Cross-national market segmentation in the fashion industry: A study of European, Korean, and US consumers

Purpose - To discover whether there are market segments for the fashion industry that cut across countries and respond differently to advertising messages. Design/methodology/approach - A survey was administered to Korean, European, and US female consumers. Cluster analysis is used in an attempt to identify lifestyle segments that cut across cultures. Findings - Four cross-national market segments are identified. These segments can be labeled as follows: "information seekers," "sensation seekers," "utilitarian consumers," and "conspicuous consumers." Findings also reveal that fashion lifestyle segment had a stronger effect on the reaction to a set of three ads for a major global fashion company (one each from the French, Korean, and US editions of Vogue magazine) than did consumer nationality. Practical implications - Findings suggest that it is viable and perhaps desirable for global marketers in the fashion industry to target cross-national market segments as opposed to developing individual segmentation schemes for each country. Originality/value - Relatively few studies examining the viability of cross-national segmentation have been studies. The study provides insight on building global brand equity and suggests standardized advertising is appropriate for some fashion marketers.