Employment Orientation's Influence on Lifestyle and Evaluative Criteria for Apparel

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of female consumers' employment orientation on lifestyle and evaluative criteria of apparel. Employ ment orientation—a person's attitude toward employment outside of the home—was classified into four distinct segments: Career‐Oriented Working Women, Just‐a‐Job Working Women, Plan‐to‐Work Housewives, and Stay‐at‐Home Housewives. A random sample of 2,000 female consumers, ages 25–44, was sent questionnaires resulting in a 45 percent (n = 842) return rate. Principal Compo nents Factor Analysis with Varimax Rotation was used to reduce the number of lifestyle and evaluative criteria items to 11 factors. Analysis of Variance was per formed to determine if influence did occur. Employment orientation did signifi cantly influence lifestyle and evaluative criteria. The four employment orientation groups differed significantly on lifestyle and on the evaluative criteria used in selecting social apparel. In addition, female consumers were segmented into four distinct groups each with its own demographic and psychographic profile. Segmentation by employment orientation provided a richer and more accurate marketing framework than previous consumer profiles, reaffirming that women's employment orientation does change them as consumers and therefore as a target market.