En esta investigación se plantea los elementos del visual merchandising interno en relación a la intención de compra en tiendas por departamento en la categoría de ropa para niños, puesto que en los últimos años esta técnica ha ido cambiando a través del tiempo generando nuevas experiencias a los consumidores. Esta investigación busca evaluar las variables del visual merchandising interno de este punto de venta en esa categoría con la finalidad de determinar si presentaban una relación con la intención de compra o no. La metodología de investigación expuesta es correlacional. El estudio estuvo divido en dos etapas, la primera con enfoque cualitativo donde se presenta los resultados de las entrevistas a profundidad al público objetivo primario padres de familia y al público objetivo secundario a los expertos en el tema. En segundo enfoque es cuantitativo donde se desarrolla una encuesta y se corrobora con lo investigado anteriormente. El resultado de la investigación muestra que todas las variables del visual merchandising interno presenta una correlación con la intención de compra. Sin embargo, cuatro de estas variables iluminación, color, presentación de productos y decoración presentan una correlación media. Mientras que, el diseño de tienda presenta una correlación débil por lo cual no se podría concluir con certeza cuál es la correlación real entre esta variable. / In this research, the elements of visual internal merchandising are proposed in relation to the intention to buy in department stores in the category of children's clothing, since in recent years this technique has been changing over time generating new experiences for consumers. This research seeks to evaluate the internal visual merchandising variables of this point of sale in that category in order to determine if they had a relationship with the intention of purchase or not. The research methodology presented is correlational. The study was divided into two stages, the first with a qualitative approach where the results of the in-depth interviews are presented to the primary target audience, parents and the secondary target audience to experts in the field. In the second approach, it is quantitative where a survey is developed and corroborated with what was previously investigated. The result of the investigation shows that all the variables of the visual internal merchandising have a correlation with the intention of purchase. However, four of these variables lighting, color, product presentation and decoration have a medium correlation. Meanwhile, the store design has a weak correlation, so it cannot be concluded with certainty what the real correlation between this variable is. / Trabajo de investigación

El presente trabajo de investigación tiene como fin poder identificar la relación entre el EWOM y valor percibido frente a la intención de compra online en las cadenas de cine, en hombres y mujeres de Lima Metropolitana. En esta oportunidad, el trabajo consistirá en dos partes: introducción y cuatro capítulos (Marco teórico, Metodología, Resultados y Discusión). El Mobile commerce ha evolucionado en el mundo, y Perú, no es la excepción. Por ende, en el siguiente trabajo de investigación se identificaron variables como el Electronic Word Of Mouth (EWOM) y el valor percibido. De estas variables mencionados, se busca identificar el nivel de significancia que pueden tener frente a la intención de compra en las cadenas de cine. El estudio inicia con investigaciones de diferentes autores con el fin de abordar los conceptos principales como el comercio electrónico, comercio móvil, EWOM, valor percibido e intención de compra. Luego, la investigación presenta una metodología mixta. Por un lado, se realizó un estudio cualitativo para tener una primera llegada al público primario. Así mismo, se realizó entrevistas a especialistas con el objetivo de profundizar el tema y tener un panorama más claro. Por otro lado, se efectuó un estudio cuantitativo mediante una encuesta a 250 personas, con el objetivo de inferir y tener conclusiones exactas de la categoría estudiada. / The purpose of this research work is to identify the relationship between EWOM and perceived value compared to the intention to buy online in cinema chains, in men and women in Metropolitan Lima. In this opportunity, the work will consist of two parts: introduction and four chapters (Theoretical framework, Methodology, Results and Discussion). Mobile commerce has evolved in the world, and Peru is no exception. Therefore, the following research work identified variables such as the Electronic Word Of Mouth (EWOM) and the perceived value. Of these mentioned variables, the aim is to identify the level of significance that they may have in the face of purchase intention in cinema chains. The study begins with investigations by different authors in order to address the main concepts such as electronic commerce, mobile commerce, EWOM, perceived value and purchase intention. Then the research presents a mixed methodology. On the one hand, a qualitative study was carried out to have a first arrival at the primary public. Likewise, interviews with specialists were conducted with the aim of deepening the subject and having a clearer picture. On the other hand, a quantitative study was carried out through a survey of 250 people, with the aim of inferring and having exact conclusions from the category studied. / Trabajo de investigación

