Hispanic consumers' shopping orientation and apparel retail store evaluation criteria : An analysis of age and gender differences

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate Hispanic consumers' shopping orientations and their apparel retail store evaluation criteria and to examine age and gender differences in their shopping orientations and retail store evaluation criteria. Design/methodology/approach – A structured questionnaire was developed to collect data on the variables in the study. The questionnaire was developed both in English and Spanish. Factor analysis was employed to identify Hispanic consumers' shopping orientations and their retail store evaluation criteria. Pillai's trace multivariate analyses of variance were used to examine the hypotheses. Findings – Six shopping orientation constructs and three constructs of store evaluation criteria were identified. The results revealed that males and females have different shopping orientations and apparel retail store evaluation criteria. Shopping orientation and apparel retail store evaluation criteria also varied across the age groups. Research limitations/implications – This study has practical implications for apparel retailers regarding how to position their stores in targeting different groups of shoppers and how to allocate their resources and promote products. Additionally, the findings of the study will reveal how to provide an optimal shopping experience to Hispanic consumers so that apparel retailers can develop localized marketing strategies to target the areas with a large Hispanic population. Originality/value – Despite the importance of understanding Hispanic consumers' apparel shopping behavior, little research has been conducted.