Generation Y female

consumer decision-

making styles

Cathy Bakewell and
Vincent-Wayne Mitchell

Introduction

Generation theorists propose that as the
macro-environment changes, there are
concomitant and distinctive changes in
patterns of consumer behaviour (Strauss and
Howe, 1999). The recent acknowledgement
and exploration of a new sizable market
segment known as ‘‘Generation Y’’
(Newborne and Kerwin, 1999; American
Demographics, 1995) has been stimulated by a
recognition that they have been socialised into
consuming earlier than previous generations
(TRU, 1999) and have greater disposable
income (Tomkins, 1999). As consumer
attitudes, behaviour and skills are acquired via
socialisation agents such as family, peers,
school and the mass media (Moschis, 1987),
the proliferation of media choices including
television, the Internet and magazines has
resulted in greater diversity of product and
lifestyle choices for Generation Ys and
marketing and retailing to this cohort requires
a different approach (Phelps, 1999).

Generation Ys have been brought up in an

era where shopping is not regarded as a
simple act of purchasing. The proliferation of
retail and product choice has resulted in a
retail culture where acts of shopping have
taken on new entertainment and/or
experiential dimensions (Lehtonen and
Maenpaa, 1997). For example, Levi’s stores
in the USA now have D.J. Towers, ‘‘chill out’’
zones and moveable fixtures (Craik, 1999).
To this end, US-style shopping malls, and
their European equivalents, have become
essentially giant entertainment centres
bringing together a whole new combination of
leisure activities, shopping and social
encounters (Chaney, 1983). Consequently,
Generation Ys are likely to have developed a
different shopping style compared with
previous generations. Despite this, there have
been very few academic studies, which focus
on shopping styles of Generation Y
consumers and offer guidelines to marketers
and retailers on how these consumers make
their choices. Previous work on shopper types
(e.g. Stephenson and Willett, 1969; Moschis,
1976; Darden and Ashton, 1975; Westbrook
and Black, 1985; Bellenger and Korgaonker,
1980) has not attempted to look at specific
age cohorts, yet the importance of this group’s
differences suggested a need to investigate
their decision-making styles. The present
study examines Generation Y consumers’

The authors

Cathy Bakewell is a Lecturer in Marketing at
Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK.
Vincent-Wayne Mitchell is Professor of Marketing
at Manchester School of Management, UMIST,
Manchester, UK.

Keywords

Consumer behaviour, Customer profiling, Women,
Segmentation, United Kingdom

Abstract

Since environmental factors have influenced Generation Y
shoppers (those born after 1977) to make them different
from older groups, this study examines the decision
making of Adult Female Generation Y consumers using
Sproles and Kendall’s (1986) Consumer Styles Inventory
(CSI). The study uses the CSI as a basis for segmenting
Generation Y consumers in to five meaningful and distinct
decision-making groups, namely: ``recreational quality
seekers’’, ``recreational discount seekers’’, ``trend setting
loyals’’, ``shopping and fashion uninterested’’ and
``confused time/money conserving’’. Implications for
retailers and marketing practitioners targeting Generation
Y consumers are discussed.

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95

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume 31 . Number 2 . 2003 . pp. 95-106
# MCB UP Limited . ISSN 0959-0552
DOI 10.1108/09590550310461994

shopping styles using Sproles and Kendall’s
Consumer Styles Inventory (1986). Although
Sproles and Kendall’s original studies were
designed to profile individuals on the traits
they possessed (Sproles, 1985; Sproles and
Kendall, 1986), the next logical step is to
cluster individuals on their trait scores to
identify groups of Generation Y shoppers.
This linkage of decision-making traits to
segments has seldom been done before,
despite the usefulness of a typology of
Generation Y shoppers for retailers to gain
the benefits of tailoring marketing
programmes to specific emerging segments
(Pine et al., 1995).

Consumer decision-making styles,
shopping typologies and gender

The underlying determinations as to how and
why people shop has been a topic of study for
many years, with early work on shopping
orientations developing a typology of
shopping styles from a sample of 124 female
department store shoppers (Stone, 1954).
Although Darden and Reynolds (1971) found
support for Stone’s shopping orientations,
other researchers have found different
typologies by examining slightly different
aspects of shopping (Stephenson and Willett,
1969; Moschis, 1976; Darden and Ashton,
1975; Westbrook and Black, 1985; Bellenger
and Korgaonker, 1980; McDonald, 1993).
The diverse array of shopper types found is
perhaps not surprising in view of the diversity
of research approaches and contexts[1].
However, these studies have been successful
in demonstrating that some shoppers display
consistent shopping orientations that can be
diametrically opposed, e.g. the ‘‘recreational’’
shopper versus the ‘‘apathetic’’ shopper, but
they do not explicitly address the question of
how to measure the consumer decision-
making styles that lead to these divisions.
Work by Sproles (1985) and Sproles and
Kendall (1986) developed the Consumer
Styles Inventory (CSI) which represented the
first systematic attempt to create a robust
methodology for measuring shopping
orientations and behaviour.

