The heavy user of clothing: Theoretical and empirical perspectives

A minority of consumers, the heavy users, account for the bulk of purchases in many product categories. The present paper applies the concept of heavy usage to the study of clothing purchase because little scholarly research has attempted to define general characteristics of heavy clothing spenders. Data from two surveys of adult women (n = 641 and 285) showed that those who spent more were more likely to be fashion innovators, shopped more for clothes and had higher fashion media exposure. Few demographic characteristics, however, distinguished these women from light and non‐users. These findings may be useful to managers seeking to market to the heavy users of clothing and to clothing theorists developing theories of clothing usage.