AN ANALYSIS OF DEMOGRAPHIC AND BENEFIT SOUGHT EFFECTS ON PURCHASING OUTCOMES IN THE CROATIAN FOOTWEAR MARKET

The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of demographic
factors and footwear benefi ts sought on consumer purchasing outcomes in the Croatian market. The proposed research questions were examined with data collected from consumer telephone survey carried out in May-June 2007 in Croatia. Data was analyzed using ANOVA and cluster analysis. Research results show that age, household size, education, occupation and income significantly affect amount of money spent, pairs of footwear purchased and purchase plans, but not average price paid. Gender and residence of respondent were not significantly related to purchasing outcomes. The study identifi ed two groups of shoppers seeking significantly different benefits in purchasing footwear products: the functional shoppers and the alpha shoppers. As compared to the functional shoppers, alpha shoppers purchased more pairs of footwear, paid higher price for footwear and spent larger HRK1 amount on footwear. The results are indicative for the segmentation strategy in the footwear market. It may help footwear manufacturers and retailers to
better target their consumer segments.