The Mediating Effect of Appearance of Appearance in the Relationship between the 20s and Cosmetics Purchase Behavior
Authors: Song Xiao-Ting , Choi Mee-Ok 
Published: December 2023

This study was attempted to find out demographic characteristics of women in their 20s in China, identify lifestyle, appearance interest, and cosmetics purchase behavior, and reveal the mediating effect of appearance interest in the effect of lifestyle on cosmetics purchase behavior. To this end, this study selected a woman in her 20s in China as the subject of the survey and conducted a survey. A total of 491 copies of the survey were used as final analysis data, excluding 15 incomplete or insincere responses among the questionnaires collected from August 1 to August 31, 2023. The data analysis used frequency analysis, factor analysis, reliability verification, technical statistics analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and Sobel test using the SPSSWIN 21.0 program, and the following analysis results were raised. First, the most common characteristics of the survey subjects were the current residence in large cities (Beijing, Tianjin), the final academic background was a four-year university (re-school), unmarried, employed, monthly income was less than 500,000 won, and the average monthly cosmetics purchase cost was less than 200,000 to 300,000 won. Second, the correlation with each sub-factor of lifestyle, appearance interest, and cosmetics purchasing behavior all showed a positive (+) correlation, indicating that the higher the lifestyle, the more active the appearance interest and the higher the cosmetics purchasing behavior. Third, in terms of the impact of lifestyle on appearance interest, the higher the trend-seeking type and personality-seeking type, the higher the appearance interest. Fourth, the higher the trend-seeking type, a sub-factor of lifestyle, the higher the self-directed type of cosmetics purchase behavior, and the higher the trend-seeking type of lifestyle, the higher the brand preference for cosmetics purchase behavior. Fifth, as a result of verifying the mediating effect of appearance interest in the relationship between lifestyle and cosmetics purchase behavior, the mediating effect of appearance interest in the relationship between fashion-seeking type and self-directed type of cosmetics purchase behavior was significant, and the mediating effect of appearance interest in the relationship between fashion-seeking type and cosmetics purchase behavior was significant. The results of step-by-step verification of the mediating effect of appearance interest in the relationship between lifestyle and cosmetics purchase behavior are as follows. In Stage 1 and Stage 2, the significant trend-seeking type no longer significantly affects the self-directed type of cosmetics purchase behavior in Stage 3, indicating that appearance interest completely mediates the relationship between fashion-seeking type and self-directed type of cosmetics purchase behavior, and appearance interest partially mediates the relationship between fashion-seeking type and brand preference type of cosmetics purchase behavior. The results of this study are expected to be used as basic data necessary to identify the characteristics of the lifestyle of women in their 20s in Huabei, China, and to develop and specify cosmetics industry services and marketing strategies based on lifestyle using the results of this study are expected to be used.