Fashion Leadership and Hedonic Shopping Motivations of Female Consumers

Fashion leadership is an important consumer characteristic due to the interpersonal influence essential in the consumption process of apparel. Based on the human motivations theory and Sheth's shopping preference theory, this study examines the hypothesized relationships of fashion leadership and five hedonic shopping motivations (gratification, value, social, idea, and adventure). This study advances current understanding of fashion leadership by studying a broad national female population base and offers empirical evidence into how fashion leadership shapes consumer need for emotional and experiential satisfaction in shopping. Results show fashion leadership to be significantly related to all but one hedonic shopping motivation. Additionally, this study finds that adventure shopping motivation may be derived from other types of hedonic shopping activities. Discussion concerning how current findings expand our understanding of fashion leadership within the context of shopping is presented.