Analyzing Consumer Loyalty to Ultra‐Fast Fashion: An Integrative Analysis Based on the Stimulus‐Organism‐Response Model

ABSTRACT The ultra‐fast fashion industry generates massive online sales, partly because of its ability to attract the custom of Generation Z (Gen Z). Given that this generational cohort typically has low brand loyalty, this paper examines how the dimensions of the stimulus‐organism‐response (S‐O‐R) model explain Gen Z's loyalty to the ultra‐fast fashion industry. For this purpose, the analysis presented in this paper relies on both a linear and an evolutionary view of the S‐O‐R model. Based on data from 208 questionnaires completed by consumers of ultra‐fast fashion, two analytical phases were conducted: (1) partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) and (2) qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). The results of the first phase suggest that consumer sustainability consciousness is associated with brand loyalty directly and under mediation, whereas social media peer communication is associated with brand loyalty only under mediation by brand equity. The second phase shows the relevance of brand equity in explaining both high and low brand loyalty. The configurations explaining high brand loyalty or low brand loyalty show that the relationship of each outcome with consumer sustainability consciousness and social media peer communications reflects psychological mechanisms that allow consumers to overcome the cognitive dissonance between their attitudes and behavior.