Since fast fashion is often considered the opposite of sustainable fashion, this study was conducted to clarify the consumer brand associations with sustainable fashion by analyzing three fast fashion brands. Our research included two studies. First, we conducted in-depth interviews with 20 female consumers in Korea who had purchase experience with the sustainable fashion of three selected brands, H&M, Zara, and Uniqlo, to identify sustainable keyword associations. We then structured the keyword data using network analysis. The keyword associations for the three brands resulted in a network of 60 nodes and 629 links with the term “eco-friendly” as the most meaningful keyword. Second, we surveyed 200 women and quantitatively confirmed the association of “eco-friendly fabric” among the keywords suggestive of “eco-friendly” as the most important factor in building a sustainable fashion brand image. In addition, keywords, such as “marketing” and “campaign”, were ranked in the top ten in H&M and Zara, which may imply the opportunistic use of greenwash. This study contributes to the literature by applying in-depth analysis of consumer associations of fast fashion brands from a sustainability perspective through network analysis. We expect our findings to help fashion companies strategically build a sustainable fashion brand image.

Fashion companies are trying to increase the efficiency of their communication with consumers by providing information on sustainable activities or product levels. This study explored the effects of the perceived sustainability level of products offered by sports brands. An online survey was conducted of consumers in their 20s and 30s, and a total of 316 questionnaires were used for the analysis. The structural equation model analysis using AMOS showed that the perceived sustainability level had a positive effect on purchase intention and a negative effect on perceived skepticism. Furthermore, perceived skepticism was confirmed to have a negative effect on purchase intention. By verifying the moderating effect of the perceived brand reputation, it was confirmed that the effect of the perceived sustainability level on purchase intention and the influence of the perceived skepticism on purchase intention differ between high and low brand reputation groups. When the perceived brand reputation is high, the perceived sustainability level has only a direct effect on purchase intention, whereas when the perceived brand reputation is low, only the indirect effect of perceived skepticism appears. This study contributes to the literature and practice by verifying that perceived skepticism plays an important role in the purchasing behavior of sustainable products in fashion.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether consumers differ in their online or offline purchase intention, depending on which channel with price promotion information they are first exposed to, and to analyse the moderating role of brand trust.Design/methodology/approach: Overall, 174 responses were obtained via an online survey using two contact channels (online/offline) by two levels of brand trust (high/low) between-subject designs.Findings: Spillover effects were found across channels when a consistent price promotion is executed in both online and offline channels, purchase intentions for cross-channel and contact channel increase simultaneously. Although there was a similar effect in the discrepancy of purchase intentions towards the cross-channel according to contact channels, it varied depending on brand trust. When brand trust is high, having contact with offline price-discount information has a large online spillover effect. When brand trust is low, the spillover effect from online to offline is large.Research limitations/implications: This study expands the multi-channel research by proving the spillover effects between channels and confirming the difference according to brand trust.Practical implications: Increasing promotion information for online contact is effective in driving offline visits for new brands, and the effective use of promotion information at offline stores can have a positive impact on online channels for well-known brands.Originality/value: This study explores the cross-channel spillover effect of price promotion and proves that these effects depend on brand trust.

The purpose of this study is to investigate Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian consumers’ responses to cross-border online shopping for Korean fashion products using 3D virtual fitting technology. In order to examine the factors affecting a consumer’s attitude toward virtual fitting technology and the purchase intention of Korean fashion products, technology acceptance model, which represents cross-border site characteristics, and technology readiness, which represents a consumer's belief in technology, were used in combination with technology readiness and acceptance model. An online survey was conducted with male and female consumers in their 20 s and 30 s residing in Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. A structural equation model analysis was performed using smart PLS to verify the research model. Among the dimensions of technological readiness, optimism and innovativeness had a positive effect on consumers' perceptions of the cross-border site, and discomfort had a negative effect. Perceived usefulness, enjoyment, and perceived fit had a significant effect on the attitude toward virtual fitting technology, and the effect of enjoyment was the greatest. This study highlighted the role of each dimension of technology readiness by verifying consumer acceptance of virtual fitting technology in cross-border online transactions. It also emphasized the role of perceived enjoyment in technology acceptance.

With the reduction in offline fashion stores, retailers are trying to revitalize offline stores by applying smart retail technologies. This study aimed to determine how factors related to the offline–mobile connected smart retailing experience affected satisfaction through perceived quality and perceived risk. An online survey was conducted on female consumers in their 20s and 30s, and 302 questionnaires were distributed. The analysis, which utilized a structural equation model, confirmed that, from among five smart retailing experience-related factors, perceived advantage, perceived enjoyment, and interactivity affected perceived quality and that perceived advantage and interactivity significantly affected perceived risk. However, perceived control and personalization did not affect perceived quality and perceived risk. Furthermore, perceived quality significantly affected overall satisfaction, offline satisfaction, and mobile satisfaction, while perceived risk did not affect mobile satisfaction. This study confirmed that the perceived advantage and interactivity of smart retailing experiences play an important role in enhancing customer satisfaction.