An exploratory study into the Romanian students’ motivations for online second-hand shopping [articol]

Abstract

Online shopping became the main type of shopping in 2020, due to the restrictions posed by authorities to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Students, who already were digitally literate, easily made full use of the digital platforms for shopping a variety of items, among which clothing. The study focuses on student shopping for a special category of products, second-hand garments, aiming to identify the motivations that animate such purchase in the student population. Also, the study aims to highlight which of the digital channels are used for such purchases. The research is based on a survey, self-administered by the respondents. Results show that students participating in the study display a complex set of motivations for secondhand products purchasing, such as economic reasons, fashion-related judgement, leisure, and ecological reasoning. While feeling ‘at home’ in the digital world, if given the choice, students prefer social media over websites, and Instagram over Facebook. Findings are useful for understanding student’s behavior and motivations in the time of crisis, but also to anticipate the trend in ecommerce, since given the chance, many (small) businesses will need to be creative in promoting their products and/or services.