Sproles and Kendall (1986, p. 267) define

consumer decision-making style as, ‘‘a mental
orientation characterising a consumer’s
approach to making choices’’, and propose
that consumers adopt a shopping

‘‘personality’’ that is relatively fixed and
predictable in much the same way as
psychologists view personality in its broadest
sense. The CSI was developed and validated
from a sample of 482 US high-school
students, late Generation X consumers, who
were asked about their decision-making style
for personal products (i.e. clothing, cosmetics
and hairdryers). In total 40 items pertaining
to affective and cognitive orientations in
decision making are the basis from which
eight potential styles or traits affecting
behaviour can be identified (see Table I).

Although some theorists propose that

shopping is both of interest and performed
equally by men and women (see for example,
Otnes and McGrath, 2000), many studies of
shopping behaviour have employed all-female
samples (e.g. Stone, 1954). This practice
reflects a widely held view that gender is
fundamental to understanding and predicting
shopping behaviour. One study that focussed
on gender differences, concluded that women
hold diametrically opposed values regarding
‘‘effective’’ shopping compared with men
(Falk and Campbell, 1997). In essence, these
differences manifested in terms of the time
spent browsing and researching choices.
Women enjoyed the process and were happy
to spend considerable time and mental
energy, while men sought to buy quickly
and avoid it as much as possible. Other
studies have confirmed the ‘‘shopping as
leisure’’ dimension for women (e.g.
Jansen-Verbeke, 1987) and that women do
shopper for longer and are more involved
than men (Dholakia, 1999).

Generation Y and their consumption
habits

Cohort generations are argued to share a
common and distinct social character shaped
by their experiences through time (Schewe
and Noble, 2000). Generation Y are the
children of the ‘‘baby boomers’’ generation
or ‘‘Generation X’’ (Herbig et al., 1993)[2].
In the USA alone, there are approximately
60 million Generation Ys (Newborne and
Kerwin, 1999) and in the UK the number of
15-21 year olds is growing (Baker, 2000).
When Generation Ys come of age they will
have experienced unprecedented purchasing
power (for example, US teenagers spend
$97.3 billion annually) of which two-thirds

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International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management

Volume 31 . Number 2 . 2003 . 95-106

goes on clothing and almost 10 per cent on
personal care (Ebenkamp, 1999) and will
have more involved in family decision
making than other generations (Phelps,
1999).

Being such a nascent potential market

segment, there are no empirical studies that
specifically focus on Generation Ys.
However, it is likely that Generation Ys will
hold differing attitudes/values/behaviour
regarding shopping vis-aÁ-vis other cohorts,
because of technological/socio-cultural/
economic and retail changes during the last
10 to 20 years. Childhood and adolescence
appear to be crucial periods for acquiring
enduring consumption related orientations
(Moschis and Cox, 1989) and Table II
provides an overview of perspectives
regarding environmental change and their
likely impact on Generation X and Ys
(Herbig et al., 1993; Schor, 1998; Roberts
and Manolis, 2000; Ger and Belk, 1996;
Roberts, 1998; Damon, 1988; Wolburg and
Pokryvczynski, 2001).

‘‘To have is to be’’; the need for material
goods and the rise of the perfectionist
shopper

Each generation it seems becomes more
conspicuous in its consumption compared
with previous cohorts (Herbig et al., 1993) and

it is unlikely that Generation Ys are any
different. Moschis and Churchill (1978) report
a positive association between television
viewing and materialism among adolescents
and viewing in Generation Y households is
around seven hours a day (Nielsen, 1995)
making them one of the most television
acculturated generations ever. Schrum et al.
(1991) propose that television programmes
convey a wealth of information with respect to
consumption and that as television viewing
increases, an individual’s consumption
perceptions more closely reflects the ‘‘reality’’
of the television world. Commonly, the
characters and objects portrayed in television
are associated with an affluent lifestyle (e.g.
O’Guinn and Shrum, 1997; Wells and
Anderson, 1996) and this has been claimed to
be on the increase since the 1980s (Schor,
1998). O’Guinn et al. (1985) argue that
contemporary television portrays and therefore
reinforces the belief that material goods and
opulence are a good thing.

