The purpose of this study is to understand fashion consumers’ channel switching to online stores during the COVID-19. We proposed an extended theory of planned behavior by incorporating protection motivation theory. The results showed that consumer assessments of perceived severity and altruistic fear of COVID-19 and response efficacy and self-efficacy of channel switching increased their beliefs (i.e., attitude, perceived behavior control, subjective norm) and intentions to switch shopping channels to online. We also found that the age (young vs. old) moderated the effects of response efficacy and self-efficacy on perceived behavior control, perceived severity on subjective norm, perceived behavior control on channel switching intentions, and channel switching intention on actual switching behavior. The findings provide fashion retailers and the society with a better understanding about fashion consumers’ shopping channel switching under the pandemic.

This study investigates how livestream fashion shopping is associated with brick-and-mortar shopping, focusing on product uncertainty, and examines livestreaming’s role in reducing product uncertainty and promoting consumers’ purchase intention by adopting the Uncertainty reduction theory (URT). The study identifies the three product information sources (i.e., product demonstration, interaction with the seller, and other viewers’ reviews) that consumers use in livestream shopping via uncertainty-reducing strategies. PLS results (n = 292) indicate that consumers who rely on salespeople’s assistance as a product information source in brick-and-mortar shopping showed a positive perception of the two product information sources—interaction with the seller and other viewers’ reviews—in livestream shopping. The seller’s product demonstration played a significant role in reducing product uncertainty and subsequently affected purchase intention, while the other two information sources (i.e., interaction with the seller and other viewers’ reviews) affected the purchase intention directly. The findings extend the URT to improve our understanding of consumer information attainment in the livestream shopping context and exemplify a promising future for livestream fashion shopping by investigating its features that can potentially substitute for the brick-and-mortar shopping experience. Future studies can include motivational factors (i.e., service and/or technical barriers) in the model.

Purpose: As one of the largest industries in the global economy, the fashion industry has emphasized the symbolic and aspirational features of its products while maximizing the efficiency of its manufacturing processes. However, the labor-intensive and competitive nature of the industry has meant that brand moral transgressions often occur. This study aims to understand the role of moral emotions and concerns (i.e. perceived spillover) caused by different moral transgressions and explain consumer anti-brand behaviors (i.e. negative word of mouth [WOM] and patronage cessation). Design/methodology/approach: Structural equation modeling was conducted to examine group differences (ethical vs social transgressions) in Study 1 (n = 584). Also, the moderation effect of moral disengagement was examined in Study 2 (n = 324). Findings: The results indicate that, for ethical transgressions, both moral emotions and perceived spillovers explain negative behaviors while moral emotions alone explain negative WOM on social media for social transgressions. Additionally, for social transgressions, the results of Study 2 indicate a negative interaction effect of moral emotions and moral disengagement on anti-brand behavior of patronage cessation. Originality/value: Based on the literature’s theoretical approach to moral crises, this paper examines the emotional and cognitive reactions of consumers to the fashion industry’s moral transgressions.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the interaction effect of perceived psychological distance toward the luxury brand and construal level of the CSR ad content on young consumers' perceptions toward the CSR ad (i.e. ad-brand congruency and perceived trust on CSR ad). This study also investigates the mediation effects of ad-brand congruency and trust on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) intention on social media.Design/methodology/approach: A two (low vs great psychological distance) by two (low vs high construal level) between-subjects experimental study is conducted with samples of social media users (n = 570) in the United States. Participants were randomly assigned to view one of the four CSR ads and instructed to respond to questions in the survey. The proposed hypotheses are tested using moderated serial mediation.Findings: The interaction between psychological distance and construal level significantly influences ad-brand congruency. When participants view detailed information content (i.e. low construal level) with an accessible luxury brand (i.e. low psychological distance) in the CSR ad, they are more likely to perceive the ad is congruent with the brand compared to the CSR ad with abstract information content. There is no difference in ad-brand congruency for the aspiration luxury brand according to different content (i.e. low vs great construal level). Importantly, however, for both brands, the results reveal dual roles of the ad-brand congruency which increases eWOM intention directly and indirectly through trust. Findings confirm serial mediation effects of ad-brand congruency and CSR trust on the eWOM intention on social media.Originality/value: By uncovering the interaction effect of psychological distance and construal level on ad-brand congruency, this study implicates how luxury fashion brands need to differently create CSR ad content. Our findings confirm dual ways of information processing that lead to positive engagement (i.e. eWOM) on social media, particularly among young consumers.

3D body scanning technology has emerged in the retail industry by providing easy access to consumers. The technology has been incorporated with virtual-try-on (VTO) services to capture the accurate size of the human body and to provide user-centric experiences to online consumers. While consumers can have their body images scanned and shared with retailers, it raises concerns related to body information security and privacy. With the concern implied, the purpose of this study is to understand the role of consumers’ interaction experience with Avatar-based VTO services in alleviating consumer concerns related to body information privacy to adopt 3D body scanning technology. By adopting the privacy calculus theory and stimulus-organism-response model, the dataset (n = 285) was collected from an online experiment. The direct and indirect paths (i.e., mediation and serial mediation effects) were analyzed by adopting the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach. This study finds body information privacy concerns negatively influence the future adoption of 3D body scanning technology while the perception of interactive features (i.e., perceived control, perceived responsiveness) of the VTO service positively enhances the future adoption. The result also indicates that the negative effects of privacy concerns can be mitigated through consumer experiences enhanced by the personalization and responsiveness features of the VTO service. This study contributes to the literature and industry by examining the potential role of consumers’ interactive experiences in reducing their concerns about body information privacy.