Consumer Behavior Towards Apparel E-Commerce in Romania

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study consumer behavior towards apparel ecommerce in the context of the Romanian market. Besides the local context, the study is concerned with the factors that may influence consumer behavior, and the attitude of Romanian consumers towards online apparel shopping. Therefore, the following objectives were set: to identify the attitude of individuals towards online shopping for apparel in Romania; to find out what are the factors of influence on the consumers' attitude towards buying apparel online, and to identify the advantages and disadvantages perceived by consumers toward buying apparel online. In order to reach these objectives, 14 interviews with young Romanian consumers were conducted. The results of the study revealed two consumer profiles: occasional apparel shopping users and regular apparel shopping users. These two different consumer profiles have different behaviors, but both of them pay attention to the matter of trust and risk, word of mouth, website quality, and customer support, considering them critical factors in choosing online stores over classical brick and mortar stores.