Brand switching in clothing: The role of variety-seeking drive and product category-level characteristics

The study explores the impact of internal factors such as variety-seeking drive, loyalty, involvement, perceived risk, pleasure and similarity perceptions on brand-switching propensity in clothing purchases using multiple regression. The model derived shows that five internal factors including involvement, perceived risk, loyalty and variety-seeking drive have an impact on brand switching propensity. The findings highlight that highly involved and loyal consumers are likely to show brand-switching propensities in their clothing purchases, thus buying from a repertoire of brands and stores. These findings imply that retailers should ensure that their clothing brands or stores are among those in the multi-brand repertoire of the consumer. The Author. Journal compilation 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.