E-commerce retail sales continue to experience significant growth in the United States (U.S.) annually. However, the contribution of e-commerce retail sales towards total retail sales in the U.S. remains low. Furthermore, the growth of e-commerce retail sales from year to year as a percentage of total retail sales in the U.S. is also fractional. The lack of online trust by consumers has been cited as a significant barrier to transacting online and a possible cause of this slow-moving trend. E-commerce retail sales are paramount to the success and profitability of online merchants. It remains critical to understand the underlying determinants of online trust as a precursor to online purchase intention. This study sought to explore the effect of one such determinant namely, website design, on online trust. Using constructs and scales synthesized from the salient literature, the effects of visual design, social-cue design, and content design on online trust were measured and reported. Additionally, the mediating influence of online trust on online purchase intention was investigated. Demographic factors of age and gender were also examined for possible moderating effects of website design on online trust. A conceptual model of the influence of website design on online trust and the influence of online trust on purchase intention in e-commerce retailing environments was also tested. The study involved scenario-based survey research methodology. Participants were presented with two websites along with a fictitious purchase scenario and post-scenario survey. The survey captured their responses with respect to the design elements of each website, their inclination to trust each website, and their intention to make a purchase from each website. Participants’ age range and gender were also captured in the survey. A total of 502 participants took part in the study. The results found that each of the components of website design namely, visual design, social-cue design, and content design had a statistically significant effect on online trust. Online trust was also found to mediate the effect of these design factors on purchase intention. Finally, no significant effects of age or gender on website design’s relationship with online trust were found. Subsequently, implications and suggestions for future research are presented.

This research study aims to investigate the perceptions of millennials towards Chatbot and their purchase intentions in the fashion industry. The study explored how chatbots are perceived by millennials, and how these perceptions influence their purchase intentions. To achieve this, the study used a quantitative approach. The data was collected through an online survey, which was distributed to a sample size of 183 millennials. According to the findings, perceived trust is a strong predictor of purchase intention, on the contrary, perceived enjoyment and perceived ease of use are not. The analysis revealed that customers' perceived trust in Chatbots plays a critical role in favorably affecting their purchase intention. Finally, we suggested that further research explores the potential of chatbots as a marketing tool for fashion brands. This could involve investigating the impact of chatbots on customer engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty, as well as exploring the various design and functionality features that could be implemented to enhance the chatbot experience for consumers.

In today's era of intense competition for acquiring and retaining customers, customer retention has become a major issue and a key objective in modern retailing. With the emergence of new information technologies, the Internet offers new possibilities for customer retention through the management of relationships between marketers and consumers. Little empirical research has addressed the role of Internet websites in retaining customers for particular brands or at particular stores. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of the attitudes of a sample of young consumers aged 18 to 22 toward their favorite websites on intentions to purchase through the Internet and channels other than Internet clothing websites. The data were collected using an online survey with a structured questionnaire. The subjects of the study were 414 male and female undergraduate and graduate students at Virginia Tech and The Ohio State University, who were aged 18 to 22 and non-married. Several hypotheses were put forward and results except for one hypothesis were supported. Factor analysis, cluster analysis, factorial MANOVA, canonical correlation analysis, multiple regression, path analysis, and t-tests were employed to test the research hypotheses on the relationships among the variables. The factorial MANOVA results showed that shopping orientation and previous online shopping experience affected the evaluation of general clothing website characteristics, as well as the evaluation of favorite clothing websites. The canonical correlation results revealed that the product information, customer service, and navigation factors represented the favorite clothing website characteristics and were well predicted by the same constructs of the general clothing website characteristics. The path analysis revealed that attitudes toward favorite clothing websites were positively related to intentions to search for information at favorite clothing websites, and that intentions to search for information at those websites were positively related to intentions to purchase from those websites as well as from channels other than Internet clothing websites. Attitudes toward favorite clothing websites were directly and positively related to intentions to purchase clothing items from favorite clothing websites, and were not directly related to intentions to purchase clothing items from channels other than Internet clothing websites. The results also showed that shopping orientation affected intentions to search for information on one hand, and intentions to purchase clothing items from favorite clothing websites on the other. The online information search and purchase groups were significantly different in their intentions to purchase clothing items from their favorite clothing websites. From the results of the present research, it is concluded that Internet websites play a pivotal role in forming consumers� attitude toward the websites, which eventually lead to their information search and purchase intention from the websites. In addition, consumers' online information search intentions influence their purchase intention at channels other than Internet. Thus, by establishing effective websites, marketers can retain their customers through multiple channels including the Internet, brick-and-mortar stores, and catalogs. / Ph. D.

