Impact of Branding on Customer Purchase Decision in Apparel Industry: An Application of Stimulus-organism-response Theory

The success of a branded apparel industry in the long run depends on whether the customers are purchasing branded products. However, one of the biggest challenges is to influence customers’ decision to purchase various branded apparels available in the market. Our study addresses the challenge by: (a) examining the role that branding plays in customers’ purchase decisions for apparels, and (b) providing managerial implications to promote purchases of branded apparel. The study follows the stimulus-organism-response theory and uses structural equational modelling to test the developed hypotheses on a sample of around 222 Indian customers’ responses. Results indicate that branding influences customers’ preferences for apparel. In fact, it is found that branding influences customers’ perceptions towards the brand which in turn influences their purchase decision. The moderator role of gender and information medium is also found to be significant. Male customers are found to have more impact of branding on their preferences and perceptions compared to females. Further, information through online mediums is found to have more impact on the relationship between branding and customers’ preferences and perceptions compared to information through offline mediums. Overall, the outcome of this study is the developed managerial implications for enhancing the sales of apparel through branding initiatives.