Investigation of Petite and Tall Sized Women's
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INVESTIGATION OF PETITE AND TALL SIZED WOMEN'S CLOTHING NEEDS: FASHION INVOLVEMENT VERSUS PRE-PURCHASE CLOTHING SATISFACTION by SEUL-HEE YOO, B.S.H.E. A THESIS IN CLOTHING, TEXTILES, AND MERCHANDISING Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Approved Accepted August, 1996 <^6 r^a I ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Language, as always has been especially for this section of a thesis, is an insufficient mean to convey one's emotions. My appreciation to people involved in this project proves it. Dr. Catherine Black and Dr. Samina Khan, as co-chairs of the committee, have provided the initial inspiration and the timely encouragement and support throughout this project. I wish to thank Dr. William Lan for his salient suggestions and great patience. Dr. Jerry Mason has given me his invaluable wisdom and time. Without their help and devotion, this research would not have been completed. Their warm smile and sharp advice have been and always will be dear. Special thanks are extended to Hoonyong Yoon and Jaewook Nam. Mr. Yoon helped a great deal by sharing his time in assisting with statistical analysis. Jaewook has provided ineffable support and care throughout my study at Texas Tech University. Their friendship and love will always be remembered. I also thank "Lands End," especially Ms. Michelle Grambow and Mr. Greg Wutschel, who are customer research center staffs at "Lands End," for allowing me to use their customer database, and for their willingness to contribute to academic research. Above all, I want to give my deepest appreciation to my mother, Moonja Song. Her endless love, blessings, and confidence in me led to the completion of this study. This thesis is dedicated to my loving mother, Moonja Song, who has been a great mentor and a role model to me. n TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii ABSTRACT vi LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix CHAPTER L INTRODUCTION 1 Background 1 Statement of the Problem 3 Purpose of the Study 4 Objectives of the Study 5 Justification for the Study 6 Definition of Terms 6 Assumptions 7 Limitations 8 n. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 9 Defining Petites and Tails 9 The Petite and Tall Sized Clothing Market 14 Studies Related to Petite and Tall Sized Women 16 Consumer Satisfaction with Clothing 20 Involvement 24 iii Summary 26 m. METHODOLOGY 28 Theoretical Framework 28 Hypotheses 31 Research Method 32 Selection and Description of Sample 32 Description of Measurement Instrument 32 Data Collection Procedure 36 Data Analysis 37 IV. FESroiNGS AND DISCUSSIONS 38 Reliability of Scales 39 Description of the Final Sample 40 Testing of Hypotheses 74 V. SUMMARY, FINDES[GS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 88 Summary of the Study 89 Summary of the Findings 90 Conclusions of the Study 93 Suggestions for Apparel Manufacturers and Retailers 94 Recommendations for Further Research 95 REFERENCES 97 APPENDIX A. COVER LETTERS/QUESTIONNAIRE 103 iv B. COMMENTS MADE BY THE RESPONDENTS 110 ABSTRACT Most women acquire clothing in the ready-to-wear market where consumer products are mass produced for the average individual. Therefore, consumers who are different in height and weight from the average, experience daily inconveniences. Most apparel manufacturers and retailers had not recognized these groups of consumers' special needs until the great economic stagflation and inflation in the mid 1970s. The updated segmentation scheme in search of a new cure for sagging business resulted in new specialized target markets, such as petite, tall, and large clothing markets. Today, petite clothing can be found in department stores, specialty stores, and in mail order catalogs. Despite the recent development in apparel size ranges, few changes have been made in sizing for tall women. There are a limited number of stores and catalogs that carry clothing for tall women. Besides, both sources carry only a limited range of styles and a limited inventory. Although the petite and tall clothing market is profitable, numerous studies indicated that apparel manufacturers and retailers did not meet the needs of these consumers. Petite and tall consumers reported several fit problems in purchasing apparel products and the lack of availability. Recent demographics indicate that the size of these consumer groups keeps increasing; however, limited research has been found in regard to this groups of consumers' pre-purchase clothing satisfaction. Since previous studies have revealed availability of clothing presented the greatest challenge to petite and tall women, it was important to investigate their satisfaction at the stage that the purchase decision occurred. VI The purpose of the study was to investigate (1) clothing needs of petite and tall sized women in terms of fashion involvement and pre-purchase clothing satisfaction, (2) if there is a significant difference in clothing needs, fashion involvement, and pre-purchase clothing satisfaction between the two groups, and (3) if there is a relationship among the three selected variables. Questionnaires were distributed to 900 female "Lands' End" customers. The final database was composed of 321 respondents who were 177 petite and 144 tall Lands' End customers. Data were analyzed utilizing frequency distributions to describe the individual and socio-economic characteristics of the sample. Inferential statistics, such as t-test, analysis of covariance, Pearson correlation, and Pearson partial correlation, were tabulated to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that: (1) there is no significant difference between petite and tall women in terms of fashion involvement, pre-purchase clothing satisfaction, and clothing needs. However, several covariates, which had effect on the difference, were found; and (2) there was a positive relationship between fashion involvement and clothing needs, and a negative relationship between pre-purchase clothing satisfaction and clothing needs for both petite and tall women. Vll LIST OF TABLES 1. Comparison of Height and Weight Limitations: U.S. Standard, Catalog Companies, Retail Buyers and Consumers' Perception 12 2. Individual Characteristics of Petite and Tall Women 41 3. Socio-Economic Characteristics of Petite and Tall Women 47 4. Generally Purchased Clothing Size Category of Petite and Tall Women 62 5. Clothing Size Purchased by Petite and Tall Women 65 6. Comparison of Retail Sources Preferred by Petite and Tall Women 67 7. Comparison of Common Fitting Problem Areas of Petite and Tall Women.... 70 8. Analysis of Variance: Comparison of Beliefs about Clothing Attributes 73 9. Pearson Correlation Coefficient: Fashion Involvement, Pre-Purchase Clothing Satisfaction, Clothing Needs vs. Demographic Variables 75 10. Comparison of Fashion Involvement, Pre-Purchase Clothing Satisfaction, and Clothing Needs 76 11. Analysis of Covariance on Fashion Involvement Between Petite and Tall Women While Controlling Educational Level 78 12. Analysis of Covariance on Fashion Involvement Between Petite and Tall Women While Controlling Clothing Expenditure 78 13. Analysis of Covariance on Pre-Purchase Clothing Satisfaction Between Petite and Tall Women While Controlling Clothing Expenditure 81 14. Analysis of Covariance on Pre-Purchase Clothing Satisfaction Between Petite and Tall Women While Controlling Residence Area 81 15. Pearson Correlation Coefficient: Comparison of Fashion Involvement, Pre-Purchase Clothing Satisfaction, and Clothing Needs 83 16. Pearson Partial Correlation: Relationship Among Fashion Involvement, Pre-Purchase Clothing Satisfaction, and Clothing Needs Regarding Selected Demographic Variables 86 viii LIST OF FIGURES 1. Attributes of the Triad 29 2. Height Distribution of Petite and Tall Women 42 3. Weight Distribution of Petite and Tall Women 44 4. Age Distribution of Petite and Tall Women as Compared with U.S. Population 45 5. Marital Status of Petite and Tall Women as Compared to U.S. Population 50 6. Educational Level of Petite and Tall Women as Compared to U.S. Population 51 7. Ethnicity of Petite and Tall Women as Compared to U. S. Population 53 8. Total Household Incomes of Petite and Tall Women as Compared to U.S. Population 55 9. Personal Income Distribution of Petite and Tall Women 56 10. Yearly Clothing Expenditure of Petite and Tall Women 57 11. Occupations ofPetite and Tall Women 59 12. Employment Rate ofPetite and Tall Women 60 13. Employment Status of Petite and Tall Women 60 14. Distribution of Generally Purchased Clothing Size Category ofPetite and Tall Women 63 15. Clothing Size Distribution ofPetite and Tall Women 66 16. Retail Sources Preferred by Petite and Tall Women 68 IX CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Background Height and weight variations have been of interest to the general population for several years and for many reasons. Since consumers live in a society where consumer products are mass produced for the average individual, differences in height and weight influence people's lives in various ways. People, due to a variation in height and weight, have been experiencing daily inconveniences (Kersch, 1984). When product-oriented marketing strategy was practiced, people learned to adapt to the existing inconveniences. Even today, when customer-oriented marketing strategy is practiced, people usually blame their body types when they confront any inconveniences or dissatisfactions. Consumers are more finstrated when the problem is related to their height than it is to weight because one's weight can be changed but not one's height. The publication of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) Voluntary Product Standard PS 42-70 has led apparel manufacturers' and retailers' attention by introducing petite and tall sizes as a distinct body type related to misses' size (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1971; Pray, 1987; Kang-Park, 1991). Since most apparel manufacturers and retailers were dealing with the great stagflation ~ the simultaneous occurrence of economic stagnation and rapid inflation in the mid 1970s, they started to develop new specialized target markets in order to boost sales volume (Kersch, 1984; Stavig, 1985; Pray, 1987; Kang-Park, 1991). As a result, petite women, tall women, large women, and big and tall men's sizes were addressed (Kersch, 1984; Pray, 1987).