Fashion leadership, shopping enjoyment, and gender: Hispanic versus,Caucasian consumers' shopping preferences

Arlesa J. Shephard a,n, Tammy R. Kinley b,1, Bharath M. Josiam b,2

a SUNY Buffalo State, Fashion & Textile Technology Department, Technology 311, 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY 14222, USAb University of North Texas, School of Merchandising & Hospitality management, 1155 Union Circle #311100, Denton, TX 76203, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 9 August 2013Received in revised form1 February 2014Accepted 2 February 2014Available online 12 March 2014

Keywords:HispanicFashion LeadershipGender

a b s t r a c t

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of gender and ethnicity of Hispanic and Caucasian GenY consumers as they impact fashion leadership and shopping enjoyment. Previous research comparingthese groups on fashion leadership is limited. Results indicated that differences exist between ethnicgroups, between genders, and between genders within the Hispanic group and among Hispanic fashionleaders. In general, Hispanics indicated higher levels of fashion leadership and shopping enjoyment.In addition, the research has implications regarding shopping channels and clothing idea sources amonglevels of Hispanic fashion leadership.

& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

The Hispanic population is growing rapidly in the United States.Historically, the Hispanic population was associated with theSouthern Border States of the U.S., particularly in Texas andCalifornia (Guzman, 2001); however, data from the 2010 censusindicates that the Hispanic population is increasing throughout allregions of the country. By the 2000 census, Hispanics surpassedBlacks as the largest minority group in the U.S. and their growth of56 percent from 2000 to 2010 was higher than any other racialor ethnic classification. Hispanics now make up 16.3 percent of thetotal population in the United States (Passel et al., 2011).In addition, U.S. Hispanics have a buying power of $1 trillionwhich is expected to rise over the next several years (Brown,2012). As the Hispanic population begins to dissipate across theU.S. they are becoming an increasingly important group to studyand understand when it comes to shopping behavior. Hispanicsshop more frequently than their Caucasian and African Americancounterparts (Lockwood, 2012); therefore, it is important to betterunderstand where Hispanic consumers obtain their clothing ideasand identify which channels are preferred for shopping in order

to help retailers better direct their marketing and promotionalstrategies.

Young Hispanic consumers have been identified as one of thekey demographic groups for marketers to watch. Hispanic con-sumers are unique in that their average age is in the twenties,lower than the general population (Lockwood, 2011). Youngerconsumers are known to embrace technology as well as socialmedia and online shopping, which could be an important factor inHispanic shopping behavior as Hispanic consumers form almost20 percent of generation Y (Nickell, 2012). Further, young con-sumers have been found to have high levels of fashion leadership(Gutman and Mills, 1982) and shopping enjoyment (Goldsmithet al., 1993; Kang and Park-Poaps, 2010). Therefore, the purposeof this study was to examine the effects of gender and ethnicityon fashion leadership and shopping enjoyment of Caucasianand Hispanic Generation Y consumers. In addition, the researchexamined the differences between levels of fashion leadershipamong Hispanic consumers with regard to shopping channelpreferences and idea sources for clothing.

2. Literature review

2.1. Fashion leadership

Fashion leadership refers to the adoption stage of fashion-related items. A fashion leader is believed to embody a consumerwho is likely to adopt a fashion early in the fashion cycle. Further,

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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2014.02.0060969-6989 & 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

n Corresponding author. Tel.: þ1 716 878 4661; fax:þ1 716 878 4399E-mail addresses: shephaaj@buffalostate.edu (A.J. Shephard),

TKinley@unt.edu (T.R. Kinley), JosiamB@unt.edu (B.M. Josiam).1 Tel: þ1 940 565 4842.2 Tel: þ1 940 565 2429.

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 21 (2014) 277–283

the fashion leader helps to spread awareness of a fashion and thuscontributes to the diffusion of a style or trend (Goldsmith et al.,1993). Wiedmann, Hennigs and Langner (2012) identified threekinds of social influencers in the context of fashion leadership,which they labeled fashion superspreaders, the narrative fashionexperts, and the helpful friends.