In addition to television, Generation Ys have

been acculturated into a materialistic and
consumer culture more so than other
generations as a result of technological
innovations. Ger and Belk (1996) note how
the proliferation of communication
technologies, mass media, international travel
and multinational marketing campaigns has
played a major part in promulgating the
‘‘American Dream’’, i.e. the notion that

Table I Characteristics of eight consumer decision-making styles

Decision style

1. Price/value consciousness: decision style that is concerned with getting lower prices. The presence of this trait

means that the consumer is conscious of sale prices and aims to get the best value for their money

2. Perfectionism: decision style that is concerned with quality. Consumers with this decision-making style will not

compromise with products classified as ``good enough’’

3. Brand consciousness: decision style that is concerned with getting expensive, well-known brands. Consumers

with this style believe that the higher the price of a product, the better the quality. These consumers also prefer
best selling advertised brands

4. Novelty/fashion consciousness: decision style for seeking out new things. This trait reflects a liking of innovative

products and a motivation to keep up to date with new styles and fashion trends

5. Habitual/brand-loyal: decision style for shopping at the same stores and tendency to buy the same brands each time
6. Recreational shopping consciousness: decision style that views shopping as being enjoyable per se. Shoppers

with this trait enjoy the stimulation of looking for and choosing products

7. Impulsive/careless: decision style that describes a shopper who does not plan their shopping and appears

unconcerned with how much he or she spends. Consumers with this style can regret their decisions later

8. Confused by overchoice: decision style that reflects a lack of confidence and an inability to manage the number

of choices available. Consumers with this trait experience information overload

Source: Sproles and Kendall (1986)

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International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management

Volume 31 . Number 2 . 2003 . 95-106

material things and opulence are good and
desirable. These developments may help to
explain the fact that there is a steady increase
through the generations of the importance of
having lots of money (Mitchell, 1995). It has
also been found that younger generations are
more likely to associate higher prices per se with
improved quality and worth, and are more
motivated to ‘‘trade up’’ compared with older
generations (Roberts and Manolis, 2000).

In part, the ability to buy more expensive

lines and brands can arguably be attributed
inter alia to more recent environmental
factors, namely, the loosening of credit
restrictions and the rise of designer labels.
Since the 1980s, there has been a steady
increase in the availability of credit cards
marketed to young adults (Kara et al., 1994)
and retailers have introduced their own store
cards and interest-free periods. Moreover, the
UK Government invites indebtedness
through the availability of student loans and
Generation Ys have been socialised in to a
world where debt is used rather than savings
to finance consumption (Ritzer, 1995). It is
known that access to credit is a contributory
factor in the practice of trading-up and
overspending (Roberts and Manolis, 2000).
Generation Ys have been brought up with
designer labels such as Donna Karan and
Armani, which at one time would have been
associated with perhaps 1-5 per cent of
potential consumers, but since the 1990s
there has been a steady branching out into the

lower-priced designer label segments through
retail outlets such as DKNY and Emporio
Armani. Discount designer label outlets, such
as TK Max and Matalan, as well as
independent factory villages, are likely to have
shaped some Generation Ys practice of
upscale emulation. This leads to our first
proposition that: many Generation Y
shoppers are likely to show a materialistic/
opulent shopping style.

‘‘Born to shop’’; Generation Y, the
ultimate Homo Consumeriscus?

A number of authors have commented on the
use of shopping as a form of recreation (e.g.
Hirschmann and Holbrook, 1982; Bloch et al.,
1991) and it would seem that for many,
shopping is their principal and most enjoyable
hobby. Unlike previous age groups, Generation
Ys have been acculturated into an environment
that provides more opportunities and reasons to
shop than ever before. Within the retailing
environment there has been the introduction of
Sunday shopping and opening hours more
similar to the USA, i.e. post 6 p.m. closing.
Additionally, television, the Internet as well as
the more traditional catalogue based shopping
forms offer additional consumption
opportunities. Many Generation Ys have been
brought up in households where both parents
work and have learnt to shop and make brand
decisions sooner compared with previous

Table II Comparison of childhood environmental influences on Generation X and Ys

UK Generation X

UK Generation Y

Fewer and conventional shopping channels and restricted
shopping hours

Many shopping channels and unrestricted shopping
hours. Socialised in to newer retailing formats such as
factory outlets, designer discount villages, Internet

Environment of restricted credit

Environment of unrestricted and creative credit
opportunities e.g. interest free periods, deferred payments,
cash back, multiple credit and store cards, short-term loans

Acculturated into an environment of less materialism/
income inequality, social class judged by what a person
does

Postmodern culture where goods and services rather than
occupation increasingly important in defining social
standing. Acculturated by television/magazines in to
revering and envying opulent lifestyles e.g. Hello
Magazine, Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210

Receive advertising and marketing information from
traditional media

Advertising and marketing information from ever increasing
sources e.g. cable/digital TV, mobile phones, e-commerce

Fewer gender-role blurrings, i.e. females interested in and
shop for personal goods and clothing, males interested in
and shop for cars, home maintenance goods

More gender-role blurrings, i.e. females buying cars/
home-maintenance products, males buying clothes and
personal care goods

More likely to have grown up in traditional family unit
with greater socialisation from parents

