This study explored the conceptual constructs of consumer benefits and perceived risks of online fashion rental services (Online FRS) and their impacts on usage intention towards Online FRS. The mediating roles of perceived risks and service trust were examined in this research. A survey was performed on female shoppers between the ages of 20–30 residing in a metropolitan area. Results of this research were as follows: (1) The results analyzing the sub-dimension of benefits (Reasonable cost, Wearing at right time, place and occasion (TPO), Space Saving, Entertaining, Product Variety, Style Conformity) and perceived risks (Financial, Performance, Social) clearly presented factorial structures. (2) Reasonable cost, Style Conformity, and Product Variety showed significantly positive influences on usage intentions towards online fashion rental services; in addition, Financial, Performance, and Social risks of rental services had a negative effect on usage intentions. (3) Service trust and consumer perceptions of Financial and Performance risks had important mediating roles in the relationship between consumer benefits and usage intentions towards Online FRS. This study highlighted that consumer benefits, perceived risks, and service trust should be registered among consumers to boost usage intentions towards Online FRS.

This research investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers’ perspectives of beauty and individual cosmetic products. Since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was announced on December 31st, 2019, the search volumes of Google News have been updated and information on confirmed cases of the disease has been collected. This study used Python 3.7, NodeXL 1.0.1, and Smart PLS 3.0 to analyze consumer awareness of cosmetic products during the pandemic. The results reveal that consumers’ perspectives of beauty are impacted by a pandemic. Global consumers perceive skincare as an important aspect during the pandemic, while the importance of makeup fell after the outbreak. The awareness of skincare and makeup products has changed. The spread of the pandemic (SOP) has a positive impact on skincare products, but a negative impact on makeup products, except for eye makeup products, which was positive. Finally, the SOP was not significant in terms of consumers’ interest in masks. Fifth, interest in masks showed a positive relationship with interest in skincare products, such as cleansing products, while a negative relationship was observed with interest in makeup products. Overall, this study concludes that pandemics certainly have an impact on global consumers’ perspectives. As a pandemic spread, interest in skincare products increases, while interest in makeup products decreases. This study has academic significance in that it investigates the effects of consumption of cosmetic products during the stay-at-home rules. It can be used as standard information for setting marketing strategies in pandemic-like situations in the future.

Smart clothing is believed to have an enormous growth potential, but at present, it is not so attractive in terms of sales. This study identified various obstacles affecting consumers’ interest in smart clothing. Interviews were conducted with consumers who are resistant to innovation, those who would continue to use their phones and wearable devices of which safety and functionality have already been proven but reject smart clothing. Availability, which refers to the extent to which consumers can use a product or service, is also a significant factor influencing the innovation resistance of smart clothing. It was also observed that consumers reject smart clothing as an act of resisting innovation; many stated that they would not buy smart clothing unless a trustable brand produces it with appropriate functions and lower prices. Some people said that they refuse to purchase smart clothing due to aesthetic dissatisfaction despite the improved quality and performance. These results indicate that manufacturers should consider what functionality or technology would be appropriate to incorporate in clothing while ensuring fashionable styles and availability in many sizes.

The fashion industry is undergoing a digital transformation due to the emergence of new shopping channels and external factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examined the relationship between virtual fitting (VF) experience satisfaction, brand advocacy, mobile purchase intention, and offline purchase intention from an omnichannel perspective to understand how VF based on augmented reality (AR) impacts the customer purchase journey. The study also investigated the moderating effect of a customer’s product involvement, which is a personal characteristic. The results reveal that high satisfaction with the VF experience had a positive effect only on mobile purchase intentions. Brand advocacy formed after the VF experience had a positive effect on both mobile and offline purchase intentions and showed a mediating effect in the relationship between VF experience satisfaction and purchase intention. The moderating effect of product involvement was also confirmed. Moreover, a significantly negative influence of VF experience satisfaction on offline purchase intention was detected for customers who were more involved in sneakers products. These results indicate that VF, which is used as a tool in shopping apps, can achieve customer satisfaction and drive mobile purchases, thus leading to offline purchases based on brand advocacy.

Rapid growth of online media markets among world populations led to attempts by companies to exploit mobile services as part of business planning practices. Relatedly, this study examines adoption of paid mobile media service (i.e., Amazon Prime Video) as a source of new information and communication technology with online-offline integrated mobile services. The study’s main objective is to identify a technology acceptance model from the perspective of consumer experiences of value perceptions. This study proposed a value-based technology acceptance model, deriving from classic variables related to technology acceptance with regard to relevant consumer value perception literature. The proposed model examined effects of positive and negative experiences of value perceptions on consumers’ beliefs about paid service which explained future use of the paid service. Results indicated that consumers’ positive experiences—social, emotional, and functional values—derived from using mobile media services positively explained consumers’ belief of the usefulness of the paid mobile media service. Consumers’ negative experiences with technological barriers negatively influenced consumers’ beliefs with regard to the ease of use for paid mobile service, while price risk negatively influenced perceived usefulness. Consequently, consumers’ perceptions of ease of use and usefulness related to using the paid service positively influenced behavioral intention for continuous use of the paid mobile media service.

With an increase in ethical awareness, people have begun to criticize the unethical issues associated with the use of animal materials. This study focused on the transition of global consumers’ awareness toward vegan materials and the relationship between the interest in ethical subjects such as animals, the environment, and vegan materials. For this purpose, consumers’ posts about fur/fake fur and leather/fake leather uploaded on Google and Twitter from 2008 to 2019 were utilized, and the Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (Tf-idf) value was extracted using Python 3.7. Furthermore, the worldwide Google keyword search volume of each word was analyzed using Smart PLS 3.0 to investigate global consumers’ awareness. First, with time, consumers began relating animal materials such as fur and leather to topics such as animal rights, animal abuse, and animal protection. Second, as interest in “animal welfare” increased, interest in “fake fur” also rose, and as interest in “cruelty free” increased, interest in “fake fur”, “vegan fur”, and “vegan leather” also increased. Third, as consumers’ interest in the “environment” increased, interest in vegan materials such as “fake fur” and “fake leather” decreased. However, as interest in “eco” increased, interest in “vegan leather” also augmented.