Abstract
The retailing of consumer merchandise has always had to keep up with dynamic consumer wants, needs and expectations in a competitive environment (Mover, Minjeong & Childs 2012:442). Technology, which includes the internet and a virtual world, competes with real-life retail stores in the sense that it can also meet the demands of consumers Koontz & Gibson 2002:442). Fashion is an important product category on the internet and there has been substantial growth with regard to online fashion purchases (Jacobs & De Klerk 2010:255). This implies that virtual fashion stores that use visual displays do exist in industry, and have the potential to satisfy consumer needs and wants. Retailers could stay competitive in the current trend of online shopping by using and implementing multichannel strategies, for example, by providing virtual purchasing options in addition to the traditional retail store (Koontz & Gibson 2002:381–395). Nevertheless, most fashion retailers keep the traditional store option, as opposed to online-only options, because consumers find it difficult to judge the fit, texture and quality of fashion products if displayed virtually, even though virtual shopping may have benefits like convenience (Ruane & Wallace 2013:316). These strategies can influence the retailer’s choice of visual display, as retail strategies should be aligned to consumer groups’ needs and preferences.
A consumer group that is associated with convenience, as well as virtual shopping, is the female millennial generation consumer group (Ruane & Wallace 2013:317). Since the millennial generation started to enter the working-class market, this large global market has developed into one of the fastest-growing consumer segments, with a substantial amount of disposable income (Faruk, Stuart & Griffin 2013:657; Ruane & Wallace 2013:316; Leen, Thurasamy & Omar 2012:111; Tapscott 2009:188; Djamasbi, Tullis, Siegel, Capozza, Groenzinger & Ng 2008:1). This large generation is therefore regarded as a market segment with high consumption patterns and large spending potential (Pinzaru, Savulescu & Mitan 2013:321; Waters 2006:1). Although the millennial generation is seen as one of the largest consumer market segments to date, they have not been included in much literature with specific reference to their consumption of, and preferences and attitudes towards...
M.Tech.