Several theories have been proposed over the years to explainthe adoption and movement of fashion goods. The diffusion theoryknown as trickle-down (where trends originate with the upper-class) was joined by additional theories as the nature of fashionchanged. With the mass production of goods in the twentiethcentury, people of all economic classes began to have access tosimilar styles at the same time; therefore, theories began tosuggest a horizontal diffusion of fashion with early adoptersidentified at different economic levels. Today these early adoptersare not simply associated with an economic class, but representleadership within individual sub-cultures (Atik and Firat, 2013).According to Atik and Firat (2013), the mass diffusion of a fashionis intrinsically linked with marketing and the media. Fashionbusinesses serve as intermediaries to decipher fashion trendsand marketing media is used to reach fashion leaders. The mediafurther highlights these fashion leaders to communicate trends tothe general population.

A similar interpretation was presented by Crane (1999), whosuggested that young adults and style tribes have taken over therole of what used to be the upper-class as fashion innovatorswithin the theory of fashion diffusion. The development orinitiation of a fashion is no longer centralized, but originates froma variety of sources through sub-cultural segments and diffuseswithin each segment. The diffusion of the fashion within thesesub-cultures has been assisted by media coverage which withtoday's technology communicates these styles at a faster rate.Fashion opinion leaders are more involved in media coverage andhave more access to information; therefore, they are aware ofand adopt fashions before the general population (i.e. fashionfollowers). Crane (1999) suggests that this model is primarilybased on age where adolescents are the early adopters andmiddle-age adults are the followers. This idea is supported byGutman and Mills (1982) who concluded that the largest numberof fashion leaders can be found among college age adults. Severalstudies have examined the role of age and have determined thatthere is a negative relationship between age and fashion leader-ship (Goldsmith et al., 1991; Goldsmith, et al., 1987; Summers,1970). Previous studies have also shown that women indicatehigher fashion leadership than men (Cho and Workman, 2011;Goldsmith et al., 1987; Stith and Goldsmith, 1989). Few studies,however, have examined the relationship between fashion leader-ship and ethnicity or race. Goldsmith et al. (1987) found that whilethere was little difference between middle-class Black and Cauca-sian consumers, female consumers were more likely to be fashion-oriented than male consumers. Similarly, Stith and Goldsmith(1989) found that women had higher fashion innovativeness andopinion leadership; however, in this study gender was a strongerfactor regarding fashion innovativeness and opinion leadershipthan race. It is important to extend the examination of ethnicityand race to Hispanic consumers.

Immigration and identity with cultural heritage or country oforigin has an impact on consumer attention to fashion products.A study by Kim et al. (2007) indicates that Hispanic consumers aremore fashion conscious and have a higher percentage of fashionleaders than other ethnic groups. They are concerned with price,brand names, and the fashionability of their clothing (Seock andSauls, 2008). Because the growth in the Hispanic population isclosely related to immigration, it is important to consider therole of assimilation in the purchase of fashion goods. Severalresearchers have examined the concepts of assimilation and

acculturation among Hispanic consumers (Chattalas and Harper,2007; Chattaraman et al., 2009; Huggins et al., 2013), but few haveexamined how this impacts shopping behavior. According to Kwakand Sojka (2010), investment in prestigious fashion brands isa symbol of blending oneself into the American culture. The moreself-identity Hispanic consumers have with their cultural heritage,the more likely they are to establish status through prestigiousfashion items; therefore, the following hypotheses are used toguide this study:

H1A. Caucasians and Hispanics will differ with respect tofashion leadership.H1B. Males and females will differ with respect to fashionleadership.H1C. Males and females within each ethnic group will differwith respect to fashion leadership.

2.2. Shopping enjoyment

Several studies have found a positive relationship betweenfashion leadership and hedonic shopping motivations (Goldsmithet al., 1993; Goldsmith et al., 1991; Kang and Park-Poaps, 2010;Kim and Hong, 2011). Consumers that seek adventure and newideas are some of the first to try new fashions (Kang and Park-Poaps, 2010). Goldsmith et al. (1991) found that fashion leadersnot only shop with more frequency, and view more fashion-oriented media, but also place more emphasis on enjoyment thanconsumers with lower fashion leadership. Goldsmith et al. (1993)also found that fashion leaders tend to value excitement andenjoyment. From their study, they determined that retailersshould place more emphasis on enjoyment as a means to attractfashion leaders.

