Making sense of consumers’ wool apparel preferences

In an attempt to keep pace with changing demand for wool apparel, the wool industry has increasingly focused on developing technologies to measure consumers’ physical response to wool apparel as a means of predicting their preferences. However, it is unclear whether such technologies alone will predict consumer preferences as they do not take into account the broad range of attributes that consumers use to evaluate wool apparel. This study explored how consumers integrate their perceptions and expectations of wool apparel attributes during garment evaluation. The findings indicate that the evaluation of wool apparel is a more holistic and dynamic process than previously considered. Consumers evaluate new wool garments by extracting sensory cues and interpreting and integrating those cues with past experiences. It is proposed that experimental garment testing research be combined with interpretive research techniques to develop a more accurate picture of consumers’ response to wool apparel.