Behavioural Aspects Influencing Decision to Purchase Apparels amongst Young Indian Consumers

The study of consumer buying behaviour is essential for marketers to understand the key elements such as what is purchased, from where it is purchased, the quantity of purchase, how much money is spent and other related variables affecting buying behaviour. The purpose of this article is to assess the consumer buying behaviour for apparels. The study makes substantial effort to recognize the variables which affect decision of apparel purchase among youth. Theoretical foundation of the study is based on secondary sources such as research papers, articles, magazines and articles on consumer buying behaviour. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is performed to extract factors which affect consumer buying behaviour and subsequently purchase decision. Total 6 factors were extracted with 20 prominent indicators. CFA confirms that all the obtained values of the indicators are model fit and comply with the standardized criteria. The findings show that consumer buying behaviour in apparel such as purchase frequency, average spending, preferred store type and preferred brand mostly depends on various demographic variables. Hence, the study validates the significance of segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) for marketers of apparel. The present article reveals that all types of domestic and worldwide brands are available in Indian market and are purchased by consumers as long as those are perceived to deliver value to consumers. The study recommends that marketers must segment the market and target those segments which can be served expeditiously. Marketers must target a particular segment of consumers for which they can offer better value. The findings and recommendations of the study might be useful for academicians, policymakers, entrepreneurs and managers of apparel industry to understand industry trends and formulate appropriate strategies.