Shopping enjoyment has become an important concept inretailing. Shopping enjoyment refers to the customer experienceregarding amusement, entertainment, leisure, excitement, fun,and other sensory stimulation which can be experienced whileshopping (Arnold and Reynolds, 2003; Kang and Park-Poaps,2010). Several studies have examined consumers' shopping moti-vation and its relationship to their hedonic experience or howmuch fun they have in a store (Arnold and Reynolds, 2003; Kangand Park-Poaps, 2010). In addition, consumers that value enjoy-ment are likely to be younger (Goldsmith et al., 1993; Kang andPark-Poaps, 2010). Kang and Johnson (2010) found that shoppingprovides a “positive distraction, an escape, an indulgence, anelevation in self-esteem, activation, a sense of control, and a socialconnection” (p. 71). In essence, shopping has been found toimprove one's mood. It is important to understand some of theemotional and/or psychological reasons consumers shop for appa-rel as this may help retailers better understand the motivations offashion leaders.

Gender often plays a role in shopping behavior. A study byNoble et al. (2006) found that men desired readily availableinformation and convenience whereas women desired unique-ness, assortments, social interaction and browsing. Past researchhas indicated that women place a greater emphasis on shoppingenjoyment than men (Seock and Bailey, 2008; Workman and Cho,2012). A study by Brosdahl and Carpenter (2011) which examinedshopping enjoyment by comparing generational cohorts of maleconsumers, found that while all generations appeared to beneutral regarding enjoyment while shopping, the Millennialsenjoyed shopping more than the older generations. There areexpectations of gender differences for clothing selection which isoften learned through social interaction (Workman and Studak,2006). Differing backgrounds and upbringing could impact theselearned behaviors.

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A study involving Hispanic consumers indicates a positiverelationship between shopping enjoyment and shopping fre-quency (Guo et al., 2006). Hispanic women especially enjoy thesocial aspect of shopping and generally spend more time shoppingthan women of other ethnic groups (Seock, 2009). Researchindicated that customer service was the most important retailenvironment factor that contributed to enjoyment for Hispanicconsumers (Seock, 2009). Seock and Sauls (2008) examinedHispanic consumers and the factors that contributed towardshopping enjoyment in brick-and-mortar stores. They found thatHispanic consumers enjoyed shopping and were confident in theirability to shop for the right clothing; however, shoppers' con-fidence was negatively related to age with older consumersengaging in more planning prior to making purchases. Furtherexamination is needed to better understand the role of gender andethnicity in regard to shopping enjoyment, thus

H2A. Caucasians and Hispanics will differ with respect toshopping enjoyment.H2B. Males and females will differ with respect to shoppingenjoyment.H2C. Males and females within each ethnic group will differwith respect to shopping enjoyment.

2.3. Shopping channels

Many consumers are considered multi-channel shoppers asthey use a variety of retail formats to gather information as well aspurchase products. A study by Cho and Workman (2011) indicatedthat fashion leaders tend to use more than one shopping channel.They further found that consumers with high fashion leadership,regardless of gender, preferred television retailing, online stores,and catalogs. Consumers with low fashion leadership tended tofocus on one shopping channel such as brick-and-mortar stores.

Research also indicates that shopping enjoyment has become animportant element for all shopping channels and can impact shop-ping channel preference. Brick-and-mortar retailers have placedincreasing emphasis on shopping enjoyment and the consumerexperience as a means to compete with growing retail formats,particularly online retailing (Guo et al., 2006; Seock, 2009; Seock andSauls, 2008). Brick-and-mortar stores are trying to capitalize oninteractive and social elements which can be more challenging tosimulate through non-traditional shopping methods (Arnold andReynolds, 2003). Online retailers are also seeking to improvecustomer enjoyment as a means for customer growth (Seock andBailey, 2008). A study by Seo and Lee (2008) examined the impact ofenjoyment and social class on multi-channel retailing. The resultsindicated that upper-class consumers showed higher enjoymentwhen shopping at department stores, upper-middle-class consumersenjoyed shopping online, and there was no difference regardingshopping enjoyment between classes for discount stores.

