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Purpose: Gender-neutral (GN) apparel has moved from a niche proposition to a more visible retail strategy, yet fashion managers still have limited evidence on who buys modular GN apparel and why. Modular GN apparel is defined here as garments that are marketed independently of binary gender categories and incorporate adaptable or reconfigurable elements. This study examines whether self-centeredness is associated with consumers' purchase of modular GN apparel, whether this relationship operates through consumers' need for uniqueness, and whether it is stronger when consumers believe that purchasing such apparel can help challenge traditional gender norms. Design/methodology/approach: Using an online survey of 400 Australian Gen Z and millennial consumers from Sydney and Melbourne, we estimate a conditional process model (PROCESS Model 14) in which self-centeredness is the trait antecedent, need for uniqueness (NFU) is the mediator, and perceived consumer effectiveness for challenging gender norms (PCE-CGN) moderates the NFU–purchase association. Age and gender are included as covariates. Findings: Self-centeredness is positively associated with purchase of modular GN apparel. NFU partially mediates this association, indicating that uniqueness motives are more readily enacted in purchasing when consumers perceive normative impact. Consequently, the indirect association of self-centeredness with purchasing behavior is stronger when PCE-CGN is higher. However, a robustness check using PROCESS Model 15 did not support an additional X × W interaction, reinforcing the theorized second-stage moderation pattern. Practical implications: Fashion managers can move beyond demographics by targeting segments characterized by stronger self-oriented dispositions, higher uniqueness-seeking tendencies and stronger beliefs that their purchase choices can contribute to challenging traditional gender norms. Communications should link self-expression to credible impact cues, while product and merchandising strategies should emphasize adaptable design, styling flexibility, and non-binary discovery pathways. Originality/value: The study uses self-congruity as an interpretive lens to explain why a self-focused trait and a distinctiveness motive are associated with modular GN apparel purchasing. It also introduces a domain-specific efficacy belief, perceived consumer effectiveness for challenging gender norms, as a boundary condition on the uniqueness-to-purchase association.

Wine tourism in rural territories, sometimes organised along wine routes, increasingly attracts visitors, tourism agents, wine producers and those responsible for developing rural territories. Wine tourism is located at the intersection of two distinct business sectors: the agribusiness-oriented wine production and the hedonic service/experience-oriented tourism activity. From the tourism perspective, the visitor experience is paramount and requires an understanding of its nature, conditioning factors and possible outcomes. This study analyses tourist experiences of the Bairrada wine route/Portugal, as reported by regional visitors on TripAdvisor. Results reveal not only the overall quite positive evaluation of these experiences, but also the importance of the aesthetic and educational experience dimensions, when applying Pine and Gilmore’s consumer experience framework. Diverse experience contexts contribute to a rich terroir experiencescape, where contents are far from limited to wine, wine cellars or wineries. These contexts seem to be connected distinctly to diverse experience dimensions, whose analysis should help regional developers understand the role of core resources and conditions for attracting, satisfying and delighting visitors. Additional understanding of the relationship between experience dimensions and outcomes, namely satisfaction and destination loyalty, should further help develop wine destinations more successfully.

This research proposes an integral model of cocreation processes before, during, and after a trip affecting customer value and anteceded by tourist expertise. Beyond prevailing task-related (coproduction) processes and the more recently contemplated social processes, we consider mental cocreation using the concept of mental time travel (forward and backward). Findings from 428 tourist responses reveal the great potential of these novel cocreation forms, showing that imagining a forthcoming trip and remembering the travel afterwards are important affective value drivers, as is interacting with locals and employees. Overall, these play a more prominent role than task-related processes. Likewise, we found that tourist expertise is a major antecedent of cocreation and precursor of value. Managers could encourage tourist cocreation by applying customer education strategies, stimulating activities with high community contact, and using virtual tools to intensify thoughts and memories of past and future travel experiences. Technology may be key in achieving this.