Korean “Little Emperor”: A Grounded Theory Approach to Clothing Market for Pre-schoolers

Abstract

In this study, we tried to understand preschooler clothing trends and identify the purchase behaviors of various consumers, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and parents, who are the main consumers of the preschooler clothing market. We conducted in-depth interviews with consumers who were interested in preschooler clothing, purchased it frequently, and bought preschooler clothing within the last three months. Their purchase motivations and purchase behaviors were analyzed through exploratory and inductive analysis. The analysis was conducted by integrating categories into one process centered on core categories through open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. The results of this study included that 1) a variety of clothing purchase behaviors appeared as a central phenomenon, 2) the causal conditions that contributed to this phenomenon were the buyers' childcare experiences, purchase experiences, the personal consumption values of individuals, and income levels, 3) in response to the central phenomenon, the parents' action/interaction strategies were acceptance and rejection of purchased clothing, 4) contextual and Intervening conditions affecting action/interaction strategy were family environment changes, the VIB (Very Important Baby) phenomenon, parents' clothing involvement, and the relationship with the buyers, and acceptance by the users, and 5) as a result of the strategy expressed as acceptance and rejection, various clothing behaviors emerged. In this study, we identified that there are various influencers, apart from parents, involved in children's clothing consumption. Therefore, we need to keep in mind that various purchase behaviors and clothing trends that appear during one's childhood may affect the individual's clothing behavior in the future.