Social Drivers Associated with Consumer Apparel Purchases in Dar-EsSalaam, Tanzania

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which consumers purchase locally made versus imported apparel and investigated the influence of social drivers (i.e., family members, reference groups, social status, traditional media, social media, celebrities, and brand loyalty) on consumers' purchasing decisions regarding imported and locally made apparel in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A cross-sectional research design was employed to investigate the phenomenon. Purposive sampling was used to select apparel shopping outlets, while systematic sampling was used to select consumers aged 18 years and above to complete the questionnaire through interviews, with a response rate of 99.53%. Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests were used to determine whether observed frequencies of responses to binary categorical questions (i.e., choosing either locally made apparel or imported apparel) differed significantly. Proportional averages ranging from 1 to 0.001 were used to grade respondents' opinions. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between apparel choice and social drivers. The findings indicated that consumers purchased imported apparel more frequently (88.1%) than locally made apparel. The results further revealed that social media (β = 1.102, p = 0.003), social status (β = 0.738, p = 0.013), and brand loyalty (β = 3.454, p < 0.001) significantly influenced apparel purchasing decisions. The study concludes that apparel dealers should consider the roles of social media, social status, and brand loyalty when developing marketing strategies to better align with consumers' interests and preferences. The study also recommends that marketers tailor their strategies to consumer preferences and that future research examine social drivers of apparel consumption in other cities across Tanzania to better understand purchasing patterns.