The youth market has been characterized as one of the most coveted market segments because of its spending power and tremendous potential for becoming lifetime customers (Bush, Martin, & Bush, 2004). The product market for adolescents is expected to grow to more than $208 billion by 2011, according to a report from market research firm Packaged Facts (Sass, 2007). Apparel, jewelry, and cosmetics are top product categories for adolescent girls and are important products used by adolescents to portray personal identity (Ossorio, 1995). Because of adolescents' buying power and the important role apparel plays in adolescents' lives, it is important for apparel marketers to understand the adolescent consumer market. The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between each of three independent variables (i.e., reference groups, clothing symbolism, and clothing involvement) and adolescents' clothing purchase intentions and clothing behavior, and whether the three variables are predictors of adolescents' clothing purchase intentions and clothing behavior. Reference groups are a source of instrumental and emotional support, offering adolescents a sense of belonging during their physical, emotional, and cognitive adjustment (Blackwell, Miniard, & Engel, 2001). Adolescents may have many different types of reference groups. The reference groups included in the currents study were friends, popular girls, and parents. Specifically in the current study, ninth grade girls' perceptions of friends' clothing behavior, popular girls' clothing behavior, and parents' opinions concerning clothing behavior were examined for their relationship to the ninth grade girls' clothing purchase intentions and behavior. The second independent variable was clothing symbolism. Adolescents may use clothing as a symbol (i.e., clothing symbolism) to express their actual self-concepts or to attain their ideal self-concepts (Erickson, 1983; Solomon & Rabolt, 2004). Two types of clothing symbolism were included in the study: the degree of congruity between actual self-concept and the perceived images of four outfits (i.e., actual self and clothing image congruity) and the degree of congruity between ideal self-concept and the perceived images of four outfits (i.e., ideal self and clothing image congruity). The third independent variable was clothing involvement. Viera (2009) found that young consumers are highly involved with clothing. The degree of clothing involvement may be closely related to adolescent girls' clothing purchase intentions and their clothing behavior. A conceptual model that formed the framework for this study was developed by integrating several theories, propositions, and research findings in the literature. Based on the framework, 16 research questions were formulated. Focus groups provided input for questionnaire development, and four outfit images, one each considered sexy, conservative, springy, or sporty, were identified and included in the questionnaire. Before the main data collection, the questionnaire was pilot tested and revised. Data collection was conducted at three high schools in central Virginia, and 353 female students in the ninth grade participated. Standard and stepwise multiple regression analyses were used to address the research questions. Among the four outfit images, that with a sexy image was found to have the highest mean score for ideal self-concept, indicating that participants would most like to view themselves sexy. Results of a factor analysis for clothing involvement revealed three factors: clothing importance, clothing expressions, and clothing brand perceptions. Participants had fairly high mean scores for all three clothing involvement factors. Among those three factors, clothing importance had the highest mean. In addition, results showed that participants perceived that their friends and popular girls would most often wear the outfit with a sporty image, and they also perceived that their parents would most like them to wear an outfit with a sporty image. The sporty outfit image also had the highest mean for participants' clothing purchase intentions and clothing behavior among the four outfit images. Results of one of the stepwise regressions, for the sexy outfit image showed that perceptions of reference groups' clothing behavior or opinions (i.e., friends' clothing behavior, parents' opinions concerning clothing behavior, popular girls' clothing behavior), one type of clothing symbolism (i.e., ideal self and clothing image congruity), and one clothing involvement factor (i.e., clothing importance) predicted adolescent girls' purchase intentions for the outfit with a sexy image. The results for wearing clothing with a sexy image when hanging out with friends were slightly different from those for purchase intentions. For the behavior of wearing an outfit with a sexy image, the variable "perceptions of popular girls' clothing behavior" was not a predictor, but actual self and clothing image congruity was. For the springy outfit image, all the perceptions of reference groups' clothing behavior or opinions and actual self and clothing image congruity were the best predictors of participants' clothing behavior; however only friends' clothing behavior and popular girls' clothing behavior were significant predictors of adolescent girls' purchase intentions for this outfit image. For the conservative and sporty outfit images, only the perceptions of reference groups' clothing behavior or opinions predicted adolescent girls' clothing purchase intentions and clothing behavior. In conclusion, the research findings suggest a powerful relationship between adolescent girls' perceptions of reference groups' clothing behavior or opinions about clothing behavior and the girls' own clothing behavior and purchase intentions. Participants' perceptions of reference groups' clothing behavior or opinions were the best predictors of the participants' clothing behavior and purchase intentions for all four outfits. Furthermore, clothing symbolism (e.g., using a sexy outfit to express or attain a sexy image) appears to motivate ninth grade girls to wear clothing with a sexy or springy image. The girls would wear a sexy outfit to portray their actual self-concepts and attain their ideal self-concepts. They also would wear outfits with a springy image to portray themselves. Additionally, the more the participants in this study considered clothing to be important, the more likely they were to purchase and wear a sexy image outfit; however the participants indicated that, of the four outfit images in the study, they most purchase and wear clothing like the sporty image outfit the most for hanging out with friends in comparison to the other three outfit images. Based on the findings, suggestions and implications for parents, educators, and marketers were provided. / Ph. D.