More likely to grow up in non-traditional family units
with greater socialisation from peers

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Volume 31 . Number 2 . 2003 . 95-106

generations. For example, more than half of
teenage girls and more than one-third of
teenage boys do some food shopping for their
family (TRU, 1999). Likewise Generation Y
consumers have been socialised into shopping
as a form of leisure. Indeed, the average US
female teenager spends 11 hours per week at
shopping malls (Herbig et al., 1993) and US
teenage mall shoppers make more annual trips
(76 visits compared with 54) and spend more
time in the mall per trip (90 minutes versus 76)
compared with other shoppers. They also go to
browse rather than specifically to purchase
(International Council of Shopping Centres,
1997). In part, this is attributed to the high
levels of single parent households and/or
working mothers (Newborne and Kerwin,
1999; Phelps, 1999). This leads to our second
proposition, namely: many Generation Ys will
show a recreational shopping style.

Proliferation of choice, postmodernism,
fragmentation and chaos; are
Generation Ys likely to be more
confused?

Generation Y has been subjected to more
targeted marketing programmes and has been
brought up with more retailing formats and
product/brand choices compared with
previous generations (TRU, 1999). The rise
of the phenomenon known as ‘‘smart
shopping’’, i.e. ‘‘a tendency for consumers to
invest considerable time and effort in to
seeking and utilising promotion-related
information to achieve savings’’ (Mano and
Elliot, 1997, p. 504), may be a new shopping
style amongst Generation Ys that has been
hitherto missed. For example, Saatchi and
Saatchi (1999) found that digital media have
given Generation Y unprecedented means to
connect with each other and the world;
allowing this generation to explore more the
importance and power of knowledge. Almost
two-thirds of US Generation Ys with Internet
access buy or research products on-line
(Cravatta, 1997) and by 2002, it is estimated
that the e-commerce dollar impact of
Generation Y will be $1.3 billion and that
there will be 38.5 million Internet users
(Cravatta, 1997; Heckman, 1999).

Conversely, if we are living in postmodern

society[3], customer confusion and other
shopping concomitants such as apathy and poor
decision making would seem likely phenomena

to observe. Generation Ys have been brought
up with unprecedented choice amongst most
consumer goods and services (Quelch and
Kenny, 1994), e.g. 75 different kinds of
toothbrush and 240 shampoos in Boots the
Chemist and 347 separate varieties of Nike
trainer (Fielding, 1994). Other sources of
confusion identified include: the introduction of
more brand me-too products, and uncertainty
about product environmental and health
claims. This leads to our third proposition,
namely that: many Generation Ys will show
customer confusion and/or behaviours to cope
with over-choice, e.g. apathy and brand loyalty.

Methodology

The instrument
Despite the CSI being developed in an English
speaking country, a number of alterations were
needed to the question wording in order to aid
the comprehension of UK respondents. First, in
Sproles and Kendall’s original format, the verb
often appears at the end of sentences, e.g. ‘‘the
more expensive brands are usually my choice’’.
For the purpose of this study, the statements
were re-phrased to reflect the style of English
more commonly used in the UK, i.e. ‘‘I usually
choose the more expensive brands’’. Second,
the original inventory contains ambiguous
words such as ‘‘best’’ and ‘‘perfect’’. This
creates problems because it is unclear whether
‘‘best’’ refers to: price, image, durability or
suitability. In order to reduce the potential for
measurement error, some items were
rephrased, e.g. ‘‘A product doesn’t have to be
perfect, or the best, to satisfy me’’ became, ‘‘A
product doesn’t have to be exactly what I want,
or the best, to satisfy me’’. In total, 38 CSI
items were included and rated on a five-point
agree-disagree Likert scale. The items were
placed in two different orders so as to minimise
order effects and items expected to load onto a
single factor were separated.

The sample
In general, generation cohorts can be described
as, ‘‘matures’’ (1909-1945) age
55-91; ‘‘baby boomers’’ (1946-1964) age
36-54; ‘‘Generation X (1965-1976) age 24-35
and ‘‘adult female Generation Y’’ (1977-1994)
age 6-23. The questionnaire was administered
to a non-probability sample of female
undergraduate students aged between 18 and
22, which resulted in 244 usable responses. The

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Generation Y female consumer decision-making styles

Cathy Bakewell and Vincent-Wayne Mitchell

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management

Volume 31 . Number 2 . 2003 . 95-106

emphasis on the top third of the adult female
Generation Y bracket was due to: their greater
experience of being adult female Generation Y;
their increased purchasing power; their relative
freedom from potential parental intervention in
exercising their shopping style and their greater
appropriateness for the questionnaire
methodology employed, as well as consistency
with most previous studies e.g. Sproles and
Kendal (1986), where a student sample was
used because they were seen as benefiting from
relative homogeneity and reduced the potential
for random errors compared with a sample
from the general public (Calder et al., 1981).
Although demographic and socio-psychological
(e.g. status consciousness, conservatism,
dogmatism) criticisms of student populations’
representativeness have been made, these
criticisms are inappropriate given this cohort is
the target population for the study. The sample
were asked to complete the questionnaire with
reference to the purchasing of ‘‘personal goods’’
i.e. clothes, cosmetics, footwear and jewellery.

