2004 · 377-385

Methodology Table I Demographic information

Characteristics F %
Sample and data collection
A convenience sample of 178 students, 73 in the Age (n 5 176)
family resource management major (FRM) and 18 to 20 28 15.9
21 to 29 142 80.7
105 in the textiles and clothing major (T&C) at a
Over 29 6 3.4
large US university, was used for this research.
According to previous studies (Lee and Johnson, Sex (n 5 178)
2002), about 32 percent of Internet apparel Female 136 76.4
shoppers were under 30. Thus, undergraduate Male 42 23.6
students are likely to be Internet shoppers and are
Years at university (n 5 178)
an appropriate sample on which to investigate Freshman 5 2.8
Internet apparel shopping behavior. Sophomore 14 7.9
Because the hypotheses were developed from an Junior 31 17.4
established framework (Rogers, 1995) and Senior 125 70.2
validated scales were available for the hypothesized Graduate 3 1.7
constructs, survey methodology was used to see if
patterns among the key constructs existed in a Ethnicity (n 5 176)
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White 155 88.1

specific sample of the population. Survey
questionnaires were distributed and completed in
two different FRM classes and three different
T&C classes (at the beginning of the classes). All
students received chocolate bars as incentives. The
questionnaire was three pages long and contained
three different sections. Section A measured
general innovativeness, section B measured
frequency of Internet apparel shopping, and
section C measured demographic information.
The range of general innovativeness scores for our
sample was 54 to 114, with a mean of 85 (possible
range was 24 to 120, with a midpoint of 72).
Approximately, 93 percent of respondents scored
70 or higher on general innovativeness. About 77
percent of the sample was female, about 98 percent
was undergraduate level (about 70 percent were
seniors), approximately 88 percent was white, the
mean age was about 22 years, and about 60
percent were T&C majors. Specific demographic
information is shown in Table I.
Measures
Innovativeness
To measure general innovativeness, Leavitt and
Walton (1988) developed two scales – form A and
B – each with acceptable reliability, 0.74 and 0.72
respectively. Each form has 24 questions and the
questions on both forms are very similar. Form B
seemed most relevant for a study on apparel
shopping because it includes one question that
relates specifically to clothing, “I like new styles in
clothes, especially those that are really different”
(Leavitt and Walton, p. 52, 1988). Other questions
measured general innovativeness related to other
products and different situations. For example, “I
like to spend money on unusual gifts and toys,” “I
like to try new products to see what they are like,”
“I am the kind of person who is always looking for
an exciting, stimulating, active life,” “I can enjoy
381
African-American 9 5.1
Hispanic 2 1.1
Asian 7 4
Other 3 1.7
Major (n 5 178)
Family resource management 73 41
Female 40
Male 33
Textiles and clothing 105 59
Female 98
Male 7
being with people whose values are very different
from mine,” and “I generally like to try new ideas
at work and in my life” (Leavitt and Walton, p. 52,
1988). The questions were answered on a five-
point Likert type scale (1 ¼ strongly disagree,
3 ¼ neutral, 5 ¼ strongly agree). Cronbach’s alpha
was 0.83 in this study, suggesting that the scale is
reliable. Scores from the 24 items were summed
and used as an independent variable. Higher
scores indicated that respondents had higher
general innovativeness. Lower scores indicated
that respondents had low general innovativeness.
The mean value of general innovativeness was 85
with total scores ranging from 54 to 114,
suggesting that the sample is slightly innovative.
Frequency of Internet apparel information search
One question was used to measure frequency of
Internet apparel information search. For the
question asking “during the past six months, how
often have you used the Internet to search
information for apparel related products (e.g.
shoes, accessories, handbags, clothing, hats
etc.)?”, respondents were asked to select one of five
options – 1 ¼ never, 2 ¼ once or twice a year,
3 ¼ every few months, 4 ¼ every month, 5 ¼ at
least once a week.
 Internet apparel shopping behaviors
Young Ha and Leslie Stoel
Internet apparel purchasing behavior
One question was used to measure Internet
apparel purchasing behavior. For the question
asking “during the past six months, how often have
you used the Internet to purchase apparel related
products (e.g. shoes, accessories, handbags,
clothing, hats etc.)?”, respondents were asked to
select one of five options – 1 ¼ never, 2 ¼ once or
twice a year, 3 ¼ every few months, 4 ¼ every
month, 5 ¼ at least once a week.
Analysis and results
Data were analyzed using SPSS. The descriptive
statistics function was used for describing
demographic information, and simple regression
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and univariate variance of analysis was used for
hypotheses testing.
Hypotheses testing
H1
Simple regression analysis was used to test H1.