Historically, channel preference findings for the Hispanic shop-per have been inconsistent. Bellenger and Valencia (1982) foundthat Hispanic shoppers preferred to shop at smaller stores, desiredmore personal interaction, valued stores with ethnic association,and shopped less by mail or in discount stores than Caucasianconsumers. Eckman et al. (1997) found that non-Hispanic con-sumers preferred family-owned stores and mail order catalogswhile Hispanic consumers preferred second-hand shops, but therewas no difference between the groups in regard to preference forspecialty, department, discount, and off-price stores, outlets, andwarehouse clubs. A more recent study by Seock (2009) indicatedthat Hispanic consumers prefer department stores, mass merchan-dise stores, and specialty stores respectively with online retailingranking the lowest. This conflicts with a recent consumer

information report that Hispanic consumers are now adoptingtechnology-based shopping faster than Caucasian consumers(Internet, 2012). Hispanic consumers are using cell phone tech-nology to locate stores and research products. Hispanic women inparticular are known to investigate and be informed regardingproduct and price offerings at different retailers in differentchannels and often use the internet and mobile devices to searchfor the best clothing idea sources (Lockwood, 2012). In additionHispanics' online shopping has been steadily increasing over thelast several years and Hispanic consumers are now more likely torespond to online marketing than the general population(Internet, 2012). This phenomenon extends to both male andfemale Hispanic consumers. It appears that the Gen Y Hispanicconsumer, however, may not exhibit the same preferences as priorgenerations. Therefore,

H3. Level of fashion leadership will affect preferred shoppingchannels for Hispanic Gen Y consumers.

2.4. Idea sources

Fashion magazines and fashion media in particular havebecome important communication tools for consumers. Genera-tion Y consumers particularly indicate preference for fashionmagazines as a source for clothing information (Bailey andSeock, 2010; Goldsmith et al., 1991; Seock and Bailey, 2009).A study by Bailey and Seock (2010) determined that celebrityphotos, news, and information have become an important elementin fashion communication at all levels of fashion leadership.Although today's general media also provide fashion news, fashionleaders are more likely to view and enjoy fashion magazines fortheir fashion information. In order to maintain customer loyalty,many magazines are targeting specific ethnic consumer groups(Bailey and Seock, 2010). One example is Latina which caters tothe Hispanic population. The use of culturally-targeted mediais supported by a study which found that Hispanic consumersprefer culturally-targeted information sources (Eastlick and Lotz,2000). These and other studies, however, have focused solely onone source of information for clothing ideas such as internetadvertising, direct marketing advertising, and print advertising(Korgaonkar et al., 2001; Singh and Bartikowski, 2009).

With regard to impersonal sources of information, in-storedisplays were found to have the greatest influence followedby observed street-wear regardless of gender (Seock and Bailey,2009). Female consumers were found have significantly greaterresponse to in-store displays and magazine advertisementswhereas male consumers had significantly greater response totelevision advertisements. Kinley et al. (2010) examined the use ofmultiple idea sources among (primarily Caucasian) Gen Y collegestudents. High clothing involvement participants sought theopinions of female friends, family, and co-workers most often.This study also found a positive relationship between involvementand the use of non-personal idea sources including shopping,store displays, and observing other people. Seock and Bailey(2009) took a different approach by examining both personal(family and friends) and impersonal information sources in theHispanic market. Impersonal information sources such as storedisplays, streetwear, celebrities, and bi-lingual signage were con-sidered important for Hispanic consumers as a consumer group.Men indicated a preference for television advertisements andwomen preferred fashion magazines or store displays. Interest-ingly, the internet received the lowest score as a source ofinformation (Seock and Bailey, 2009). A comparison study whichexamined the difference between Hispanic and Anglo consumersand their perception of brands found that Hispanic consumersplaced higher importance on brands and influence from friendsthan did Caucasian consumers (Bristow and Asquith, 1999).

