Branding Absolute Luxury: Influence of Cues, Consumer Involvement and Knowledge on Price

The study investigated the effect of product description cues as a way to differentiate luxury products for the absolute luxury consumer and the effect of individual traits such as need for product involvement and product knowledge on consumers\u27 perceptions of expected price. An adult sample of 253 female US consumers were recruited for an online survey. The study results revealed that all product descriptor cues positively impacted consumers\u27 perceived prices of products. Clothing involvement was positively related to participants\u27 product knowledge which in turn positively influenced participants\u27 perceived change in expected price of products in response to various product descriptors or cues related to absolute luxury products. This study extends the research into the luxury market and identifies elements of the marketing mix which might be manipulated to better inform potential customers about the luxury product. The study further emphasizes that product descriptors or cues can have an impact on price judgments, especially for highly involved and knowledgeable consumers. This is especially important to academicians as well as marketers since high fashion involved consumers have often been seen as drivers, influential and legitimists of the fashion adoption process

The Educational Needs of Small Business Owners: A Look into the Future

A significant growth element in the U.S. economic expansion has been small businesses. Continued growth will depend on that trend continuing. Many of the future owners are today\u27s college students. This article reports on a study examining the entrepreneurial plans of students. The study found significant numbers of students anticipate starting their own business. The students indicated that they would use future nonformal educational programs to help them start and run the business. Cooperative Extension has played a significant educational role in helping business owners be successful. This article suggests that the demand for such help will remain strong in the future

Hand-Made, One-of-a-Kind Apparel: Evaluation Based on Personal Vanity

In spite of the growth in popularity of hand-made apparel, little is known about the personality traits that may influence the way in which consumers perceive the value of such products. Understanding the process of value judgment is important for business owners of hand-made apparel, since such clothes lack traditional product information cues, such as brand name, and is often more expensive than mass-market products. To fill this gap in literature, the study hypothesized that vanity (physical concern and physical view) influences consumers’ involvement in clothing (H1); involvement in turn influences consumers’ perceived product knowledge (H2); and finally, perceived product knowledge, in turn influences their perceived product value (H3)

Collaborative Fashion Production Applying a Real Life Scenario

Effective communication between designers, manufactures, and buyers is essential in today’s global fashion industry especially with the rapid growth of fast fashion and offshore production (Burce & Daly, 2006). Therefore, it will be important for merchandising students to learn the production process as well as comprehend information that was developed by designers, and create a product line that incorporates their own ideas and designs

Fashion Innovators, Sensation Seekers, and Clothing Individualists

The purpose was to investigate the association of fashion consumer groups' scores on sensation seeking and clothing individuality. Fashion innovators are expected to be sensation seekers and to use clothing to express their individuality. 142 undergraduate students were administered Hirschman and Adcock's Measure of Innovativeness and Opinion Leadership, Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale, and the Creekmore Clothing Interest Scale. Analysis showed that there was a significant mean difference between fashion innovators and fashion followers as sensation seekers and in using clothing to express individuality. Results suggest that fashion innovators may have a greater need for experiences than do fashion followers. </jats:p