INTRODUCTION:

Journey of a fashion consumer is certainly different from other industries. Consider this - I want to buy a dress for my office party where the founder, owners and all my colleagues are invited. I type a Google query ‘buy a dress online’ and visited a few websites, compare different options, shortlist a few designs and save them in my favourites list. I then feel all the designs I have shortlisted are old fashion. I want to buy something that is more trending. I immediately check out few blogging websites, some fashion events updates and see what is trending. I am through with my work and think of visiting a shopping mall on the way back home. I visit few stores in the mall, tried some dresses and really liked one or two but couldn’t make my mind of making a purchase. It’s a grand office party; I want to look fabulous so I thought of evaluating few more options. I thought I will visit the XYZ store from where I bought my last dress, I also had some loyalty points of that store so I will probably get discount. While roaming around the mall, I accidently meet one of my childhood friends. She suggested me of ABC store which has recently opened and has good collection. I visited the ABC store, the sales executive was really helpful, she helped me in finding a dress of the same pattern which I saw on the trending section of the fashion blogs. I made my mind and purchased the dress.

The fashion journey hence is very chaotic. With abundance of options and choices available to audience, customer’s repurchase intention towards the same brand weakens thus making a customer stick to a particular fashion brand is a challenging quest. It is of crucial importance for fashion brands to stand out in the competition. Brand Architects of the Fashion Industry Raina Penchansky beautifully quotes developing a fashion brand should go hand in hand with the voice and point of view of the person holding it.

Now consider this: I want to buy some casual wears. I am aware of certain brands which fit well in my budget. Also I keep receiving some random emails from these brands as I may have earlier purchased some product from them. I straight away go to the brand’s website/retail store, pick up few items and buy them. My evaluation phase in this case was lesser as compared to previous scenario as I was buying casual wear that suits my pocket. Therefore, brand experience, image or attitude did not play much role. On the contrary, since I had earlier purchased products from these stores, loyalty emails backed my consideration phase. Thus, there should be certain difference in brand equity dimensions depending on my purchase – Luxury or Mass produced. Moreover, in the first scenario apart from the evaluation phase, the brand image that my friend had for ABC stored created a positive brand attitude for ABC which resulted in better brand experience and loyalty points from my last purchase were taken aback. Henceforth, purchase of fashion is driven by several factors such as need, budget, trends, comfort, word of mouth, media, marketing and so on.

In the fashion business, the brands have strong effect in altering the psychology of consumer. Branding of fashion products has evolved and come a long way. An effective brand management secures competitive advantage and henceforth ensures higher customer loyalty. Brands are one of the crucial components viewed from both the manufacturer’s and the consumer’s angle (acting as a rich source of information). Brands are identification of distinctiveness¹ and signs of quality. In this day and age, the marketing environment is an ongoing development cycle; the marketing strategies need to be altered every now and then to gain a competitive advantage^2,3 found that in the competitive customer centric market environment, brand is the most valuable intangible and strategic asset.

In today’s price sensitive era, brands also act as tools to enhance the competition dynamics⁴. Consumers tend to pay more for a branded product or service over a non- branded item as they perceive better quality over competition⁵. To gain a substantial edge, it is of strategic importance to build brand loyalty between the company and the consumer. Higher base of brand loyal customers for brands results in positive word of mouth, leading to enhanced sales⁶. The prevalent value benefits programmes like discounts, loyalty cards, bonuses are all tools to increase repurchase intentions of customers and aim towards enhanced loyalty.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this study is primarily to integrate the prior theories on brand loyalty in context of fashion brand purchasing. The objectives of the study are (i) to understand the relation between experience, attitude and image in deciding the fashion brand’s purchase (ii) to examine the mediating role of loyalty in determining the purchase of fashion brand (iii) to evaluate the relative impact of loyalty, experience, image and attitude in brand purchasing of luxury and mass produced fashion. The research paper presents comprehensive review of several earlier works, conceptual research model and proposes hypotheses statements. The research study also reports analysis of data, implications for fashion brand managers and directions for future research.

OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE:

Driven by today’s dynamic environment and complexity in competition, marketers of fashion business have realized that creating brand loyal customers is a key to win larger market share in its niche. Therefore, understanding of brand elements (contributing towards building brand loyalty) results in providing better foundation for designing effective marketing strategies⁷.

