THE INVESTIGATION OF VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY LIFESTYLE FROM THE POINT OF PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS: A RESEARCH ON CLOTHING (GARMENTS AND SHOES) PRODUCT GROUP

Abstract

Today’s market conditions made it hard for the enterprises to find new customers or to retain the existing customers due to the fact that the differences between products and services diminished. In relation to determination by the enterprises the customer preferences towards products and services they provide under these conditions, it has become important to know the lifestyles and personality characteristics of them. For that reason, the differentiation of value imposed on shopping, a search for simplicity in products and services and in particular changing shopping and life styles with the dissemination of shopping behaviors that became environmentally sensitive made it important to examine the behaviors of individuals both towards shopping in terms of their personality characteristics and also towards their life and purchasing styles. In this regard, it has become necessary to study the shopping frequencies and shopping times of consumers for clothing (garments and shoes) product groups, which product groups they purchase in their shopping and what is the rank of shopping for clothing (garments and shoes) product groups among the product groups that are purchased, and how they evaluate the elements towards shopping for clothing (garment and shoes) product groups. Based on this notion, the basic purpose of this study is to examine the voluntary simple life styles of consumers from the point of their personality characteristics. In this regard, the aim was to determine whether the voluntary simplicity lifestyle differentiates depending on the personality characteristics (type A – B). The sample of this research, in which positivist research approach was adopted, comprises consumers aged 18 and above who do clothing (garments and shoes) shopping from a shopping mall in Sakarya province. The data of the research was obtained through easy sampling method and face to face surveys with 190 students who accepted to participate in the study as volunteers. The research data was teste with SPSS 21.0 statistical analysis software and the exploratory factor analysis, independent samples t test and definitive statistics were used in the research. The results of the research demonstrate that among the dimensions which constitute voluntary simplicity life style, the responses given in relation to type A and B personality characteristics in three of the sub-dimensions other than self-sufficiency dimension, had statistically significant difference. Results of the study demonstrate that the averages of responses given in the three dimensions (planned behavior, simplicity in product and intangible life) show that participants having type B personality are directed more towards more planned shopping and also they looked from simplicity in the product and also they adopted an intangible life style, compared to participants having type A personality in statistical terms.