Analysis
Cluster analysis was conducted in order to
identify decision-making groups. Following
Punj and Stewart’s (1983) recommendation,
Ward’s method of analysis was used and the
results suggested a six-cluster solution.
Discriminant analysis was then carried out to
identify the discriminating variables between
these clusters. The chi-squared statistics were
significant and the canonical correlations for
all the functions were high (see Table III) and
the classification matrix showed 97.26 per cent
of cases were correctly classified in the analysis
sample (holdout sample, 54.79 per cent).

Results

Five segments were found (see Table IV):
(1) Recreational quality seekers (33 per cent)

form the largest group of shoppers and
are characterised by the traits;

‘‘recreational/hedonistic’’,
‘‘perfectionism’’ and ‘‘brand
consciousness’’. These shoppers enjoy
shopping and exert extra effort in order to
get quality products. They show a degree
of brand loyalty and will pay extra for
brand names. This group is not attracted
to lower prices or discounts and they
disagree with the statement, ‘‘I buy as
much as possible at sale price’’.

(2) Recreational discount seekers (16 per cent) are

associated with the ‘‘bargain seeking’’ trait,
as they agree with the item, ‘‘I buy as
much as possible at sale price’’. This group
also displays the trait of ‘‘fashion/novelty
consciousness’’. However, in spite of
quality concerns, this group differs from
the ‘‘recreational quality seekers’’ in that
they are less ‘‘brand conscious’’ and more
‘‘price/value conscious’’.

(3) Shopping and fashion uninterested (16 per

cent) are confident shoppers who are
associated with the traits of ‘‘time energy
conserving’’ and ‘‘price/value
consciousness’’ and the statements, ‘‘ I
normally shop quickly, buying the first
product or brand that seems good enough’’
and, ‘‘I usually buy the lower-price
products’’. Shoppers belonging to this
cluster do not find shopping pleasurable
and they are not associated with the
‘‘novelty/fashion consciousness’’ trait as
they disagreed with three of the statements
e.g. ‘‘Fashionable, attractive styling is very
important to me’’, which are associated
with this trait.

(4) Trend setting loyals (14 per cent) are

fashion and style conscious. They agree
with the statement, ‘‘I keep my wardrobe
up to date with changing fashions’’. They
also have a tendency to visit the same
stores and buy the same brands. Shoppers
in this group, however, are not
perfectionists and they disagreed with the
statement, ‘‘The higher the price of the
product, the better its quality’’. Instead,

Table III Canonical discrimination functions for Generation Y consumer decision-making clusters

Function

Eigenvalue

Percentage
of variance

Cumulative

percent

Canonical

correlations Chi-squared

Degrees of

freedom

Significance

325.74

104

0.00

1

4.65

34.70

34.70

0.91

227.93

75

0.00

2

3.96

29.54

64.24

0.9

137.5

48

0.00

3

2.74

20.46

84.70

0.86

62.98

23

0.00

4

2.04

15.30

100.00

0.82

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Generation Y female consumer decision-making styles

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International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management

Volume 31 . Number 2 . 2003 . 95-106

Table IV Summary of Generation Y adult female consumer decision-making segments

Cluster 1: Recreational, quality seekers (33 per cent)
Agree:
I enjoy shopping, just for fun

Disagree:
Shopping is not a pleasant activity to me

Once I find a product I like, I buy it regularly

I really don’t give my purchases much thought or care

In general, I try to get the best overall quality

I usually buy the lower price products

I have favourite brands I buy every time

I buy as much as possible at sale price

Fashionable, attractive styling is very important to me
I make a special effort to choose the very best quality products
I usually buy the more expensive brands
I usually buy well-known brands
I prefer buying the best selling brands

Cluster 2: Recreational discount seekers (16 per cent)
Agree:
Shopping is very enjoyable to me

Disagree:
Shopping is not a pleasant activity to me

It’s fun to buy something new and exciting

I normally shop quickly, buying the first product or brand I find that
seems good enough

I look very carefully to find the best value for money

I spend little time deciding on the products and brands I buy

I buy as much as possible at sale prices

Sometimes it’s hard to decide in which stores to shop

To get variety, I shop in different stores and buy different brands
The higher the price of the product, the better its quality
A product doesn’t have to be exactly what I want, or the best on the
market to satisfy me
The most advertised brands are usually good choices
I should spend more time deciding on the products and brands I buy

