An Exploratory Study of Consumer Satisfaction and Purchase Behavior Intention of Fashion Subscription- Based Online Services (SOS)

Subscription-based online services (SOS) that provide fashion related products are of great interest to consumers and retailers alike. Yet, little is known about consumers who use or have used SOS. This study explored consumers’ motivations, expectations, satisfaction, and purchase behavior intentions regarding fashion SOS using an Expectation-Confirmation Theory (ECT) perspective. A qualitative research approach was utilized to collect interview data from a sample of 12 SOS customers. Findings revealed that consumers’ motivations to try fashion SOS were related to convenience, needing a wardrobe update, and curiosity about the service. Only five out of 12 participants were completely satisfied with fashion SOS that they used, and those participants agreed to receive a scheduled box delivery each month. Consumers liked the convenience of fashion SOS package delivery and ease of website navigation. They were much less satisfied with their fashion SOS experience in terms of the delivered product selection and product quality. Recommendations are provided for retailer competitive strategies with SOS business models and future research suggestions are proposed.

Keywords: Fashion, Subscription-box Online Service, Online Subscription, Satisfaction, Confirmation, Expectation, Purchase Behaviors, Purchase Intentions, Expectation-Confirmation-Theory

Abbreviations: SOS- Subscription-box Online Service; ECT- Expectation-Confirmation Theory