Consumer satisfaction with apparel: The special case of older consumers and socks

Older consumers have not been paid sufficient attention by the apparel industry in spite of their rapidly increasing numbers and consequent importance in the marketplace. The purpose of this study was to assess consumer satisfaction relative to older consumers and socks. The specific objectives of the study were: (1) to study the influence of marketing language on older consumers' perceptions of satisfaction with socks; (2) to understand what sock attributes are important to older consumers; (3) to test for any differences between the results gained using a single-item and a multi-item measure for overall consumer satisfaction. Data for the study were collected using the survey method with a convenience sample of 112 consumers 55 years of age or older. Results indicate that positive marketing language positively affects the consumer satisfaction levels of older consumers relative to socks. Sock tightness was found to be among the attributes of most concern to older consumers, including price, slippage, non-abrasiveness, and cushioning. The single-item measure of overall consumer satisfaction was found to be significantly different from the multi-item measure.