A.J. Shephard et al. / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 21 (2014) 277–283 279

Another comparison study of Hispanic and Caucasian consumersexamined the use of family as a fashion reference among teenagegirls (Chattalas and Harper, 2007), and found that Hispanic teen-age girls had a higher desire for uniqueness and lower influencefrom family as a clothing reference than non-Hispanic girls. Thisindicates that Hispanic girls place higher emphasis on theirclothing selection as an extension of their personal identity andsuggests that they are potentially more receptive to fashionpromotional media. Therefore,

H4. Level of fashion leadership will affect preferred clothingidea sources for Hispanic Gen Y consumers.

3. Methods

Surveys were administered in classrooms at a Hispanic ServingInstitution in the Southwestern United States. The data werecollected using a convenience sample of students. Although thestudy may not be generalizable for all university students in theU.S., the sample included representation from over 41 majors in allcolleges on the university campus including the College of Agri-culture (n¼155, 33%), College of Business (n¼111, 23%), College ofEngineering (n¼86, 18%), and College of Arts and Sciences (n¼91,19%). In order to ensure that college major did not provide a biasfor the study since some of the participants were merchandisingmajors, ANOVA with Scheffe's post hoc analysis was computed formajor and fashion leadership, fashion enjoyment, the idea sourcesfactors and the preferred shopping channels. No significant differ-ences (po0.05) were computed between major and any of theresearch variables except for the idea source factor labeled FashionSources (po0.01). Scheffe's post hoc analysis indicated the Collegeof Engineering students differed significantly (M¼1.57) from theother majors (Range M¼2.14–2.19). This difference is acknowl-edged as a limitation of the study.

College students have been shown to have high purchasingpower and indicate higher levels of spending than other demo-graphic groups, particularly in online shopping, and are thereforeconsidered and important consumer groups and an appropriatepopulation for study (Seock and Bailey, 2008). This survey wasreviewed and approved by the university's Internal Review Board(IRB) prior to the study.

Fashion leadership was determined by the sum of six statementsincluding “I am aware of fashion trends and want to be one of the firstto try them,” “It is important for me to be a fashion leader,” and “I amconfident in my ability to recognize fashion trends” which have beenand used in several previous studies (Gutman and Mills, 1982;Goldsmith, et. al., 1993). The shopping enjoyment scale consisted ofthree statements including “I shop because buying things makes mehappy,” “Shopping is fun,” and “I get a real ‘high’ from shopping,” andhas been used in several studies (Donthu and Gilliland, 1996; Guoet al., 2006). Shopping channels were assessed using nine items thatdescribed types of stores (department stores, specialty stores, “fastfashion” stores, fashion discounters, discount stores, catalogs, internetretailers, EBay or other online auction sites, and thrift shops/second-hand stores/vintage shops). The list of shopping channels was devel-oped from identified channels consistently discussed in literature fromthe fashion discipline (Stone, 2008; Kinley et al., 2010). Clothing ideasources were investigated using eighteen resources forclothing ideas, compiled from a list of 18 marketing sources (Kinleyet al., 2010). All scales were 5-point Likert scales where 1¼Never orStrongly Disagree (as appropriate) and 5¼Always or Strongly Agree.

4. Results

A total of 570 surveys were collected. Participants who did notidentify as Hispanic or Caucasian (11%) were eliminated from

further study. Of the 451 remaining participants included in dataanalysis, 183 (41%) were Caucasian and 258 (59%) were Hispanic;53% were male and 47% were female. Two-thirds of the partici-pants were either juniors (32%) or seniors (36%). The average agewas 22.3 (range¼18–49).

4.1. Fashion leadership

4.1.1. Fashion leadership: Hispanics and CaucasiansAn analysis of variance (ANOVA) was computed to evaluate

the differences between Hispanics and Caucasians with respectto fashion leadership. There were significant differences betweenHispanics and Caucasians with respect to fashion leadership(f¼19.93, df¼449, po0.0001), thus Hypothesis H1A was sup-ported (Table 1). While neither group indicated strong fashionleadership, examination of the means indicates that Hispanicparticipants are stronger bent toward fashion leadership (M¼2.35) than Caucasian participants (M¼1.94).

