An eye-tracking study: do consumers' gender, ethnicity, and fashion interest affect their visual attention to fashion models in advertisements?

This study examined how consumer characteristics affect their actual visual attention to models in fashion advertisements. A total of 120 college students in the US participated in this study. Eye-tracking technology and a follow-up survey were employed to analyze participants' visual attention and responses. The research questions were addressed through heatmap results and ANOVA results. The findings compared the responses of participants from various groups and indicated that men's attention is more focused, while women's attention is more extensive. In addition, participants of different ethnicities exhibited various viewing patterns, with a tendency to focus on models representing their skin tone. The results offer valuable insights for fashion retailers seeking to develop effective advertising strategies tailored to their target market, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of their fashion advertisements. Furthermore, this study contributes to the existing body of literature on eye-tracking in fashion research and provides suggestions for future research.