CONCEPTUALIZING BRAND LOYALTY OF FASHION BRANDS:

Brand loyalty is an important aspect of brand management in fashion industry. Brand loyalty is defined as a concept where a customer shows repeated positive attitude or favoritism towards a specific product of the brand and spreads positive word of mouth^8,9. Researchers have considered brand loyalty as an important concept in marketing literature and as a tool to provide cost benefits^{10, 11} influencing repeat purchase¹² increasing brand advocates¹³ higher market returns¹⁴ developing a competitive edge over other players¹⁵ and securing a long term position in the market ¹⁶.

In consideration of fashion industry, consumer’s positive intention to purchase a specific fashion brand is a strong indicator of brand loyalty ^17,
18. Buying fashion is an emotional journey driven by various experiences. During this journey the connection that fashion brands form with its customers results in loyalty^{19,20,
14, 21}found that a brand with substantial loyal customers alleviates the strategic positioning by providing economic benefits, positive word of mouth and higher returns thus leading to varied opportunities of expansion for companies. Strong customer brand relationship is a key success factor for fashion brands affecting trust, satisfaction and loyalty ²² .

H1 Brand Loyalty has a positive influence on the purchase decision of Fashion Brands.

H2 The influence of brand loyalty on purchase decision is different for Luxury and Mass Produced fashion brand consumers.

ROLE OF BRAND EXPERIENCE, ATTITUDE AND IMAGE:

When it comes to fashion, the consumer journey is very abstract. Fast moving technologies are offering pool of opportunities for marketers to look at. It is no more a traditional path that a customer will adopt to buy a fashion product. There is no predetermined channel or way that a marketer can expect a customer to follow. It is a 360 degrees contact point revolution that has occurred as a result of digitization. Marketers are surrounded by a range of multiplying contact points emerging in challenges to deliver the best customer brand experience, result in positive brand image and form a likeable attitude for the fashion brand across all contact points, be it retail or online. The fashion consumer journey is built on customer experience and perception. Therefore, there are 2 aspects to the customer’s understanding of a brand – psychological aspect and the experiential aspect. The former aspect refers to Brand Image and the later results in Attitude and Experience.

Brand experience explains the relation between brand and the consumer. Brand experience constitutes the entire marketing process from brand visibility to purchase and after sales ^{23, 24} . When it comes to fashion, brand experience is multifaceted. Fashion brand experience is formed of various dimensions namely cognitive, affective and behavioral ²⁵. Positive fashion brand experience results in positive attitude towards the brand. Brand experience thus positively contributes to loyalty mediated by strong brand customer relationships^26,
27. Furthermore, self-evaluation of a brand by an individual forms the brand attitude^28,29.

The conception that a consumer forms in his/her mind for the brand is the brand image. Every product has certain characteristics by which it is perceived by its customers, brand image refers to these specific features which are bestowed in customer’s mind³⁰ . Brand image forms an important part of marketing decisions as it is an important element in forming brand attitude towards a product and understanding the consumer behavior ³¹. It is believed to have substantial impact on Brand Loyalty³² . Brand image also acts as an important component in reducing purchase risks ³³^, ³⁴. Favorable brand image and positive brand attitude are thus viewed as source of competitiveness for fashion brands.³⁵ found that familiarity with the fashion brand and the experience greatly effects the purchase of the brand. Thus as per marketing literature Experience, Image and Attitude are important research constructs in determining the purchase of fashion brands.

Therefore, based on available literature Brand Experience, Attitude and Image contributes towards building brand loyalty and also influences the purchase decision of Fashion brands. It is interesting to measure how brand loyalty mediates the purchase and does it vary across two broad category of Fashion i.e. Luxury and Mass Produced.

H3 – Brand Experience, Attitude and Image has a positive influence on the purchase decision of Fashion Brands.

H4 – The influence of Brand Experience, Attitude and Image on purchase decision is different for Luxury and Mass Produced Fashion Brands consumers.

H5 – The influence of Brand Experience, Attitude and Image on purchase decision is mediated by Brand Loyalty.

Purchasing Fashion Brand:

Each consumer is different in terms of choice, preference, and personality. These different personalities and perceptions are influential in perceiving their shopping behavioral attitude³⁶. There are two shopping orientations based on the attitude which is Hedonic and Utilitarian.³⁷ briefly explains the difference in attitude between consumers who are utilitarian and are inclined towards goal-oriented shopping behaviors. Shang et al., (2005) explains the attitude of consumers who are hedonist. The hedonist shoppers are inclined towards experiential shopping behavior. The purchase decision of fashion brand is thus based on the shopping attitude of the consumer as well.

