Assessment of Consumers’ Purchase Intention of Men’s Clothing in the New Normal in Asian Market with Thematic Analysis

Retail is one of the sectors most severely impacted by the recent pandemic caused by the highly infectious COVID-19. The clothing industry has undeniably suffered unprecedented challenges with the pandemic outbreak. The clothing industry was already facing sluggish demand when the pandemic, followed by restrictions of the government regulations during the lockdown, further deteriorated the situation—consumers’ reluctance to visit stores adds to global challenges for retail store managers in the new normal. Store managers had to rethink their business plans to innovate for sustenance. The qualitative study attempts to identify, understand, and describe the essential characteristics of store brand consumption behavior in an emerging economy. This paper demonstrates a novel approach to recognizing, understanding, and defining the crucial factors of consumers’ decision-making for men's clothing store brands in an Asian market. The study follows a series of steps to conduct a thematic analysis. Forty-one participants responded to the semi-structured interviews. Three themes identified are purchase, usage, and discard. A study of the themes determined the nine categories: price sensitivity, women's decisive role, online shopping, ready-to-experiment, social status, brand sensitivity, restocking, recycling, and donating preference. A conceptual model demonstrates the findings. The findings indicate that middle- to high-income consumers are brand-conscious and possess adequate knowledge to make informed decisions about the properties and quality of store-brand clothes. Retailers can use these insights to develop a private label strategy that aligns with consumers’ decision-making behavior. A conceptual model summarized the findings about the essential characteristics of men's clothing store brand consumption.