4.1.2. Fashion leadership, gender and ethnicityANOVA computed significant differences between males and

females with respect to fashion leadership (f¼38.431, df¼449,po0.0001), thus Hypothesis H1B was supported (Table 1).Not unexpectedly, female participants indicated a higher level offashion leadership (M¼2.48) than male participants (M¼1.92).When the genders in the ethnic groups were compared separately,Hispanic females indicated stronger fashion leadership (M¼2.63)than Hispanic males (M¼2.11, F¼17.235, df¼266, po0.0001). Thedifference was slightly greater between Caucasian females(M¼2.26) and males (M¼1.64, F¼29.585, df¼181, po0.0001).H1C was supported.

In all cases, female participants predictably indicated a higherlevel of fashion leadership. When the Hispanic and Caucasianfemales were compared, Hispanic females indicated strongerfashion leadership (M¼2.63) than Caucasian females (M¼2.26,F¼7.695, df¼201, po0.01). When Hispanic and Caucasian maleswere compared to each other, Hispanic males (M¼2.35) scoredhigher on the fashion leadership scale than did Caucasian males(M¼1.94, F¼19.934, df¼237, po0.0001). Females are more likelyto be fashion leaders than males, and Hispanics are more likely tobe fashion leaders than Caucasians.

Table 1Fashion leadership and shopping enjoyment comparisons, ethnicity and gender.

Variable Ethnicity Gender F

Caucasian Hispanic Male Female

Fashion leadership – all 1.94 2.35 19.934n

Fashion leadership – all 1.92 2.48 38.431n

Fashion leadership –

Hispanic2.11 2.63 17.235n

Fashion leadership –

Caucasian1.64 2.26 29.585n

Fashion leadership –

females2.26 2.63 7.695nnn

Fashion leadership – males 1.94 2.35 19.934n

Shopping enjoyment – all 2.30 2.68 10.811nn

Shopping enjoyment –gender

1.97 3.15 134.051n

Shopping enjoyment –males

1.60 2.21 21.608n

Shopping enjoyment –females

3.06 3.21 0.970

n po0.0001nn po0.001nnn po0.01

A.J. Shephard et al. / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 21 (2014) 277–283280

4.2. Shopping enjoyment

4.2.1. Shopping enjoyment between Hispanics and CaucasiansChronbach's alpha was computed to determine the reliability

of the shopping enjoyment scale. The computed score of .816 isabove the generally accepted reliability threshold of .70. Ananalysis of variance (ANOVA) was calculated to evaluate thedifferences between Hispanics and Caucasians with respect toshopping enjoyment. While Hispanics indicated a higher level ofshopping enjoyment (M¼2.68) than Caucasians (M¼2.30,F¼10.811, df¼449, po0.001), the mid-range means indicate thatneither Hispanic nor Caucasian college students particularly enjoyshopping. There is an ethnicity difference, therefore H2A issupported (Table 1).

4.2.2. Shopping enjoyment and genderMales (M¼1.97) differed from females (M¼3.15, F¼134.051,

df¼449, po0.0001) on level of shopping enjoyment, thus Hypo-thesis H2B was supported (Table 1). Female college studentsindicated they enjoyed shopping significantly more than malecollege students.

4.2.3. Shopping enjoyment, gender and ethnicityWhen Hispanic and Caucasian male participants were com-

pared, Hispanic males enjoyed shopping (M¼2.21) more thanCaucasian males (M¼1.60, F¼21.608, df¼237, po0.0001), thoughneither group rated shopping enjoyment very high. When Hispa-nic and Caucasian females were compared, no significant differ-ences were computed. Thus, H2C is supported for males, but notfor females (Table 1).

4.3. Shopping behavior of Hispanic fashion leaders

4.3.1. Shopping channelsTo determine the extent of the relationship between fashion

leadership of Hispanic participants and channel preference, Pear-son Product Moment Correlations were computed. Significantcorrelations were computed for fast fashion stores (r¼0.518,po0.0001), specialty stores (r¼0.321, po0.0001), internet retai-lers (r¼0.313, po0.0001), catalogs (r¼0.280, po0.0001), depart-ment stores (r¼0.275, po0.0001), and fashion discounters(r¼0.198, po0.001). There was a relatively strong relationshipbetween fashion leadership and preference for shopping at fastfashion stores and specialty stores. No significant relationshipswere computed for discount stores, online auction sites, or thrift/vintage stores. H3 was supported.

