Psychological antecedents of apparel-buying intention for young Indian online shoppers

Purpose: This paper aims to determine a scale for measuring psychological factors of apparel-buying intention for young Indian online shoppers. Design/methodology/approach: Churchill’s three-stage systematic scale-development methodology is used to develop a psychometric scale. Items were generated and selected in Phase I, followed by scale refinement in Phase II and scale validation in Phase III. Findings: The final scientifically validated scale has 36 item scales that measure 10 psychological factors of apparel online-buying intention for online shoppers, from which “perceived value” emerged as the most significant factor. Research limitations/implications: This scale is a sector-specific scale that cannot be generalized to other sectors; therefore, further iterations/customizations should be made in future studies for applicability in other sectors. Practical implications: This reliable and valid scale will help marketing managers to understand online shopper behavior and formulate effective strategies for online shoppers. Originality/value: This paper, to the author’s knowledge, is the first attempt to develop a validated tool to measure the psychological factors of apparel-buying intention for young Indian online shoppers. This scale encompasses all important touch-points in measuring psychological factors influencing online buyer behavior for apparel products.