Color Roles in Apparel Purchase Intentions of Female Consumers: The Moderating Effect of Buyer Personality

Abstract

Motivated by the paucity of research on the application of color in marketing, the study evaluates the effect of color dimensions on purchase intentions of Croatian female consumers of apparel, along with the moderating effects of personality traits in the relationship. Precisely, the paper models color dimensions, namely color significance/meaning, normative color, attitude towards color, color self-efficacy, and color attractiveness as antecedents of purchase intentions. The paper also investigates the moderating effects of two personality traits, extraversion and openness to experience. Data were collected in Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, and analyzed using the hierarchical multiple regression technique. The results reveal that the five color dimensions explain a significant amount of variance in purchase intentions. Color significance/meaning, normative color, attitude towards color, color self-efficacy, color attractiveness, and purchase intentions are significantly related. There is partial support for the moderating effects of extraversion and openness to experience in the relationship of color dimensions with purchase intentions. Key theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are presented.