Segmenting young adults through their consumption styles: a cross‐cultural study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to validate the CSI scale and segment young adults from a developed and a developing country on the basis of their consumption styles as consumers. Design/methodology/approach – The research was conducted in France and Turkey. To determine the consumption styles, the CSI scale was used. The data were collected from college students aged 18‐24 by a self‐administered questionnaire. To define the segments, cluster analysis was used. The segments are profiled by young adults' demographic characteristics, attitudes towards shopping influence, and reliance on media. Findings – In both of the countries, four segments were distinguished and defined as “fashion‐brand conscious consumers”, indifferent consumers”, “recreation seekers” and “quality seekers”. Research limitations/implications – The study was executed in just one city (Istanbul) in Turkey and one city (Toulouse) in France. The study focused on a single product class, apparel products, since young adults act more as decision makers for that product class. Practical implications – The expectations and attitudes of the identified segments should be taken into consideration while developing marketing programs by firms. Originality/value – This study examines a cross‐cultural validation of CSI scale for new country settings and segments young adults. Moreover, this study put forwards a cross‐cultural comparison of young adults' consumption segments.