Abstract
Globally, the fashion industry contributes 2% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employs in excess of 57.8 million people. Over the past decade, the industry has grown at a consistent rate of 5.5% per annum, and is currently valued at over US$3 trillion. The biggest driver of this growth has been athletic wear, enjoying a 6.5 to 7.5% sales growth in 2017. This growth reflects a global movement towards a more active lifestyle and the advent of ‘athleisure’, a term used to describe clothing that can be used for both exercising and general wear. Similarly, in South Africa the athletic wear retail category grew by 36% over the past five years. Athleisure is reported to be the major trend driving this growth. These purchases have, however, been concentrated at retail stores and not online. The majority of South African consumers’ average online spend was allocated to airlines (US$197), hotels (US$163) and paid-for video websites (US$123). Electronic products accounted for US$69 and clothing and accessories for US$49. On mobile platforms, clothing and accessories did not even feature as a category for average mobile spend. Moreover, 47% of South Africans purchased airtime using their mobile phones, 25% purchased apps and related in-app purchases, 33% did not purchase anything on their mobile phones and only 7% purchased clothes, fashion items or beauty products (Erken, 2017). This poses the question: Why do South African shoppers not use their mobile phones to purchase fashion apparel, and more specifically, athleisure apparel, considering its impact on the growth of the athletic wear retail category in South Africa? In order to answer this question, an empirical investigation was conducted. The primary objective of this study was to determine the constructs that influence consumers’ acceptance and use of mCommerce apps to purchase athleisure apparel in South Africa. The proposed conceptual model and hypotheses for this study were based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2). This model was selected as it has been proven to outperform all the other technology acceptance models. The UTAUT2 has been proven successful in explaining behavioural intention in the fields of mobile payments, mobile Internet and mobile banking research. However, it remains underutilised in mobile shopping research. This study added two additional constructs to the UTAUT2 – perceived risk and trust. These have been repeatedly cited as two key variables impacting consumers’ acceptance and use of mCommerce.
M.Com. (Marketing Management)