4.3.2. Idea sourcesIn order to reduce the 18 idea sources into a meaningful data

set, a principle components factor analysis with varimax rotationwas computed. An Eigenvalue of one and items loading above50 on a factor yielded three factors, which were labeled multi-media, fashion sources, and retail inspired (Table 1). Analysis ofthe means indicates that Hispanic participants used the items inretail inspired more often (M¼3.39) followed by multimedia(M¼2.26) and fashion sources (M¼2.20).

To determine the relationship between idea sources and levelfashion leadership for Hispanic participants, the group wasdivided into three levels: low (M¼1.00–1.99, 41.8%), medium(M¼2.00–3.00, 33.2%) and high (M¼3.01–5.00, 25%). ANOVAcomputed significant effects for each of the three groups(Table 2), thus H4 is supported. For all of the idea source factors,the three groups differed significantly from each other with the

Table 2Inspiration factors and fashion leadership.

Inspiration factors Factor loading Caucasian Hispanic Fashion leadership F

Low Medium High

Factor 1: Multimediaα¼0.906; Eigenvalue¼9.353; Variance¼26.32% 2.05 2.26 1.75a 2.36b 2.98c 50.964n

Billboard .741 1.76 1.96 4.103nnn

Newspaper ad .723 1.75 2.01 6.619nn

Social networking sites .677 1.90 2.07 2.288TV ad .669 2.17 2.48 7.705nn

Observing others .632 2.95 2.91 0.084Internet ads .608 2.13 2.39 4.577nnn

Non-fashion magazine .600 1.91 2.12 3.472TV shopping network .600 1.4 1.74 12.483n

Music video .559 1.77 2.25 17.311n

TV program .503 2.26 2.65 10.263nn

Factor 2: Fashion sourcesα¼0.910; Eigenvalue¼1.340; Variance¼21.42% 1.79 2.20 1.45a 2.34b 3.26b 84.726n

Fashion shows .858 1.53 1.99 16.424n

Fashion magazines .811 1.81 2.26 14.192n

Fashion TV .797 1.61 2.04 14.128n

Celebrities .688 1.96 2.45 15.672n

Catalogs .614 2.14 2.31 1.920

Factor 3: Retail inspiredα¼0.774; Eigenvalue¼1.117; Variance¼14.87% 3.13 3.39 2.80a 3.63b 4.06b 37.673n

Store shopping .862 3.67 3.83 1.511Store displays of clothing .729 3.01 3.26 4.635n

Internet store sites .638 2.71 3.08 7.661nn

Note: Means sharing a common alphabetical subscript are not significantly different by the Scheffe's test.n po0.0001.nn po0.01.nnn po0.05.

A.J. Shephard et al. / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 21 (2014) 277–283 281

High Fashion Leadership group using the idea sources most andthe Low Fashion Leadership group using them the least. While thefashion leaders used all of the ideas sources significantly moreoften, the retail inspired group was used most (M¼4.06).

5. Discussion and implications

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of genderand ethnicity on fashion leadership and shopping enjoyment ofCaucasian and Hispanic Generation Y consumers. In addition, theresearch examined the differences between levels of fashionleadership among Hispanic consumers with regard to shoppingchannel preferences and clothing idea sources. Data analysisindicated significant differences almost across the board withHispanic participants, both male and female, indicating strongerfashion leadership than their Caucasian cohorts. While many ofthe individual findings in the present study indicate relatively lowlevels of fashion interest among the variables, the differencesbetween the two groups is consistent. In almost every case, theHispanic consumer group had higher mean scores than Caucasianparticipants. This finding aligns with that of Kwak and Sojka(2010) who found brand-identity to be strong among Hispanicconsumers as they blend into the American culture.

Within both ethnic groups, females are more likely to befashion leaders than males, which supports most if not allacademic research concerning fashion between the genders (forexample, Cho and Workman, 2011; Goldsmith et al., 1987; Stithand Goldsmith, 1989). While there is a body of literature about themale fashion consumer, the data still indicate that the collectiveGen Y female market segment has a stronger interest in fashion.The suggestion that the gender gap is becoming narrower with theGen Y consumer does not manifest in the current study in thecontext of interest in clothing. This result can be interpretedwithin the context of current fashion diffusion theory whichindicates that leaders exist within sub-cultural groups and thenassist with transmitting the trends to the rest of the sub-culturepopulation (Atik and Firat, 2013; Crane, 1999). In this case, genderappears to be an indicator of leadership within the sub-culturalgroups.

