Consumers' evaluations of fitting rooms in retail clothing stores

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the effect of age, gender and educational level on customer evaluations of the design characteristics of fitting rooms/dressing rooms, such as size, levels of illumination, number of hangers, materials and opening types of doors in retail clothing stores. In the light of these results, the study aims to increase the satisfaction of the customers in retail stores. Design/methodology/approach - These evaluations were analysed according to the demographic characteristics of consumers, such as age, gender and educational level. Since activities in fitting rooms require a certain level of privacy, the features that affected privacy were also considered in this study. The analysis was carried out with research designed for users of fitting rooms in Ankara, Turkey. Findings - Results indicated that demographic characteristics of the customers affected their evaluation of fitting rooms. The statistically significant results between evaluations of customers and their demographic backgrounds were determined. In these analyses, problems emerged due to usage of fitting rooms. Most of the problems complained about were an insufficient number of hangers, lack of mirrors, lack of sitting units, small-sized rooms and poorly illuminated rooms. Moreover, the results showed that customers preferred a totally closed panel door for privacy. Originality/value - This paper reveals a significant relationship between design characteristics of fitting rooms and customer evaluations of fitting rooms. The results of the study suggest that retailers and designers may be able to easily make stores more attractive for customers when installing fitting rooms.