Understanding Adaptive Clothing Customer Needs
Mining Online Reviews to Understand the Needs of Adaptive Clothing Customers
Published: 2023-03-21
Author: University of Missouri-Columbia | Contact: missouri.edu
Peer-Reviewed Publication: Yes
Journal Reference: DOI Link to the Study Paper
Library: Assistive Home Products Publications
Synopsis: Researchers find that adaptive clothing retailers must make changes to satisfy an increasingly diverse customer base. Zhao and her team of researchers mined customer reviews from three companies – Amazon, Silverts, and IZ-Adaptive – that manufacture adaptive clothing ranging from high-end items to casual wear. The researchers found that, on average, consumers who include folks with disabilities, caregivers, and friends and family indicated that the retailers’ websites were not user-friendly and didn’t have features that aid accessibility.
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Definition
Adaptive Clothing
Adaptive clothing, or adapted clothes, are defined as clothing, garments, and footwear specially designed for people with physical disabilities, the elderly, the infirm, and post-surgery patients who may have difficulty dressing due to an inability to manipulate closures, such as buttons and zippers, or due to a lack of a full range of motion required for self dressing, e.g., people living with arthritis, quadriplegics, and paraplegics. Adapted clothing also makes dressing and undressing patients easier for caregivers, nurses, and hospice staff and provides [...]