Shopping for Apparel – How can Kiosk Systems help?

Resumo

"Looking-glass upon the wall, who is fairest of us all?". Almost every child is familiar with the popular saying in the famous fairy-tale "snow-white" by the Brothers Grimm. Some shoppers for apparel would be thankful if the mirror in the store would talk to them and help them decide what clothes to choose. Mainstream technology in apparel shopping has not advanced to intelligent, talking mirrors yet, but kiosk systems might be suitable to serve as decision support system for shoppers. In the present qualitative study we address the key question of how such kiosk solutions are evaluated by consumers. We conducted 3 focus group discussions with regular shoppers for apparel aged between 23 and 39 years. In sum, qualitative information of 15 participants was subject to a qualitative content analysis aiming at getting a more comprehensive understanding of how shoppers for apparel experience the shopping process. In more detail, we aimed at collecting data on positive elements of shopping but also on potential obstacles involved. Getting a more in-depth understanding of the needs and wishes associated with the shopping process for apparel builds the basis for evaluating the potential acceptance of electronic decision support systems in apparel shopping. Although our study is exploratory in nature, we are able to draw an initial picture of how kiosk systems could be used in apparel shopping.