Consumer Behavior

Religiosity and Store Choice Criteria: Exploring Christian Consumers’ Apparel Shopping Behavior in the United States

Authors: ,

Abstract

Religiosity is “the degree to which a person adheres to his or her religious values, beliefs, and practices, and uses them in daily live” (Worthington et al., 2003, p.85). As a key element of culture, religion not only affects a society’s value system and provides conduct code to its believers, but also affects consumers’ consumption and shopping behavior (e.g. Bailey and Sood, 1993). It is a relatively new subject in marketing and consumer behavior research. Limited studies have investigated the effect of religiosity on retail patronage behavior; even fewer have focused on the US markets. However, the United States is a highly religious country with 76% of US adults being Christians (US Census, 2012). Therefore, religiosity might have been an important affecting factor in US markets.

Keywords: Religiosity, store choice criteria, Apparel shopping

How to Cite: Davis, L. & Jai, T. C. (2014) “Religiosity and Store Choice Criteria: Exploring Christian Consumers’ Apparel Shopping Behavior in the United States”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings. 71(1).