Yes / Purpose: This study investigates the role of consumer cosmopolitanism on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions towards foreign and local brands. Design/Methodology/Approach: The responses were collected on a structured questionnaire through a consumer survey. The data was then analysed through PLS-SEM. Findings: The results depict the positive influence of consumer cosmopolitanism on consumer attitudes towards foreign brands, which positively influences purchase intentions towards foreign brands and negatively influences the purchase intentions of local brands. Further, the mediating role of perceived quality was observed in explaining the consumer preference towards foreign and domestic brands. Practical Implications: Finally, the study concludes by providing implications for marketing scholars and managers of global and local brands. Originality Value: The paper examines the underlying mechanisms related to consumer cosmopolitanism and its role in influencing the foreign and local brand purchase.

Purpose : The purpose of this research is to explore the effects of instagram influencers' on millennials' purchase intentions. The aim is to examine how the independent determinants of intentions (attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control) and psychological positive and negative triggers (trust respective perceived risk) influence these effects. Methodology: The Researchers followed an abductive approach and applied qualitative semi-structured interviews to collect the empirical data, and a thematic analysis strategy to analyzethe empirical data. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with a total of 8 millennials between the ages of 23 and 30 living in Sweden. The method of data collection recorded respondents' subjective reflections on attitudes, subjection norms, perceived behavioral control, trust and perceived risks in connections with instagram influencers’ messages. Theoretical Perspective: This study reflected on Ajzen (1991) Theory of planned behavior and extended it with psychological triggers of intention Perceived trust and risk. The researchers also reviewed existing studies on millennials’ purchase intentions as affected by social media influencers, including studies on Product Quality as well as Personal Relevance in product involvement in connection with purchase intentions. Findings and Conclusion: Respondents' attitude toward recommendations made by instagram influencers appeared to be the key factor to influence purchase intentions negatively. On the other hand, relevance in product involvement along with positive eWOM was identified to have a greater probability to influence purchase intentions positively. Social norms had no effect on purchase intention, meanwhile respondents showed very high levels of control on behavior, which led to greater probability of purchasing intentions when product interest and positive eWom are present. Perceived trust had negative effects on purchase intention due to doubt on message as well as influencer authenticity and credibility. Perceived risks had a negative effect on purchase intentions based on concerns with product quality. Both trust and risk were influenced negatively by respondents' attitudes towards instagram influencers. / Syftet: Syftet med denna forskning är att utforska effekterna av instagram-influencers meddelanden på millennials köpavsikt. Syftet är att undersöka hur de oberoende bestämningsfaktorerna för avsikter (attityd, subjektiva normer, upplevd beteendekontroll) och psykologiska positiva och negativa triggers (tillit respektive upplevd risk) påverkar dessa effekter. Metod: Forskarna följde ett abduktivt tillvägagångssätt och tillämpade kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer för att samla in empiri, och en tematisk analys strategi för att analysera empiri. Forskarna genomförde semistrukturerade intervjuer med totalt 8 millennials mellan 23 och 30 år som bor i Sverige. Metoden för datainsamling registrerade respondenternas subjektiva reflektioner kring attityder, sociala normer, upplevd beteendekontroll, tillit och risker i samband med instagram influencers budskap. Teori: Denna studie reflekterade över Ajzen (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior och utökade den med psykologiska triggers av avsikt upplevd tillit och risk. Forskarna granskade också befintliga studier om millennials köpintentioner som påverkas av sociala medier-influenser, inklusive studier om produktkvalitet såväl som personlig relevans i projektengagemang i samband med köp avsikter. Slutsats: Respondenternas inställning till rekommendationer gjorda av instagram-influencers verkade vara nyckelfaktor för att påverka köpavsikter negativt. Å andra sidan identifierades produkt relevans tillsammans med positiv eWOM som faktorer med större sannolikhet att påverka köpintentioner positivt. Sociala normer hade inga effekter på köpavsikt, medan respondenterna visade mycket hög kontroll över beteendet, vilket i sin tur ledde till större sannolikhet för köpavsikter när produkt intressen och positiv eWOM är närvarande. Upplevt tillit hade negativa effekter på köp avsikten på grund av tvivel på budskap samt influencers autenticitet och trovärdighet. Upplevda risker hade en negativ effekt på köpintentioner baserat på oro för produktkvalitet. Tillit och risk påverkades negativt av respondenternas attityder till Instagram influencers.