Sydney Buford is an honors student majoring in apparel merchandising and product development from Austin, TX. Last fall, she had the chance to present research from her honors thesis at the International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference.
Here I am presenting at the International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference!
On November 9th, I traveled to Baltimore, MD, to present my research at the 2023 International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference (ITAA). This conference consisted mostly of professors and graduate students so it was a very special experience to get to participate as an undergraduate student. It was also an honor to be able to represent the University of Arkansas as the only student from our school there. While at the conference, I presented my honors thesis on the influences impacting impulse buying behavior.
I was at the ITAA conference for two nights and was able to learn from so many different people during the time I was not presenting. There were different sessions all day and each presentation room had a different focus. I mostly listened to presentations having to do with consumer behavior since that is my research focus, but I was able to hear about unique research from other areas like sustainability and product design. This gave me many possible ideas for future research and I loved hearing about the advancements of the industry.
I was able to attend other conference presentations during the two days. Hearing about other research gave me ideas for future topics to investigate.
One of the most exciting points of the conference was meeting researchers that I had cited in my research. It was truly amazing to talk to them about how they got to where they are today in the field and how they became interested in that topic. I also heard multiple researchers reference my mentor’s research, which made me really proud.
Here I am with my research poster alongside Kyuree Kim, an assistant professor of consumer behavior research, who I worked with on the project and served on my thesis committee.
At the conference, I presented on my thesis, “The Effects of Fashion Involvement and Product Presentation on Consumers’ Online Impulse Buying Behavior.” I got to share my study with multiple people in fields similar to mine but also some very different ones. I received incredibly helpful feedback about how I can expand my research study, future research possibilities, and some other scholars in the field I should work with. It’s really amazing to think that I could work on research with peers that I met that weekend.
Presenting undergraduate research at an international conference was an incredible experience that I will always cherish. I was so nervous beforehand to attend since I had never been to a conference prior, let alone presented at one. However, I actually had a lot of fun and quickly made friends upon arrival. The weekend flew by because I had such a great experience and a completely filled schedule. It was truly enriching to get to meet so many other students and professors with shared passions. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to travel and present my research. I hope I can attend the conference again in the future.