The independent variable was general
innovativeness and the dependent variable was
frequency of Internet apparel information search.
A significant positive relationship between general
innovativeness and frequency of Internet apparel
information search was found, F (1, 169) ¼ 2.263,
p , 0.05. The positive beta value indicates the
nature of the relationship between general
innovativeness and frequency of Internet apparel
information search, b ¼ 0.171, p , 0.05. Higher
scores on general innovativeness are related to
higher scores on frequency of Internet apparel
information search. This means that people who
are more innovative are more likely to use the
Internet for apparel information search.
Therefore, H1 was supported. Specific statistics
are shown in Table II.
H2
Simple regression analysis was used to test H2.
The independent variable was general
innovativeness and the dependent variable was
frequency of actual Internet apparel purchasing.
No significant relationship between general
innovativeness and frequency of actual Internet
apparel purchasing was found. Specific statistics
are shown in Table II.
Table II Regressions for H1 and H2
Variables
General innovativeness and frequency of apparel
information search
General innovativeness and frequency of Internet
apparel purchase
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 32 · Number 8 · 2004 · 377-385
H3
To test H3, univariate analysis of variance was
used. The independent variable was gender and
dependent variables were general innovativeness,
information search for apparel products on the
Internet and actual purchasing of apparel products
on the Internet.
Females showed higher mean scores for general
innovativeness – female: 86.63 and male: 79.95
(F(1, 169) ¼ 15.062, p , 0.000). Female students
were more likely to have higher general
innovativeness than male students. Means for use
of the Internet for information search for apparel
products were 3.88 for female and 2.93 for male
(F(1, 176) ¼ 21.687, p , 0.000). Female students
showed higher mean scores for frequency to use
the Internet for information search for apparel
products. Means for the use of the Internet for the
actual purchase of apparel products – female: 2.13
and male: 1.83 – but this was not a statistically
significant difference. This means that there was
no difference in terms of actual purchase of
apparel products on the Internet between females
and males. Therefore, H3 was partially supported.
Specific statistics are shown in Table III.
Discussion and implications
The results of this study suggest that, for apparel
products, general innovativeness is related to
Internet usage for information search, but not to
actual purchase. The latter is contradictory to the
relationship proposed in Rogers’ (1995)
theoretical framework. However, the finding that
general innovativeness is related to adoption of the
Internet for apparel shopping in terms of
information search, supports the relationship
proposed in the theoretical framework.
The fact that innovativeness is related to
information search could mean that, while
innovators are likely to adopt the Internet for
information search, the perceived financial and
Table III Univariate analysis of variance for gender on dependent variables for H3
Variables df F-value p-value R2
General innovativeness (1,169) 15.062 0.000 0.082
Information search (1,176) 21.687 0.000 0.110
Actual purchase (1,175) 2.207 0.139 0.012
R2 Std. b F-value p-value Hypotheses results
0.029 0.171 2.263 0.025 H1 was supported
0.005 0.068 0.784 0.337 H2 was not supported
382
 Internet apparel shopping behaviors
Young Ha and Leslie Stoel
product risk of actual online purchasing is so great
that even innovative consumers become lost sales
(Beck, 2001). This notion is supported by online
shopping statistics showing that more than half of
all information searches are dropped before
purchases are made (Beck, 2001; Shim et al.,
2001). However, this finding may also relate to
consumer preference for multi-channel access.
Industry research shows that consumers prefer to
search for information online at times that are
convenient, but prefer to visit stores for
comparison of a final choice set (Greenspan, 2003)
or to experience the emotional aspects of a store
visit (Rush, 2003b). The relationship between
innovativeness and information search has
important implications for e-tailers because
according to previous studies, frequent
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information searchers tend to be more likely to be
purchasers in the future (Jarboe and McDaniel,
1987; Pastore, 2000b). This means current
information searchers are good targets for
converting to purchasers. Therefore, Internet
apparel retailers who want to increase sales of
apparel products should strive to turn innovative
information searchers into actual purchasers.
Other interesting findings showed that women
were more innovative and used the Internet more
frequently for information search for apparel
products than men. The findings regarding women
are supported by previous research in the area of
innovativeness (Goldsmith et al., 1987), and
statistics regarding online apparel sales: women’s
clothing sales account for more than half of all
apparel sales (“Retail apparel sales statistics and
trends”, 2000), but men’s clothing sales are
currently experiencing a rate of growth that is
higher than the rate of growth of all other market
segments (“Retail apparel sales statistics and
trends”, 2000).