Cluster 3: Shopping and fashion uninterested (16 per cent)
Agree:
I go to the same stores each time I shop

Disagree:
I get confused by all the information on different products

Sometimes it is hard to decide in which stores to shop

I usually have at least one outfit of the newest style

I usually buy the lower-price products

I keep my wardrobe up to date with the changing fashions

I normally shop quickly, buying the first product or brand I find that seems
good enough

The most advertised brands are usually good choices

Shopping is not a pleasant activity to me

There are so many brands to choose from, that I often feel confused

Shopping in different stores is a waste of time

Shopping is very enjoyable to me
I enjoy shopping, just for fun
To get variety, I shop in different stores and buy different brands
Fashionable, attractive styling is very important to me

Cluster 4: Trend-setting loyals (14 per cent)
Agree:
I have favourite brands I buy every time

Disagree:
The higher the price of the product, the better its quality

I keep my wardrobe up to date with the changing fashions

Shopping in different stores is a waste of time

I usually have at least one outfit of the newest style

I prefer buying the best selling brands

I go to the same stores each time I shop

The most advertised brands are usually good choices

I usually buy the lower price products

A product does not have to be exactly what I want, or the best on the
market to satisfy me

Sometimes it is hard to decide in which stores to shop

The more I learn about products, the harder it seems to choose the best

There are so many brands to choose from, that I often feel confused

Cluster 5: Confused, time/money conserving (21 per cent)
Agree:
I carefully watch how much I spend

Disagree:
I usually buy the more expensive brands

The more I learn about products, the harder it seems to choose the best

I make a special effort to choose the very best quality products

I spend little time deciding on the products and brands I buy

Good quality department and speciality stores offer the best products

I get confused by all the information on different products

I usually buy well-known brands

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Generation Y female consumer decision-making styles

Cathy Bakewell and Vincent-Wayne Mitchell

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management

Volume 31 . Number 2 . 2003 . 95-106

they are associated with ‘‘price/value
consciousness’’ and do not believe that
brands have to be well known to be a
good choice. This group was also
associated with the ‘‘confused by
over-choice’’ trait.

(5) Confused time/money conserving

(21 per cent) shoppers are associated with
the ‘‘confused by overchoice’’ and ‘‘price/
value consciousness’’ traits. They agreed
that, ‘‘I get confused by all the
information on different products’’ and,
‘‘I carefully watch how much I spend’’.
Y shoppers in this cluster are not drawn
to the more prestigious and higher priced
brands/stores, preferring instead lower
prices to higher quality. They also spend
little time deciding between options.

Discussion

Support for our first proposition, that ‘‘many
Generation Y shoppers are likely to show a
materialistic/opulent shopping style’’ was
found in so far as almost one in three
belonged to the ‘‘recreational quality seekers’’
segment. Furthermore, the ‘‘recreational
discount seekers’’ (16 per cent) also professed
to believe that ‘‘the higher the price of the
product, the better its quality’’. This finding
was unsurprising given that adult female
Generation Ys have been acculturated by
media that portray affluent and opulent
lifestyles. Likewise, as generations become
more accustomed to intensive and
sophisticated marketing practices, it is not
surprising that ‘‘quality’ is sought after. The
fact that these shopping types seem divided
into either straight forward ‘‘quality seekers’’
or those pursuing quality through price
reductions suggests that the identification of
the ‘‘economic’’ (e.g. Stone, 1954) or ‘‘value’’
shopper (e.g. McDonald, 1993) is more
complicated for adult female Generation Ys.
In this regard, the ‘‘recreational discount
seekers’’ may be further evidence of the
‘‘smart shopper’’ phenomenon.

Support for our second proposition, that,

‘‘many Generation Y shoppers will show a
recreational shopping style’’ was even greater in
so far as almost half the sample belonged to the
segments ‘‘recreational quality seekers’’ and
‘‘recreational discount seekers’’. This finding
might indicate that adult female Generation Ys
enjoy shopping more than previous age cohorts

and/or that they are responding appropriately
to the efforts of retailers to provide more
‘‘entertaining’’ shopping experiences (Jones,
1999). However, the predominance of this trait
might also be attributed to the fact that adult
female Generation Ys have been socialised into
a shopping culture at an earlier age (TRU,
1999). Others propose that the willingness and
enjoyment associated with shopping is an
inevitable consequence of a more secular,
uncertain and less family-oriented environment
(Minsky, 2000; Mellon, 1995). Fischer and
Gainer (1991) see shopping as being an
integral part of the social construction of
women’s identity and a means through which
they can experience of ‘‘flow’’ (Csiksentmihalyi,
1975)[4]. Falk and Campbell (1997) see
shopping as being as important to women’s
lives, in terms of its capacity to create a sense of
self and the ownership of space, just as the
world of work has been historically to men.
Furthermore, in an increasingly consumerist
society in which possessions are perceived as
being inexorably linked to self-identity and
status (Belk, 1985), it is perhaps unsurprising
that many shoppers find even mundane psychic
acts such as looking in shop windows
significant in their psychic lives (Bocock,
1993). Interestingly, the identification of
‘‘recreational discount seekers’’ may be further
evidence of the ‘‘smart shopper’’ phenomenon
and suggests the schism between utilitarian and
hedonic shopping (Hirschman and Holbrook,
1982) is outdated.

