Social influence and consumer preference for fashion clothing among female undergraduate in Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of social influence on consumer preference for fashion clothing among female university students in Nigeria. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 1175 female students among selected universities in Southwest, Nigeria. Structured questionnaire was adopted for data collection while analyses of data weredone through descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Preliminary result indicated influence of social factors on preference is mixed; friendship and public influence have positive effect while advertisements and promotional activities have negative effect. By implication, the findings of the study lead to the conclusion that design and targeting of fashion clothing in a university market environment should be based on needs of female undergraduate students. Also, in order to address possible differences in preferences for fashion clothing by targeted consumers, attention of marketers, designers and other stakeholders in fashion industry should be focused on differences in social orientation of consumers.

Keywords: Social Influence, Consumer Preference, Fashion Clothing, Female University Students