Even though there was no difference between
male and female students for actual apparel
purchasing on the Internet, in terms of
information search, female students tended to
search for information more frequently than male
students. Frequent information searchers tend to
be more likely to be purchasers in the future
(Jarboe and McDaniel, 1987). This suggests that
there may exist more possibility for women to be
actual purchasers in the future. This result also
suggests that Internet apparel retailers could
consider developing different Web site designs for
men and women because of the difference of their
innovativeness and frequency of information
search. In the case of men, although men are
potential Internet shoppers for other products
such as CDs, electronics, and software, they may
hesitate to use the Internet for purchasing apparel
products more than women do because of the
383
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 32 · Number 8 · 2004 · 377-385
unfamiliarity and uncertainty about apparel
shopping (Dholakia, 1999). Thus, to entice men to
browse more frequently for apparel, Internet
retailers should take steps to ease perceptions of
unfamiliarity such as providing return policy
information and increasing convenience factors
important to men. Return policy and convenience
can motivate people to buy products on specific
Web sites (Then and Delong, 1999), and the
provision of some product-related information,
such as sizing, color, and fabric has been found to
increase purchase intention (Kim and Lennon,
2000).
Limitations and future research
The use of a convenience sample of relatively
young college students might have limited the
range of responses received. By limiting the sample
to college students characterized as young with
high levels of education, our respondents had
higher innovativeness than the general population.
General innovativeness ranged from medium to
high scores with a high mean, and approximately
93 percent of respondents scored higher than the
midpoint on general innovativeness. Therefore, a
wider sample of subjects with different socio-
economic backgrounds, education levels, ages,
ethnic identities, and interests might have
produced different results. Using a bigger sample
size as well as a wider sample of subjects would be
advised for future research. In addition, the
relatively small sample of male students may have
influenced the results of this study. Future research
should consider an equal sample size of both male
and female respondents. Also, the survey relied on
self-reported answers, so the results may not
necessarily reflect actual consumer behavior.
Although the current study only investigated the
effect of gender difference on innovativeness and
Internet apparel shopping, there are additional
factors that may have an effect on innovativeness
and Internet apparel shopping behavior. Future
research examining the relationship between
innovativeness and Internet shopping for apparel
might consider the effect of consumers’ economic
status on innovativeness. Highly innovative people
tend to have higher incomes (Leung, 1998;
Pepermans et al., 1996; Summers, 1972). Internet
users who have high incomes tend to use the
Internet for actual purchasing (Rush, 2003a;
Pastore, 2000b) and Internet apparel shoppers
have even higher incomes than catalog apparel
shoppers and retail store shoppers (Pastore,
2000a). Therefore, future studies should examine
consumers’ innovativeness as a characteristic that
 Internet apparel shopping behaviors
Young Ha and Leslie Stoel
may be substantively influenced by consumers’
economic status.
It might be interesting to see if innovativeness is,
in fact, related to all non-purchasing behavior on
the Internet such as visiting an Internet
community, chatting, and using e-mail. More
research into perceived risks associated with online
purchases is necessary, as risk so deeply impacts
lost sales. In addition, the interaction of
characteristics of the innovation (e.g. usability,
usefulness) with characteristics of consumers may
also provide additional understanding of online
shopping behaviors. It might also behoove
marketing managers to determine why female
consumers are more innovative than male
consumers. Future research could delve more
deeply into the subject of gender differences and
Downloaded by Australian Catholic University At 02:06 09 October 2017 (PT)
innovativeness.
The result of the current study showed that
gender differences existed in terms of general
innovativeness and information search for apparel
products. However, the current study did not
consider the effect of prior shopping experiences
related to gender differences on Internet apparel
shopping. According to Dholakia (1999),
shopping is still a gendered activity. Especially for
grocery and personal clothing shopping, women
tend to have the primary responsibility in the
household (Dholakia, 1999). In addition, prior use
of catalog and television shopping influenced
perceptions of Internet shopping (Dholakia and
Uusitalo, 2002). Future studies might be
conducted to investigate gender differences
regarding the adoption of Internet apparel
shopping in terms of prior shopping experiences
that influence consumers’ confidence in using the
Internet for apparel shopping.
The current study showed that general
innovativeness was related to Internet information
search but not actual Internet purchasing. Future
research might also be conducted to examine what
kind of variables influence consumers’ hesitation
or intention to purchase apparel products online.
For apparel products, those variables may be
related to size information (Then and Delong,
1999), color information (Kim and Lennon,
2000), and fabric details (Kim and Lennon, 2000).
Kim and Lennon (2000) found that the amount of
product and service information provided for
apparel products was positively related to purchase
intention. Thus, more research might be
conducted to examine the effect of product and
service information, including verbal and pictorial
information on consumers’ purchase behavior in
Internet apparel shopping.
384
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 32 · Number 8 · 2004 · 377-385
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