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design / Kim Hiller Connell / With apparel production finding itself a leading cause of harm to the environment, the call to action to influence purchase intention for environmentally sustainable apparel (ESA) is pertinent for the current and future well-being of both the environment and humankind. Supplying a base of knowledge to consumers is crucial to enable them to understand the consequences the AT industry has on the environment. This knowledge can potentially lead to a change of attitude and change in purchase intention. However, reaching the populous and changing consumer knowledge of and attitudes towards environmentally sustainable apparel is challenging. This study considers social networking sites (SNS) a feasible strategy regarding this issue because they not only rapidly communicate to consumers but SNS also convey the attitudes and opinions of users’ online referent groups. This study better understands the variances among consumer characteristics and their knowledge of environmental issues in the apparel and textile industry. The purpose of this exploratory study is to initiate the investigation as to whether or not SNS may be a potential mechanism for increasing purchase intention for environmentally sustainable apparel. This exploration focuses on identifying consumer characteristics of social networking site users and investigating whether differences in consumer knowledge about environmental issues in apparel production leads to differences in attitudes about and ultimately purchase intentions of ESA. This study also examines whether or not the presence of social influence on SNS may serve as a mechanism to overcome the barriers (knowledge and attitudes) limiting purchase intention for ESA. An online national survey of 783 participants was conducted utilizing six scales. Simple bivariate correlations, ANOVA, and a hierarchial regression was conducted to understand if adding social influence of SNS as an additional component to Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) provides greater predictive power for ESA behavior intentions. Findings from the study indicate that SNS influence and subjective norm are not stronger predictors of ESA purchase intention above knowledge and attitudes but they do contribute to the TRA and increasing the probability of purchase intention.

With increasing restrictions, saturated advertisement markets and advanced technology, the conditions of the communication politics have significantly changed and outdated the classical instruments. In order to bypass these developments, marketers started to strategically promote their products through appearances in movies and television than through conventional commercial spots. Additionally, social media has developed to one of the latest and most effective communication tools, especially among Generation Y, which businesses try to take advantage of. The combination of these two instruments created product placement on social media. Extensive market research on product placement in movies and television has shown that it can be an effective marketing tool if applied correctly. However, the research on product placement on social media is limited. Therefore, this paper will investigate whether product placement on social media is as effective as in movies and television, by answering the following research question: What is the impact of product placement on social media on the end-consumer’s brand perception and purchase intention? To address this issue we developed an online survey based on the theoretical background and methodology. The target group was set to social media users of the Generation Y worldwide. Subsequently, within a timeframe of three weeks we collected 217 valid responses that were analyzed with SPSS in order to answer the research questions and give managerial implications. Our analysis shows that product placement on social media can have a positive influence on consumer brand perception and purchase intention. This is particularly compounded if the celebrity is liked. However, the analysis also indicates clear signs that the Generation Y perceives product placement on social media as unethical. However, all in all, it can be said that product placement on social media is a good marketing tool if several suggestions and restrictions are taken into account.