EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Gender-based differences in understanding the purchasing patterns of eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products in Mauritius: a study of female customers

Sharmila Pudaruth, Thanika Devi Juwaheer and Yogini Devi Seewoo

Social Responsibility Journal, 2015, vol. 11, issue 1, 179-198

Abstract: Purpose - – This paper aims to explore the factors influencing the purchasing patterns of eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products among female customers in Mauritius. It also investigates upon the relative significance of these factors in predicting the preference to buy and recommend eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products to others. Design/methodology/approach - – The paper applies the data reduction technique by using exploratory factor analysis on a sample of 150 female consumers and condenses a set of 35 attributes into a list of eight comprehensible factors influencing the purchasing patterns of eco-friendly and beauty care products among females in Mauritius. Multiple regression analysis was also conducted to investigate upon the importance of the eight dimensions in influencing the behavioural intentions of females to purchase eco-friendly products and their likeliness to engage in referral for eco-friendly products. Findings - – The factor analysis identified that the purchasing patterns for eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products is influenced by a combination of eight factors namely: “women lifestyles, self-image health and economic considerations”, “ethical consumerism among females”, “pharmacological essence of green cosmetics and beauty care products”, “visual appeal and physical cues in cosmetic stores”, “price-conscious decisions and effective promotion”, “belief on ethical claims in green messages”, “brand image and usage experience” and “sales representatives and social influences”. The results of the regression analysis have also suggested that the behavioural intention and referral of female customers is primarily derived from one predictor factor related to “women lifestyles, self-image, health and economic conditions”. Practical implications - – In terms of marketing strategies, cosmetic and beauty care organisations should promote greater ethical concerns among female customers through effective green advertising messages. Greater emphasis should be placed on the pharmacological essence of green advertising. Cosmetic executives should also focus on health-related benefits while marketing cosmetics and beauty care products. Originality/value - – The paper aims to fill up the significant gap in the literature on purchasing patterns for eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products among female customers. This study remains one of few research work designed to address different factors influencing the purchasing patterns for green cosmetics and beauty care products in the context of developing countries such as Mauritius. Yet, it would serve as a roadmap for cosmetics and beauty care companies to understand the factors impacting on purchasing patterns of eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products in similar contexts.

Keywords: Mauritius; Eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products; Female customers; Purchasing patterns (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:srjpps:v:11:y:2015:i:1:p:179-198

DOI: 10.1108/SRJ-04-2013-0049

Access Statistics for this article

Social Responsibility Journal is currently edited by Prof David Crowther

More articles in Social Responsibility Journal from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().

 
Page updated 2025-03-19
Handle: RePEc:eme:srjpps:v:11:y:2015:i:1:p:179-198