Consumer Behavior: In Fashion - Hardcover

Solomon, Michael R.; Rabolt, Nancy J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 013081122X ISBN 13: 9780130811226

Publisher: Pearson College Div, 2003

Synopsis

In addition to contributing to the understanding of why people buy things, this book considers how products, services, and comsumption activities contribute to the broader social world we experience. This book not only probes the psyche of the American consumer, but also attempts to consider the multicultural perspectives of consumers from around the world. Many of the topics covered in this book are of both professional and personal relevance to the reader as nearly everyone can relate to the trials and tribulations of purchase decisions. This book covers cultural and cross-cultural issues, public policy issues, values and motivation, sexual orientation, beauty ideals, brand personality, youth subcultures, interactive communications and electronic shopping, decision-making, religious marketing, fads, and global marketing. For brand managers, analysts in marketing research firms, store buyers, and account planners in advertising agencies.

About this title

About the Author

Michael R. Solomon, Ph.D., is the Human Sciences Professor of Consumer Behavior in the Department of Consumer Affairs, College of Human sciences, at Auburn University. Prior to joining Auburn in 1995, he was Chairman of the Department of Marketing in the School of Business at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. Professor Solomon began his academic career at the Graduate School of Business Administration at New York University, where he also served as Associate Director of NYU's Institute of Retail Management. He earned B.A. degrees in Psychology and Sociology magna cum laude at Brandeis University in 1977, and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981.

Professor Solomon's primary research interests include consumer behavior and lifestyle issues; the symbolic aspects of products; the psychology of fashion, decoration, and image; and services marketing. He has published numerous articles on these and related topics in academic journals, and he has delivered invited lectures on these subjects in The United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Australia, and Latin America. He currently sits on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Consumer Behavior and the Journal of Retailing, and he serves on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Marketing Science. In addition to his academic activities, Professor Solomon is a frequent contributor to mass media. His feature articles have appeared in such magazines as Psychology Today, Gentleman's Quarterly, and Savvy. He has been a guest on "The Today Show," "Good Morning America," CNBC, Channel One, "Inside Edition," "Newsweek on the Air," and National Public Radio.

Among the awards that Dr. Solomon has received are the Cutty Sark Men's Fashion Award for his research on the psychological aspects of clothing. He is editor of The Psychology of Fashion and co-editor of The Service Encounter: Managing Employee/Customer Interaction in Services Businesses (Lexington Books). His textbook Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being (Prentice Hall), now in its fifth edition, is widely used in universities throughout North America, Europe, and Australia, and has been translated into several languages. The third edition of Marketing: Real People, Real Choices (Prentice Hall) was published in 2002.

Professor Solomon lives in Auburn, Alabama, with his wife Gail, and their three children, Amanda, Zachary, and Alexandra.

Nancy J. Rabolt, Ph.D., is a professor of Apparel Design and Merchandising at San Francisco State University, where she is also Chair of the Department of Consumer and Family Studies/Dietetics. Dr. Rabolt has taught fashion consumer behavior and fashion merchandising for over twenty-five years, at Southern Illinois University and Marygrove College prior to San Francisco State. She holds a B.S. degree in Education from State University of New York, Oneonta; an M.S. in Clothing and Textiles from Southern Illinois University; and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Textiles/Merchandising/Design, Social Psychology, and Consumer Behavior from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Professor Rabolt's primary research interests include cross-cultural consumer behavior and global aspects of the apparel industry. She has made numerous presentations at marketing, consumer, apparel, and family and consumer sciences conferences. She has published in several international journals, including Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, International Textiles and Apparel Association Special Publications, and Journal of Consumer Studies & Home Economics. She is also the primary author of Concepts and Cases in Retail and Merchandise Management (Fairchild Publications).

Dr. Rabolt lives near the Pacific Ocean in Montara, California.

From the Back Cover

Fashion is a driving force that shapes the way we live—it influences apparel, hairstyles, art, food, cosmetics, cars, music, toys, furniture, and many other aspects of our daily lives that we often take for granted. Fashion is a major component of popular culture—one that is everchanging. With a solid base in social science, and in economic and marketing research, Consumer Behavior: In Fashion provides a comprehensive analysis of today's fashion consumer. Up-to-date, thought-provoking information is presented in an engaging everyday context that helps students, business people and scholars understand how fashion shapes the everyday world of consumers.

