TITLE:
Confused Customer: Sizing and Styling Related Matters in Online Fashion Shopping in Sri Lanka
AUTHORS:
Sumith Gopura, Lakmali Kothalawala
KEYWORDS:
Online Shopping, Conventional Shopping, Visual Merchandising, Fashion Consumer, Decision Making, Styling and Sizing, Sri Lanka
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.9 No.9,
September
2,
2021
ABSTRACT: The increased popularity of online shopping due to easy access, fashion
retailers were opting for a different approach to increase their online sales.
This study investigates the sizing and
styling related matters in online fashion shopping in Sri Lanka. The study has taken a qualitative approach through a
comparative content analysis of Sri
Lankan and international fashion shopping websites selected from
purposive sampling, and an inductive reasoning of fashion consumer survey of
Sri Lanka, conducted among hundred participants who have been recruited in a
mixed method approach of purposive and random sampling. The results of web
content analysis highlight standard sizing and styling related indicators in
fashion shopping websites and essential sizing
related key indicators to be added to Sri Lankan fashion websites. The
consumer survey identifies size and quality of product as key for conventional shoppers in making purchasing decisions. The study
concludes the lack of such vital information in fashion shopping
websites result in detaching consumers from
online shopping in Sri Lanka. The study identifies web contents and presentations
to attract more consumers, especially amidst the impact of Covid-19 pandemic in fashion retails. The findings are
valuable for the countries sharing similar attributes in online fashion
retailing globally.