Simulating Attachment to Pure-Play Fashion Retailers - Academy of ...

Mukhopadhyay, 2003). Expert product recommendations may generate perceptions of
increased choice for consumers, and lead to a quicker match of consumer and product
(Srinivasan, Anderson & Ponnavolu, 2002). Moreover, if there is a positive match between
recommendations and consumers, they may be more likely to re-patronise that retailer in their
next instance of online shopping. Successful evaluation of expert based product
recommendations can therefore increase customer loyalty towards a website.
Trust, Loyalty and Purchase Intentions:
Results show strong positive results for the three hypothesized relationships concerning these
latent constructs. Those consumers who are trusting of a pure-play fashion retailer are more
likely to be loyal, and have higher purchase intentions towards the website. Moreover, loyal
consumers are more likely to have higher purchase intentions towards a pure-play fashion
retailer. These findings support previous works by Harris and Goode (2010; 2004), Mukherjee
and Nath (2007), Novak, Hoffman and Peralta (1999) and Srinivasan et al., (2002),
contributing to further deepening of knowledge regarding the online environment.
Conclusion
Each of the marketing communication elements studied in this paper clearly serve different
functions, and if used strategically could maximise a pure-play fashion retailers online
offering as an element of their overall strategic direction. Pure-play fashion retailers should
try to appeal to those consumers willing to spend time on a website by providing product
videos which generate consumer loyalty and increase vividness and telepresence. Pure-play
fashion retailers can use movement to immerse and involve consumers in the online
experience. However, for those who do not wish to spend time and are more motivated by
evaluating the product through static images, high resolution images with multiple viewing
options should be provided to fulfil product evaluation, gratification or impulse leading to
trust and purchase intentions. When providing product recommendations a mixture of both
visual and verbal information can have a potent effect, but in the future movement could be
combined with this to create more persuasive and dynamic presentation of recommendations.
In answer to the question posed at the start of this paper, simulating attachment to a website
without physical interaction can be carried out by using multiple static viewing options of
products, moving product videos and expert driven product recommendations as facets of an
overall online strategy. Fashion retailers should attempt to fulfil a multiplicity of different
consumer motivations to shop online by maximising the communication mediums to
communicate products. For those looking for a quicker fashion fix, high resolution images
can provide sufficient information to consumers to make an informed purchase decision and
simulate attachment towards a retailer in the form of trust. For consumers who want to be
more involved with a website and spend more time, videos can offer higher levels of
vividness and telepresence. Those consumers who wish to dwell, seek fantasy or want to view
a product in more detail may develop more loyalty towards a website if product movement
communications are offered. Capturing the creation of these loyal relationships should be
seen as valuable and could go some way to mitigating the disadvantage of no physical contact
with a retailer. Moreover, these findings could translate to an in-store environment. In-store
retailers could provide points of technological interaction involving video to boost their
physical offering or to add cohesion to their multi-channel strategy.
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