Factors affecting consumer’s bargaining behavior: The case of fashionable clothing

Shopping is one of the current trends of the Vietnamese. According to Nielsen’s research results about consumer confidence in the fourth quarter of 2017, more than half of Vietnamese people (51%) use their spare money to buy new clothes at modern business models such as supermarkets, shopping centers, or at very traditional models like street vendors and wet markets where haggling (also known as bargaining) is considered as a common habit for Vietnamese. This is due to business characteristics from a very long time ago in Viet Nam. The bargaining behavior is not so hard to recognize in shopping. Even now, a large part of foreign tourists is familiar with the bargaining culture. This study aimed to discover bargaining behavior, the factors affecting such a behavior in buying fashionable clothing of the consumers in Ho Chi Minh City, and to consider whether the differences in bargaining behavior exist among different groups of gender, age, and income. The research was conducted using mixed methods concluding qualitative research (in-depth interview and focus group) and quantitative one (survey). The results showed that Attitude towards bargaining, Perceived behavioral control, Interest in bargaining affect Consumer’s bargaining behavior when buying fashionable clothes. Results were validated in Ho Chi Minh City context, and some conclusions were also presented.