Support for our final proposition that

‘‘many Generation Ys will show customer
confusion and/or behaviours to cope with
over-choice, e.g. apathy, brand loyalty’’ was in
evidence as almost one in five adult female
Generation Ys adopt a shopping style that is
confused (confused time/money conserving).
According to Mitchell and Papavassilliou
(1999) one of the principal reasons why
customers may be more confused than ever
relates to attempts by marketing practitioners
to meet consumer needs in an increasingly
competitive world. The combined traits of
confusion and time/money conserving has not
been established in previous shopping
typologies and may be a result of the amount
of products, channels and information that
adult female Generation Y are exposed to and
must process.

McDonald (1993) found both ‘‘loyal’’,

‘‘fashionable’’ and ‘‘value’’ segments in his
typology of mail-order shoppers. However,

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Volume 31 . Number 2 . 2003 . 95-106

our study shows that almost one in six adult
female Generation Ys (i.e. ‘‘trend setting
loyals’’) have elements of all three traits in
their shopping behaviour. Adult female
Generation Ys are known to be interested in
fashion (Phillips, 1997), plus they have a
desire to bolster their self-esteem through
having a ‘‘cool’’ look (Phelps, 1999).
However, higher loyalty can also be an
effective means for overcoming confusion.

Finally, a frequent finding in prior research

is the apathetic shopper, for whom shopping
held no intrinsic interest and constituted a
burden at best (e.g. Stone, 1954; Bellenger
and Korgaonker, 1980; Westbrook and Black,
1985) and this research confirms the adult
female Generation Y equivalent in the form of
the ‘‘shopping and fashion uninterested’
segment. This result could be attributed to
the degree of marketing cynicism that has
been seen with adult female Generation Ys
(Zollo, 1999; Newborne and Kerwin, 1999),
since they have been the target of more
marketing programmes and product choices
than any generation before them and almost
one in six adult female Generation Ys practice
this form of market ‘‘resistance’’. Shopping
apathy may also be the extreme end point
stemming from confusion.

Conclusions and implications

One of the key findings of this study is the
confirmation of shopping as a form of leisure
and enjoyment for adult female Generation Ys.
‘‘recreational quality seekers’’ and ‘‘recreational
discount seekers’’ enjoy shopping therefore
retailers should consider ways to improve the
leisure experience for this group. Some retailers
have begun to experiment with cafes and
beauty therapy experiences, e.g. nail
extensions, and our findings would suggest that
this is a prescient move. Retailers should
continue to look for ways in which they can
induce feelings of fun and leisure for
Generation Ys. Jones (1999) suggests that
there are four resources at the disposal of
retailers for producing entertaining shopping
experiences i.e. retail prices, selection, store
environment and sales people. Retailers
targeting the ‘‘recreational quality seekers’’
should supply a selection of prestigious brands
and emphasise the quality and fashion aspects
of their merchandise. ‘‘Recreational discount
seekers’’ are price-sensitive and, although

fashion conscious, they prefer sale and
discounted prices. This group of Y consumer
needs to be informed of future price reductions
and would favour marketing programmes that
lead to monetary savings. Likewise, our results
would suggest that resources put into sale staff
selection and training, store atmospherics and
design, plus introducing fun into the selection
process e.g. through multi-media, would be
worthwhile expenditure. ‘‘Game-boy’’
equivalents could be used in stores/
departments where customers are invited to
play for prizes redeemable in the store. Also,
electronic clothes fitting might act as a fun way
of providing information about clothing ranges
and styles.

The fact that almost one in two adult female

Generation Ys pursue quality, even if it implies
higher prices, confirms that the recent practice
of supplying quasi-designer labels e.g. Top
Shop’s TS range and joint ventures with
established designers is a prescient move.
Retailers should continue to improve the
‘‘quality’’ dimension to their own-labels and
introduce higher priced ranges.

