Abstract:
This research investigates the impact of socio-economic factors on the fashion expenditure
of undergraduates in state universities in Sri Lanka. As fashion consumption has become
increasingly important among youth, this study aims to identify how socio-economic factors
such as gender, age, living location, fashion category, household income, availability of
other income and social background affect spending behavior on fashion. Snowball sampling
method was applied to collect data from 105 undergraduates in state universities in Sri Lanka
in May 2025 using a structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed using SPSS software.
Multiple linear regression analysis, frequency analysis and descriptives were conducted to
determine the relationships and significant differences between variables. The multiple
linear regression results revealed gender, living location, fashion category at 1% level and
household income at 5% level, significantly influence fashion expenditure. The model
showed an R² value of 0.795, indicating that 79.5% of the variation in fashion expenditure
can be explained by the selected socio-economic variables. Other factors such as age and
availability of other income and social background had non-significant effects on spending
behavior. From all respondents 59% were female respondents and rest of other 41% of
respondents are male. Descriptive analysis for the expenditure on fashion shows 10000 as
the maximum value and the 2000 as the lowest value. These findings suggest that economic
background and income sources play a significant role in shaping undergraduates’ fashion
expenditure. Gender differences are also prominent, with female students showing higher
engagement in fashion spending. The results are valuable for fashion retailers, student
welfare planners, and policymakers to better understand the consumption behavior and
financial priorities of young adults in higher education. Future studies could extend the scope
by incorporating psychological or cultural factors to further analyze fashion consumption
trends among Sri Lankan undergraduates.
