To Dye or Not to Dye: A Comparison of Gen Y Consumers’ Perceived Value of Salon Hair Coloring in China and the United States
Xin Zhao

Abstract
This study examines how Generation Y (Gen Y) consumers perceive the value of salon hair coloring in China versus in the United States. Findings from a qualitative study and the previous literature were used to develop a survey measuring Gen Y consumers’ perceptions of quality value, emotional value, epistemic value, social value, monetary cost, time/effort cost, and health risk cost of salon hair coloring in the United States and China. Quality value, emotional value, and social value appeared to have a stronger influence on US Gen Y consumers, while epistemic value, monetary cost, and health risk cost appeared to have a stronger influence on Chinese Gen Y consumers. In addition, time/effort costs turned out to have the same level of influence on the two samples. The study results imply that retailers targeting China and the United States may need to use different marketing strategies in the two countries to ensure that the perceived value dimensions most salient to their consumers in each country could be emphasized.

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