Mirror, mirror on the screen

The lack of body and skin tone diversity in fashion marketing has long been criticized for reinforcing narrow beauty standards and underrepresenting many consumer groups. This study investigates whether perceived similarity between consumers and models, in terms of body type and skin tone, affects consumers' purchase intention in online apparel contexts. While earlier research shows that objective similarities can influence consumer behavior, the direct effect of subjective perceived similarity, particularly in these two dimensions, has received limited quantitative attention. Moreover, few studies have examined their combined influence, leaving a gap in understanding how visual identification shapes fashion purchase decisions. To address this gap, the study poses the following research question: How do consumers' perceptions of similarity to a model in terms of body type (low vs. high) and skin tone (low vs. high) influence their purchase intentions of clothing items? A between-subjects experimental survey was conducted among Dutch women aged 18 and older (N = 175) using snowball sampling via social media. All participants viewed the same AI-generated model wearing jeans. They rated their perceived similarity to the model in body type and skin tone, after which they were grouped into one of four similarity conditions. The main dependent variable was purchase intention, and the data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA and additional non-parametric tests due to violations of test assumptions. Results show a significant main effect of perceived body type similarity on purchase intention, indicating that consumers who saw the model as highly similar in body type reported higher purchase intentions than those who perceived low similarity. However, no significant effect was found for skin tone similarity, nor for the interaction between the two dimensions. Exploratory non-parametric analysis suggests that body type may moderate the effect of skin tone, but this pattern is not statistically significant. These findings contribute to marketing theory by emphasizing the importance of subjective similarity, particularly body type, in shaping consumer behavior. From a managerial perspective, the results suggest that fostering identification through diverse model representation may function as a form of visual mirroring, enhancing persuasiveness and potentially boosting conversion rates in online retail. However, the non-significant findings for skin tone similarity underscore the need for more nuanced research into how different aspects of identity interact in visual marketing.