‘‘Recreational discount seekers’’ are

interesting in that they seem to pursue
quality, but are more price sensitive. It would
appear that adult female Generation Ys with
this trait might be prepared to pay high prices
as long as they perceive it as being discounted
in some way. Retailers might make use of this
trait by developing an on-going discounting
strategy as a means of getting adult female
Generation Ys into their stores. Rather than
using fixed sale periods that by their nature
occur on an infrequent basis, retailers might
opt for devoting a part of their retail space to
‘‘discounted/sale’’ lines or a ‘‘bargain corner’’.
Smart shoppers are known to enjoy the
challenge of achieving price savings and/or
product gains giving rise to the speculation
that price interest has become a dimension to
characterise a new lifestyle (Groppel-Klein
et al., 1999). Far from being seen as a ‘‘tight
wad’’ or other such pejorative labels for
discount seekers, these consumers are
regarded as clever and trendy. Retailers
catering for this group therefore, should
employ lots of sales promotions, coupon
services offered through magazines and even
loyalty cards for gaining discounts.

‘‘Trend-setting loyals’’ are attractive

customers to retailers because once
preferences are established, patronage is
assured. However, the identification of this

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International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management

Volume 31 . Number 2 . 2003 . 95-106

trait also suggests that marketers and retailers
targeting adult female Generation Ys may
have a greater problem of getting their store
or brand into a consumer’s ‘‘evoked set’’ if
they are not already favoured. Retailers and
marketers, therefore, need to be more
imaginative in encouraging adult female
Generation Ys to at least sample products or
enter stores. Youth marketing programmes,
perhaps involving colleges and activities for
teenage girls, would seem to be an
appropriate strategy for companies to
establish brand preferences early. Retailers
targeting this segment should consider
customer loyalty programmes and might offer
additional services relating to fashion such as
in-store magazines and sales staff with
knowledge of forthcoming trends. Identifying
key items for the coming season would be
valued by this group and would imply having
strong links with up and coming designers.

‘‘Confused time/money conserving’’ Ys like

to shop quickly and depend on price to help
them, but they frequently feel confused.
Retailers catering for this group should focus
on two things. First, they should provide
information that either helps to make
monetary judgements, e.g. pence per gram, or
they could provide descriptions as to how the
product choice is economical, e.g. financial
benefits of durability. Second, retailers should
think about simplified store layouts and
payment services and a reduction in the
number product lines, etc. to speed up the
shopping process.

‘‘Shopping and fashion uninterested’’

consumers are the most market resistant of
the Y shoppers and would probably benefit
from e-commerce/catalogue shopping and/or
subtle forms of marketing promotion.
Retailers targeting this particular segment
would need to provide a range of goods that
were positioned as lower priced and not
fashionable.

Limitations and future research

Limitations of the present study provide
fertile ground for future studies. For example,
the use of students has limitations since the
degree to which education affects their
purchasing is uncertain. However, with
approximately one-third of this cohort
population in higher education and a
significant proportion of others studying

elsewhere, this limitation is only a problem for
generalising to other less educated
Generation Y consumers.

The study used a female-only sample and

future research should address whether the
decision-making styles and the shopper
typology are generalisable to male Generation
Ys. Many authors propose that gender has a
marked effect on shopping behaviour (e.g.
Fischer and Gainer, 1991; Campbell, 1997;
Buttle, 1992; Miller, 1998).

A major proposition of the research is that

shoppers change as a function of their
generation membership because of macro-
environmental influences. If true, items
pertaining to classify and measure shopping
practices/influences and values need to adjust
accordingly. The CSI was developed in the
1980s and we could argue that it fails to
capture emerging phenomena such as ‘‘smart
shopping’’. Future research needs to update
and test the CSI items in light of these
developments. Furthermore, the CSI was
developed to measure shopping attitudes and
behaviours for personal goods. We
acknowledge that our findings may be
influenced by the degree of involvement for
these goods and future studies could replicate
the study for staples such as groceries.

Finally, further research should consider

the implications of a cohort where so many
enjoy shopping and pursue it as a form of
recreation. Recently, it has been noted that
there are a number of pathologies associated
with shopping, for example, addictive and
compulsive shopping (e.g. Scherhorn et al.,
1990; Faber and O’Guinn, 1988). Roberts
(1998) found that, amongst a sample of
Generation X students, 6 per cent were
classified as compulsive buyers. Given that
Generation Ys would seem to have even
greater opportunities to spend should be
studied to see whether their love of shopping
leads to this particular problem.

Notes

1 For an overview of shopping topologies and

research methodologies see Jarratt (1996).

2 There is some discussion about the exact years that

encompass Generation Y. Teenage Research
Unlimited defines the generation as those born
between 1979 and 1995 (TRU, 1999), while others
claim that the generation encompasses all those
born after 1977 (Bainbridge, 1999; Saatchi &
Saatchi, 1999; Walker et al., 1998).

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Volume 31 . Number 2 . 2003 . 95-106

3 For a description of the characteristics of a

postmodern environment see Firat and Schultz
(1997).

4 ``Flow’’ is described as an extremely pleasurable

state gained by experiencing challenge and control.
In the case of shopping, it has been proposed that
some consumers find the experience particularly
pleasurable because it is a controlled and safe
environment that also involves the challenge of
achieving the best possible purchase.

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