Luxury brands generally fall under the hedonic orientation and focus on engaging experience with the audience³⁸. When considering Luxury Brands positive brand experience is a key to success³⁹. Thus hedonic values like fun, entertainment and emotional feelings can be further strengthened through experience for luxury brands. ⁴⁰ found that for utilitarian brands, experience is important but at the product usage stage only whereas for hedonic brands overall experience counts at all levels. Thus, understanding customer’s shopping orientation and behavior plays a crucial role in determining the purchase decision ⁴¹ and it varies with different categories of fashion brands. Mass produced fashion brand relates to both utilitarian and hedonic depending on the consumer’s personality. Fashion branding is thus evolved to read the consumer psyche. Brand is the personality of the product but in fashion your product becomes your brand. For instance when someone buys a Gucci bag the person is not just buying the bag; they are buying the fashion lifestyle that Gucci delivers almost as much as the brand itself.

H6 – The mediating effect of brand loyalty on purchase decision is different for Luxury and Mass Produced Fashion Brands.

Research Gap(s):

Prior studies talk about relationship between brand loyalty, image, experience and attitude. It is also stated that loyalty effects the purchase decision but understanding of these concepts in this day and age pertaining to fashion industry is missing. Fashion industry is a vast dynamic market with changing trends and strategies. Purchase of a fashion brand or product is non-rational. The customer journey when it comes to fashion is driven by several factors such as need, budget, trends, comfort, word of mouth, media, marketing to name a few. Therefore an in-depth understanding of fashion brands’ loyalty, customer retention and purchase is required. It is crucial to understand if loyalty mediates the purchase decision in the fashion consumer journey or it is just the experience, attitude and image bestowed in consumer’s mind which influences the decision. Most of the previous research focuses on luxury brands when it comes to fashion therefore missing upon the broad existing category which is mass produced fashion brands. Thus, it will be interesting to showcase comparative research of the two categories which is covered in this study.

Conceptual Framework:

Fashion is a fast evolving billion dollar industry. It is a trend reflecting individual personalities and country’s cultural and social statement.⁴² found that consumers generally relate clothing and accessories to fashion. The fashion industry is divided up into three different sections: haute couture (high fashion), ready to wear and mass produced. Haute couture is the garments and accessories seen on runways. These are usually one of a kind manufactured by famous designers. Ready to wear garments is the next tier of the classification including high priced garments with exclusivity of brand. Mass produced fashion is also the ready to wear garments but commonplace brands. In our study we will be focusing on the relative study including luxury fashion and the mass produced fashion. This section presents the conceptual model (Figure 1) that illustrates the impact of brand image, attitude and experience on brand loyalty and purchase decision of fashion brands based on the literature analysis.

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework shows that Brand Experience and Brand Image directly impacts purchase of fashion products (based on theory), the research objective thus aims to understand the mediating effect of brand loyalty in fashion brand’s purchase decision. The model also aims to empirically test the relative impact of luxury brand against mass produced.

METHODOLOGY:

Survey Instrument:

The research study empirically tests the conceptual model (Figure 1). A structured questionnaire was used in the study. Online platforms such as social media, emails were used to collect the responses. Twelve fashion brands were selected to form 2 groups. Group 1 denotes luxury fashion brands whereas Group 2 pertains to mass produced fashion brands. 553 respondents filled the questionnaire of which the usable questionnaire turned out to 468. Target audience was customers who owned or have shopped fashion products from the selected brands. Convenience sampling was used to select participants. Questionnaire contained 25 questions divided in 3 sections. Data collection was carried out for a period of 3 months (August’2016 to November’2016). 5-point Likert scale was used to measure the statements.

Measurement Scales:

Scales used in the study are mentioned in the Appendix. The measures are modifications of the standardized scales from previous studies modified in context of fashion brand’s purchase.

Data Collection:

The survey was posted on the site – surveymonkey.com. The link to the survey was then constantly shared on social networking sites – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp Groups during the span of 4 months. Emails were constantly sent to people to respond to the survey link. Facebook Fan Pages were approached to share the survey. Those who filled the survey were then encouraged to circulate it further with their friends, family and colleagues. To gain deeper insights, the online survey was created in a way that the respondents were first asked to select 1 out of 12 fashion brands which they have shopped or own and then were constantly reminded to keep in mind the brand which they have chosen in the above parameter while answering the subsequent survey questions. In case respondents own more than one fashion brand of the mentioned ones, they were asked to select the one that’s their favorite. The surveys in which respondents have not selected any of the 12 brands were opted out while analysis.

