FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE PLUS SIZE CUSTOMERS’ PURCHASE INTENTION OF CLOTHING IN THAILAND

Abstract

As clothing is a must for everyone in the society, people must wear the clothes in order to fulfill the psychological needs. However, there are some issues about the clothing as the plus-size people cannot find the clothing that suit their body shape. As reported by khaosodenglish (2014) almost 35 percent of Thai teenagers were overweight regarding the health officials. Plus-size people feel uncomfortable to find the right size and style for them. The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that can influence plussize customer’s purchase intention of clothing in Thailand. From literature review, the potential factors including word of mouth, perceived quality, model, social influence, and fashion preferences may influence the plus-size customers to purchase the plussize clothing in Thailand. This study applies the quantitative method to collect the data. There are 104 respondents who have an experience on purchasing plus-size clothing in Thailand included in this study. This study applies the multiple linear regression to analyze the data and the relationship between independent variables (word of mouth, perceived quality, model, social influence, and fashion preferences) and dependent variable (purchase intention). The result of the study shows that word of mouth has the most positive effect on purchase intention while perceived quality, model, and social influence do not influence customers’ purchase intention of plus-size clothing in Thailand. Fashion preference also influence the plus-size customers to purchase the clothing in Thailand. In addition, younger generation are focusing on fashion preferences more than older generations.