With regard to fashion leadership, Hispanics in this study weremore likely to be fashion leaders than Caucasians. This is sup-ported in a finding by Chattalas and Harper (2007) where Hispanicgirls had a high desire for uniqueness, thereby placing a higheremphasis on clothing selection as an extension of personalidentity. This tendency toward fashion leadership may relate tothe importance of brand identity among Hispanic consumers.Hispanic consumers are generally considered to be more collecti-vistic and prefer promotions that portray collectivism whereasnon-Hispanic consumers prefer promotions that emphasize indi-vidualism (Singh and Bartikowski, 2009); however, investing inpopular styles and well-known brands is a method Hispanics useto assimilate or achieve a sense of belonging within the U.S.culture (Kwak and Sojka, 2010). According to Atik and Firat(2013), fashion leaders get their inspiration from promotions andmedia. Although it may seem contradictory for Hispanics to befashion leaders due to their cultural tradition of interdependenceand emphasis on conformity, the investment of time and money tobecome an early adopter of fashion is considered a means ofconforming to the larger society.

The Hispanic respondents who demonstrated higher levels offashion leadership indicated an interest in fashion-focused ideasources for clothing inspiration – particularly shopping in thestores, store displays, and internet store sites. This finding indi-cates that the Gen Y Hispanic fashion consumer is particularlyinterested in being aware of fashion currently available – they seek

it out and think about it. This follows the contemporary view ofthe fashion diffusion theory which suggests that fashion leadersare directly influence by marketing, media, and promotions (Atikand Firat, 2013; Crane, 1999). Gen Y Hispanic fashion leaders'interest in fast fashion stores particularly underscores their desireto seek out and consume fashion-forward products. By definition,the fast fashion channel provides limited quantities of affordablerunway-inspired fashion almost immediately following the pre-sentation of the new styles. By contrast, unlike the findings ofSeock and Bailey (2009), Hispanic consumer interest in non-personal ideas sources in the multi-media factor which includedfashion magazines and advertisements is not strong, indicatingtheir interest is in the experience of the product itself. Futureresearch could investigate when and how Gen Y Hispanics utilizeInternet shopping sites to determine their role in seeking informa-tion as well as completing purchases.

By comparison, their Caucasian counterparts indicated a lowerinterest in fashion generally. This could be because the longerhistory of Caucasian majority in the American culture reduces thedesire for social acceptance into the greater culture or amongpeers in a dispersed ethnic cohort. It is doubtful that this isa conscious decision; the authors hypothesize that it is rather amatter of priority and the strong sense of independence amongGen Y Caucasian American consumers. This is certainly an area ofstudy that deserves further study.

Along the same reasoning, Hispanic consumers in this studyindicated higher levels of shopping enjoyment than the Caucasianconsumers. Male Hispanic consumers indicated they enjoy shop-ping more than male Caucasian consumers, but there was not adifference between the female groups. Again, this finding con-tributes evidence that the Gen Y Hispanic consumer is interestedin the experience of apparel shopping. Improving the shoppingexperience for consumers has important implications for retailerssince the visual environment of both online and brick-and-mortarstores potentially contributes toward marketing as well as shop-ping motivation for Hispanic consumers.

Academic research has consistently found that there are ethnicdifferences with regard to variables pertaining to fashion interest,leadership, and activity. As the Internet makes more of the worldcultures and influences more easily accessible, it will be interest-ing to watch the evolution of interest in fashion.

6. Limitations and recommendations

The sample in this study may not be representative of theHispanic and Caucasian Gen Y populations as data were collectedon a single college campus from college students. Although thesample was gathered from a southern border state in the U.S.where the Hispanic population is large, differences may vary fromregion to region as the Hispanic population expands and dis-sipates. More research is needed to better understand the shop-ping behaviors of this growing population segment. Futureresearch should continue to investigate the reasons for thedifferences between Caucasian and Hispanic consumers in orderto better access this growing market segment.

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