Demographic Analysis of the Sample:

The pilot study and pretesting of the self-designed questionnaire was carried out on 50 sample size followed by formal survey. Table 1 presents the characteristics of the sample. The respondents consisted of 58% females and 42% males. As far as age group is concerned majority 54% fall in 20-29 years age group, and 36% fall in 30-39 years old. In terms of monthly income, 43% had INR 30,000-60,000 monthly income, 38% had INR 40,000-60,000 monthly income, 17% had INR 60,000 – 80,000 as monthly income. Majority of the respondents (68%) were those who owned the brands and had used reasonable number of products from the brands.

Data Analysis:

Statistical software SPSS 21 and AMOS 21 were used in the study to perform the data analysis following the 2-step approach for SEM proposed by ⁴³. Factor analyses were performed on Purchase Decision of Fashion Brands to test the validity of the scales. 11 statements were reduced to 5 based on Eigen values greater than 1 (Principal component analysis with Varimax rotation). 5 statements explained 73% of the total variance. Cronbach alpha values were checked for all the five constructs. Next, measurement model and structural equation model was used to examine the relationship between dependent variable – Purchase Decision of Fashion Brand and independent variables – Brand Image, Attitude and Experience and also the mediating effect of Brand Loyalty.

Measurement Model:

The measurement model depicts the relation between the latent variables Brand Image, Attitude and Experience. The result of the co-variances between the constructs is depicted in Figure 2. The measurement model showed adequate fit. The covariance between Loyalty and Purchase Decision for fashion brands is fairly high i.e. 0.91 showing high relationship between the two depicting if a customer is loyal towards a fashion brand the likeliness to purchase that brand is higher. Also, experience that customer perceives at the fashion store/web shop positively influences the Purchase Decision.

Structural Equation Model:

Structural equation model (SEM) based on the conceptual framework is depicted in Figure 3. SEM was conducted based on generalized least square estimation to test the proposed hypotheses statements H1 to H6. The model fit summary for the proposed model is shown in Table 3. All the model fit indices CFI, GFI, AGFI, NFI and CMIN/DF lie in the acceptable range. The first parameter which is comparative fit index (CFI), goodness of fit index (GFI) should be greater than 0.9. More the value is closer to 1 better would be the fit. On the other hand, the error values root mean square residual (RMR) and the root mean square error approximation should be lower than 0.08 as proposed by⁴⁸ .

Table 4 showcases the mediation effect of brand loyalty in deciding the purchase of fashion brand. The mediation analysis follows the standard procedure as proposed by⁴⁹. The results also confirm that brand experience, image play different roles depending on the category of fashion brand – luxury and mass produced.

Table 3 - Model Fit Summary

Model	CFI	GFI	AGFI	NFI	RMR	RMSEA	CMIN/DF
Default model	0.950	0.978	0.968	0.902	0.030	0.031	1.929
Saturated model	1.000	1.000		1.000	0.000	0.123
Independence model	0.000	0.773	0.741	0.000	0.417		15.788
Zero model		0.000	0.000		0.498		60.875

Figure 3 - Structural Equation Model

Table 4 - Mediation Effect

Relationship	Direct without Mediation	Luxury	Mass Produced	Direct with Mediator	Luxury	Mass Produced
Brand Image à Brand Loyalty à Purchase Decision	0.52 (.002)	0.31 (.012)	0.58 (***)	0.49 (***)	0.20 (.048)	0.41 (***)
Brand Attitude à Brand Loyalty à Purchase Decision	0.12 (NS^*)	0.11 (.048)	0.03 (NS^*)	0.34 (.016)	0.30 (.029)	0.33 (.020)
Brand Experience à Brand Loyalty à Purchase Decision	0.73 (***)	0.61(.005)	0.23 (.016)	0.86 (***)	0.78 (***)	0.56 (***)

NS^*- Non Significant, (***) – Significant, (p-value)

RESULTS AND FINDINGS:

