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The development of an online guide for the assessment of apparel textile quality

Thesis (PhD (Consumer Science))--University of Pretoria, 2007.

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Other Authors: De Klerk, Helena Maria
Format: Thesis
Published: University of Pretoria 2013
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 De Klerk, Helena Maria
author_browse De Klerk, Helena Maria
author_facet De Klerk, Helena Maria
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2007, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Thesis (PhD (Consumer Science))--University of Pretoria, 2007.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:37:41.144Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2013
publishDateRange 2013
publishDateSort 2013
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/25607 The development of an online guide for the assessment of apparel textile quality De Klerk, Helena Maria arda.retief@up.ac.za Retief, Ardina Consumer Quality Textile Development Assessment UCTD Thesis (PhD (Consumer Science))--University of Pretoria, 2007. In this study the objective is firstly to determine which quality cues adult female consumers use when purchasing apparel for formal and casual daywear. The second objective is to use this information to develop an online guide for apparel consumers. As no South African apparel retail website currently supplies more than sizing and care related information, this study could fill the need for more textile information that could serve as a guide when consumers purchase garments on the Internet. Although studies concerning the Internet as new shopping environment and the Internet consumer are on the increase, only a few studies have been specifically aimed at the problems that online apparel consumers encounter regarding the disadvantages of not being able to actually see, touch / handle or try on the garment before making the decision to buy (Beck, 2002; Fiore&Jin, 2003, Sasaki, Ikeda& Shimizu, 2004). A need also exists for empirical research on the South African Internet apparel consumer as, with one exception (Jacobs, 2003), the studies referred to were planned and executed in America, Asia and, to a lesser extent, in a European context. Another important issue in the South African context is that very little textile information is supplied in any retail environment. Consumers often have only a very limited textile knowledge, which is usually based on experience. By developing and implementing a consumer guide, consumers could be educated to demand more accurate and informative textile labelling to help them when making purchase decisions. This research is descriptive as an attempt is made to describe and understand behaviour, tendencies, and situations. It is exploratory as it aims to obtain insight into a relatively new area of study, namely the online consumer of textile products. The last phase of the study can be seen as applied evaluation research as the testing of the effectiveness of the quality assessment guide is the ultimate goal of the research. A social-cognitive perspective was used in the study. Consumer decision-making theory and script theory are both used to explain consumer behaviour in the new Internet environment. Career women took part in the study. A quantitative research style was used. For both the first and final phases of the study structured questionnaires were used and the snowball sampling technique was used as primary sampling method. The responses to the questionnaires were coded, captured and analysed. From the results it is apparent that South African career women lack general textile knowledge and seldom have the ability to relate physical fibre and fabric properties to performance properties. They therefore often act on their emotions during apparel assessment and purchasing. The results underline the importance of supplying textile information to facilitate decision-making. Results from the final phase of the study indicate that by supplying information the online consumer is able to make more confident decisions. The study makes a valuable contribution to understanding consumer behaviour, especially in a South African context. The results contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the Internet apparel consumer. Consumer Science unrestricted 2013-09-06T22:38:21Z 2007-06-18 2013-09-06T22:38:21Z 2007-04-17 2007-06-18 2007-06-18 Thesis Retief, A 2007, The development of an online guide for the assessment of apparel textile quality, PhD thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://hdl.handle.net/2263/25607 > http://hdl.handle.net/2263/25607 http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-06182007-172513/ © 2007, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle Consumer
Quality
Textile
Development
Assessment
UCTD
The development of an online guide for the assessment of apparel textile quality
title The development of an online guide for the assessment of apparel textile quality
title_full The development of an online guide for the assessment of apparel textile quality
title_fullStr The development of an online guide for the assessment of apparel textile quality
title_full_unstemmed The development of an online guide for the assessment of apparel textile quality
title_short The development of an online guide for the assessment of apparel textile quality
title_sort development of an online guide for the assessment of apparel textile quality
topic Consumer
Quality
Textile
Development
Assessment
UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/25607
http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-06182007-172513/