Disabled consumers confined to wheelchairs represent a special consumer group for clothing manufacturers
and retailers. They have special clothing needs and may perceive different risks associated with clothing
purchases than do able-bodied consumers. The purpose of this study was to examine information seeking
behavior, types of perceived risk—economic, performance, physical, psychological, and social—and the
relationship between information seeking and risk associated with clothing purchases of 75 wheelchair-bound
consumers. Regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between the five types of risk and overall
risk and the relationship between types of risk and information sources used. Perceived physical risk ranked
highest and perceived social risk ranked lowest for the respondents. Performance and social risk were significantly
correlated with overall risk at the.05 level. However, the correlation of various types ofrisk with the use ofspecific information sources was not significant except for a negative correlation between social risk and neutral information sources. Information sources most often used by respondents were mail order catalogs and family members. Those with cogenital disability perceived higher overall risk than those with acquired disability.
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