Solo Fashion Shopping in Department Stores: Unique Style Journeys of Thai Female Customers
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Abstract
The rise of solo shopping behaviour across urban centres in Asia reflects cross-sociocultural transformations, including increased individualisation, the postponement of traditional family marriage, and evolving gender norms that afford women greater independence in public and consumer spaces. This study investigates solo fashion shopping among young women in Thailand a topic largely absent from fashion and consumer behaviour literature despite its increasing relevance in everyday life. Based on in-depth interviews with fifteen women aged 23 to 36 residing in major Thai cities, this research uncovers how solo shopping is a practice of self-direction, emotional regulation, identity construction, and lifestyle performance. Five key themes are identified: seeking independence, self-reflection, emotional restoration, focused decision-making, and the influence of retail environments. Participants described shopping alone not as a fallback but as a preferred mode of consumption that allows greater clarity, freedom, and self-exploration. This paper positions solo fashion shopping as a cultural and emotional act shaped by the transformation of Thai femininity and consumer culture. The findings investigate the understanding of gendered buying and use by drawing attention to how autonomy, cultural expectations, and personal routines converge within the context of solo fashion shopping, offering a lens through which to reconsider women’s consumer agency in everyday life. At the same time, the study provides practical insights for fashion retailers navigating changing consumption patterns in contemporary Southeast Asia.
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