Comparison between Color of Cycling Clothing Brands and Color Preference of Korean Consumers

Abstract

Cycling has become a popular leisure activity, and many cycling enthusiasts have used cycling clothes as a form of expression, which often comes in wide range of colors. The study shows the importance of color in cycling clothing to meet the emotional needs of consumers. Furthermore, this study aims to provide comparative analysis between color of domestic and overseas cycling clothing brands, and color preference of Korean consumers in order to provide data, which can be used in satisfying consumers' needs for personal expression and emotional demands. Thus, the study expects to identify consumers' satisfaction for cycling clothing. The consumers were categorized by the frequency of cycling and their interest in fashion, and the following categories were made:potential consumers, casual cyclists with low fashion involvement, casual cyclists with high fashion involvement and frequent cyclists with high fashion involvement. Consumers preferred dark colors for their cycling clothing including jacket, top and pants, while 'frequent cyclists with high fashion involvement' preferred more diverse colors and tones. In the cycling clothing market, white and black were major colors, while red, orange and blue were major colors of chromatic color. In terms of shade, dark shade dominated the market. Comparing between preferred color and preferred product color, black was preferred for both, but no other colors showed such tendency. This study is based on empirical analysis and verification of color, which is the emotional element appealing to specific and segmented sports-apparel market. The study revealed 본 논문은 산업통상자원부 글로벌전문기술개발사업으로 지원된 연구결과입니다.