Among other special features, this comprehensive text:

• Starts each chapter with a consumer scenario used to analyze concepts covered in the chapter
• Relates consumer behavior concepts specifically to fashion products and processes
• Integrates the rapidly-evolving domain of fashion e-commerce
• Uses numerous fashion ads to explore how fashion companies attempt to communicate with their markets
• Includes both a marketing and consumer approach to the business of fashion
• Highlights both good and bad aspects of fashion marketing and offers a chapter on consumer and business ethics, social responsibility, and environmental issues
• Includes a chapter on consumer protection by business, government, and independent agencies

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Our fascination with the everyday activities of people inspired us to write this book. The field of consumer behavior is the study of how our world is influenced by the actions of marketers and, at the same time, how marketers are influenced by us. At times fashion is created and dictated to consumers by retailers and influentials: consider the "What's In and What's Out" sections of fashion magazines! On the other hand, we see retailers and manufacturers struggling to predict what we will want to buy six months from now. Fashion forecasting is, in a sense, a science; but it's more of an art, and many successful marketing gurus have missed the boat on more than one fashion phenomenon.

Fashion is a driving force that shapes the way we live—it influences our apparel, hairstyles, art, food, cosmetics, cars, music, toys, furniture, and many other aspects of our daily lives that we often take for granted. Fashion is a major component of popular culture and one that is ever changing. Fashion touches most of us on a continual basis. We may be unaware of the introduction of a new fashion, but all of a sudden our eyeglasses, clothes, shoes, and even kitchen appliances start to look dated and old-fashioned. Looking back through old pictures and watching old TV shows, by sharp contrast, brings current fashion into view. Like a fish immersed in water, we are often unaware of our everchanging environment. The fashion industry has always been dynamic and fast-moving, but it faces an even greater rate of change in the new millennium." Consumers will find themselves buying fashion in many new ways in the future, including via the Internet. Information and technology will take on new importance. We already see the beginning of customized apparel for the masses. These changes will affect how we buy fashion and how we react to the marketplace.

In many classes students are passive observers learning about topics that affect them indirectly. But fashion concepts affect us directly, especially our students who work in retail and who sell fashion. They are the experts on what's in and what's out, and they are keenly aware of changes that occur on a continual basis—the lifeblood of the fashion industry. Students should have no trouble supplying their own up-to-the-minute examples to support many of the concepts they will read about in this book. Research and Consumer Focus

Results of many research studies are used throughout this text to illustrate marketing and consumer behavior theories and concepts as applied to fashion and to further the reader's understanding of how fashion shapes the everyday world of consumers. A marketing perspective is used, with the goal of understanding why consumers behave as they do and how to identify their needs, with the ultimate goal of maximizing company profits. However, it is also important not to forget the impact the marketplace has on the consumer. Therefore, a perspective of the consumer's well-being is also presented throughout this book. We believe that students going into retailing and marketing need to enter the field with a humanitarian perspective. Who looks out for the consumer's well-being and for that of the environment today? Laws are established to protect consumers—maybe more than they want sometimes, and maybe more than business wants also. Chapter 14, "Ethics, Social Responsibility, and Environmental Issues," and chapter 15, "The Role of Government and Business in Consumer Protection,' especially address the effects of marketing on the consumer. They review laws and practices that watch out for the consumer, that help prevent abuse by businesses, and that provide information and help to the consumer.

Many research opportunities for students are listed in the discussion section at the end of each chapter. Some former student project results are given in this book; we hope to have more in the future! Acknowledgments

Many colleagues have made significant contributions to this book. We are grateful for the many helpful comments provided by the peer reviewers: Hanna Hall, Kent State University; Linda Welters, University of Rhode Island; Margaret Rucker, University of California, Davis; Tammy Kinley, University of North Texas; and Kimberly Miller, University of Kentucky.

Thanks go to the professional editors at Prentice Hall for all their help in procuring permissions for the artwork and handling the myriad details involved in turning a manuscript into a book.

Also, thanks to our students, who have been a prime source of inspiration, examples, and feedback. The satisfaction derived from teaching was a prime motivation for the writing of this book.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pearson College Div
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 013081122X
• ISBN 13: 9780130811226
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 542