A Profile of the Heavy PurchaserSOYEON SHIM is an associate professor in consumer studies and merchandising in the Division of Merchandising Consumer Studies. and Design at the University of Arizona Prior to this position. she was a faculty member in merchandising at Colorado State University She received her PhD from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and her Master of Science from Yonsei University of Seoul, Korea She is the recipient of several outstanding paper awards given by various associations Her current research interest8,include market segmentation, satisfaction. perceived risks and shopping orientations of electronic and catalog shoppers She has published widely in professional journals MARIANNE Y MAHONEY is an assistant professor in merchandising in the Department of Design, Merchandising and Consumer Sciences at Colorado State University She received her PhD from Michigan State University Her current research interests include numerous areas of direct marketing, such as consumer satisfaction shopping orientations. and purchase behaviors of electronic and catalog shoppers ABSTRACTThe purpose of the study was to develop a profile of heavy mail-order catalog users of fashion products among women 55 years and older in relation to shopping orientations, catalog shopping attributes, lifestyle activities, and demographics. A national random sample of 3,000 customers was obtained from two major catalog companies. From 1,192 consumers who returned the questionnaire, 872 respondents (73 percent] were 55 years or older and were included in the analysis. Based on the respondents' annual expenditure on apparel and accessories via catalogs, heavy catalog users were classified as those who spent 5 1 ,000 or more (n = 278). while light users were defined as those who spent less than 5500 (n = 370). Stepwise discriminant analysis revealed that heavy catalog users of fashion products tended 1 ) to prefer shopping through catalogs over local stores; 2) to be less concerned with price; 3) to be fashion-conscious; 4) to have a greater income; 5) to participate frequently in social events; 6 ) to be time-conscious; 7) to be confident in clothing shopping: 8) to be interested in shopping in general; 9) to be a credit user; 10) to have an interest in fashion information and grooming products; 1 1) to take an active interest in cultural events; 12) to be satisfied with a variety of product selections offered by catalogs; and 13) to be satisfied with general size and fit of apparel products purchased through catalogs. Managerial implications for catalog retailers and apparel manufacturers are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine volumes 1 through 7 of the Clothing and Textiles Research Journal (CTRJ) in relation to past trends in content areas of research reported, authorship, and sources of citations. Seven subject matter areas were identified: apparel design and manufacturing, consumer issues, cultural/historical, educational merchandising, social/psychological, and textile science. Of these, social/psychological research represented 26% of the empirical articles. Studies which focused on apparel design and manufacturing increased in number as the journal matured Individuals affiliated with land-grant institutions authored 94 of the 145 articles published Funding sources were acknowledged in one fourth of the articles. The Home Economics Research Journal was the most frequently cited publication in CTRJ articles.

Mature female consumers are an affluent market segment often ignored by retailers. This study examines the relationship between importance of selected store attributes (such as location and price) and lifestyle characteristics. The results indicate that certain lifestyle characteristics are related to the importance placed on store attributes.

This study investigated differences between electronic shoppers and nonshoppers among videotex users in terms of shopping orientations, videotex usages, and demographics. Data (N = 55 1 ) were collected via questionnaires sent to I ,ooO current subscribers to a major videotex company. By utilizing discriminant analysis, it was found that shopping orientations and videotex usages were successful overall in distinguishing electronic shoppers from nonshoppers. However, demographics were relatively unsuccessful. Significant variables included eight factors of shopping orientations (easy use of electronic shopping; high-tech in-home shopper; home shopping prone; low perceived ambiguity; recreational shopper; low perceived high cost: shopping opinion leader; and less convenient/time-conscious shopper]: and six factors of videotex usages (general information; information exchange; financial information; cornputer/professionaI forum; length of videotex usage; and satisfaction with videotex services); and one demographic variable (education).