Most products are discarded while they are still in their functional state. Researchers identified ‘lack of attachment’ with products as one of the major contributors of this quick, unwarranted disposal of products. The current study identifies factors that induce attachment to apparel products, and maps them to the specific types of customer experiences. It also examines the differences in the importance that consumers of different demographic profiles give to these factors for feeling attached to apparel products. Five constructs, namely, Product, Brand / Store, Consumer moderators, Social environment and Innovation for reuse / Environment sustainability were used. Statistical tests were used for analysis. The study concluded that four factors- Store attributes, Product attributes, Social influences and Emotional connections, were the most important determinants of attachment to apparel products in young consumers. The importance of store attributes, product attributes and emotional connections was found to be significantly different across consumer categories (according to gender, age-groups and monthly income or allowance). The extracted factors were then mapped with customer experience categories. Three types of experiences – Lifestyle, Relational (Social) and Emotional emerged as the most significant categories of customer experiences for inducing attachment to apparel products.

Most products are discarded while they are still in their functional state. Researchers identified ‘lack of attachment’ with products as one of the major contributors of this quick, unwarranted disposal of products. The current study identifies factors that induce attachment to apparel products, and...