Why buy used clothing during the pandemic? Examining the impact of COVID-19 on consumers’ secondhand fashion consumption motivations

ABSTRACT

While many fashion brands and retailers are struggling amidst the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers’ secondhand fashion consumption (SFC) is accelerating as an alternative to new clothing purchases. Despite the growing importance of the resale market and the impact of the pandemic on consumer behavior, a comprehensive picture of SFC amid the pandemic has yet to be researched. The purpose of this study is to examine how the impact of the pandemic influences the relationships among consumers’ motivations, attitudes, and intentions toward SFC. By applying the theory of reasoned action, consumers’ motivations (e.g., sustainability, social, variety-seeking, fun-seeking, cost-saving dimensions) behind SFC intentions between high vs. low pandemic impact groups are studied. Through the online survey with 467 participants from South Korea, our study demonstrates that consumers are motivated to engage in SFC for different reasons depending on the impact of the pandemic on their daily lives. While cost-saving and social motivations were significant drivers for the high-impact group, the attitudes of the low-impact group were mainly influenced by sustainability and variety-seeking motivations. Study findings and implications are discussed, and future research directions are suggested.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• pandemic
• resale market
• secondhand fashion consumption
• consumer motivations

Acknowledgement

One of the authors received internal funding for data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Naeun Lauren Kim

Naeun (Lauren) Kim, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Retail Merchandising Program at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include sustainable consumption, international retailing and branding. Her work has been published in several international refereed journals such as the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Management Decision, and International Journal of Market Research.

Terry Haekyung Kim

Terry (Haekyung) Kim is a Ph.D. student in Apparel Studies (retail merchandising and consumer studies concentration) at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include digital consumer behavior, retail technology, and sustainable consumption.