The effect of gender on willingness to pay for mass customised running shoes

ABSTRACT We investigate whether gender and different levels of customisation have a significant effect on consumers’ willingness to purchase mass customised running shoes. An online panel survey was utilised to collect data from 353 Australian adults who wear running shoes at least once a month. Three attributes – degree of customisation, price, and delivery time were utilised in the data analysis to explore willingness to pay for customised shoes. Informed by conjoint analysis and t-tests, the study makes a significant theoretical contribution by extending the understanding of inconveniences of mass customisation from the perspective of customers’ willingness across genders. It is found that for women, degree of customisation and delivery time are the most important attributes, while for men, price and degree of customisation are the more crucial attributes. Female customers are more willing to purchase the product than male customers. The study addresses the research gap that is how differently females and males who usually have different sensory perceptions respond to mass-customised products. Further, the study provides valuable strategic insights for both manufacturers and marketers to cater fragmented consumer markets through mass customisation by identifying subtle differences in customer readiness among their target group of customers.