Hypotheses	Statement	Result	Finding	Comment
H1	Brand Loyalty has a positive influence on the purchase decision of Fashion Brands.	β = 0.89 (p = .000)	H1 Accepted	A brand loyal customer is most likely to purchase X fashion brand.
H2	The influence of brand loyalty on purchase decision is different for Luxury and Mass Produced fashion brand consumers.	Luxury β = 0.84 Mass β = 0.91 (p = .000)	H2 Accepted	Purchase decision of mass produced fashion brand by a brand loyal customer is slightly more likely than luxury fashion brand customer.
H3	Brand Image, Attitude and Experience have a positive influence on the purchase decision of Fashion Brands.	Image β = 0.52 (p = .002) Attitude β = 0.12 (NS) Experience β = 0.73 (p = .000)	H3 Accepted	Fashion brand purchase is positively influenced by brand image and experience.
H4	The influence of Brand Image, Attitude and Experience on purchase decision is different for Luxury and Mass Produced Fashion Brands consumers.	Image (Luxury/Mass Produced) β = 0.31/0.58 Attitude (Luxury/Mass Produced) β = 0.11/0.03 Experience (Luxury/Mass Produced) β = 0.61/0.23	H4 Accepted	Mass produced fashion brand’s purchase is influenced more by brand image and attitude whereas luxury brand’s purchase is through brand experience.
H5	The influence of Brand Experience, Attitude and Image on purchase decision is mediated by Brand Loyalty.	Image β = 0.49 (p = .000) Attitude β = 0.34 (.016) Experience β = 0.86 (p = .000)	H5 Accepted	Brand attitude’s influence on fashion brand’s purchase decision is significant when a customer is brand loyal.
H6	The mediating effect of brand loyalty on purchase decision is different for Luxury and Mass Produced Fashion Brands.	Image (Luxury/Mass Produced) β = 0.20/0.41 Attitude (Luxury/Mass Produced) β = 0.30/0.33 Experience (Luxury/Mass Produced) β = 0.78/0.56	H6 Accepted	The difference in purchase of fashion products by brand loyal customers is different for the two categories but the difference is not much significant.

CONCLUSION AND MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS:

Overall, the results of the research paper provide empirical support for theory based understanding of the relationship amongst brand experience, brand image and brand attitude towards building brand loyalty and also empirically tests and supports the hypothesized effects amongst relationships of the aforesaid constructs. Thus, it makes a significant contribution towards better understanding of brand loyalty as a mediator in context of purchase of fashion brands.

In fashion market, numerous options are available to customers and the companies are constantly trying to increase brand loyalty for their respective brands. Results suggest that luxury brands purchase by brand loyal customers is highly significant if the brand experience is positive whereas mass produced fashion brands’ purchase is driven by brand image. The study also confirms the importance of brand loyal customers in forming positive brand attitude. Brand loyal customers spread positive word of mouth for the fashion brands hence forming a favorable brand image. Moreover, the difference in brand attitude was fairly higher as compared to brand experience and brand image when it comes to brand loyal fashion customers. The reason can be that fashion brand customers are heavily reliant on emotional appeal when it comes to luxury purchase. Also purchase of luxury fashion brands are based on strong brand identities and thus brand attitude plays an important role.

FUTURE RESEARCH:

Further study in the same direction can be applied to calculate the effect of moderating variables on the conceptual model. The two moderating variables as per the review of pertinent literatures are – Customer Satisfaction and Interactive Media. The modern environment has altered the way consumers purchase products. Internet is providing ease of faster and convenient way to shop for consumers hence enhancing the satisfaction level of consumers. The meaning of brand loyalty will thus be evolving in more intense and competitive way along with growing Interactive Media. Literature review does not suggest that paradigm shift has occurred in our understanding or practice of branding techniques. Neither this is observed in the case of Fashion Brands. However, the linear relationship between brand communication and outcomes may have to be tweaked to take into account the digitally driven interactive, reciprocal consumer- brand relationship, with more contact points to engage for authentic brand experiences, forming positive brand image and attitude.

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Received on 07.06.2017 Modified on 14.07.2017

Asian J. Management; 2017; 8(4):1136-1144.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5763.2017.00173.1

Variable	Sample (n)	Group 1 (Luxury Brands) (%)	Group 2 (Mass Produced Brands) (%)
Income
Less than 30,000	161	18.80	34.5
30,000 to 60,000	115	28.63	24.7
60,000 to 90,000	58	15.59	12.4
90,000 to 1,20,000	59	13.03	12.7
1,20,000 to 1,50,000	55	13.46	11.8
More than 1,50,000	20	10.47	4.2
Gender
Male	186	42.09	39.6
Female	282	57.90	60.4
Age Group
Under 18 Years	6	3.2	1.11
18 Years - 25 Years	254	37.17	54.10
26 Years - 40 Years	166	50.21	35.82
41 Years and Above	43	9.4	8.95

Construct	Cronbach's Alpha	N of Items	Composite Reliability (CRη)	Average Variance Extracted (AVE)
Acceptable Range	> .7		>.7	>.5
Brand Image	0.726	4	.731	.564
Brand Attitude	0.827	3	.808	.637
Brand Experience	0.873	4	.814	.602
Brand Loyalty	0.755	4	.783	.725
Purchase Decision	0.764	5	.752	.712