Clothing Retail Channel Use and Digital Behavior: Generation and Gender Differences

Abstract

This study examined whether selecting certain retail channels to purchase clothing reflects generational and gender preferences as well as their digital behavior. Based on 1000 consumer cases from a Cornell National Social Survey conducted in 2012, this study employed correspondence analysis to segment clothing retail channel groups and relate the segments to generational cohorts and gender. Overall, the majority of Gen Y, Gen X, and Baby Boomer male consumers preferred the store-only channel, while the majority of female consumers of these generations liked the digital-only or digital-store channel for purchasing clothing. On the other hand, both male and female seniors liked catalogs (either digital-catalog or catalog only) for purchasing clothing. In addition, ANOVA was run with generation and gender as the independent variables and digital behaviors as the dependent variables. Results provided strategic information on how to target each clothing channel segment using the digital behavior of different generations and gender.