An empirical study of nostalgia-related factors in the consumption of retro-sports apparel

Alan D. Smith and Artemisia Apostolopoulou

International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, 2026, vol. 19, issue 3, 367-399

Abstract: The concept of nostalgia is grounded in people's need to form identities, connectedness and solidarity with their consumer tribal group. Nostalgia can manifest itself into the areas of personal or historical and, in the case of marketing, impact one's intention to purchase products and services that have nostalgic value. This empirical research effort is grounded in the proposition that personal nostalgia can be effectively leveraged to promote the sale of nostalgia-infused retro-sports apparel. Sport consumers from the Northeast Ohio-Western Pennsylvania areas (n = 615) were solicited to respond to an online questionnaire intended to capture their perceptions about retro, throwback or old-school team uniforms, their interest and purchase intentions, and their willingness to pay for those items. Most measures associated with historic and personal nostalgia were strongly related to the intent to purchase retro-sports apparel. Males generally rated most of these factors higher compared to their female counterparts.

Keywords: retro-sport apparel; retro-marketing; personal nostalgia; historic nostalgia; collective nostalgia; psychodynamic framework; willingness to pay. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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