Exploring the motivations and barriers for second hand product consumption

Resumo

Track : Consumer behavior

The resale market is a U$ 16 billions dollar market in the US only and it is increasing at a 7% annual rate. Internet and social media have boosted this market by offering consumers the possibility of exchanging goods, and the behavior of buying and selling second hand products have changed. In less than five years, Enjoei, a website where consumers trade second hand products with each other in Brazil, has grown to be a R$ 80 millions (about U$ 30 mi) revenue company.

We investigated this matter by reviewing the literature and conducting an exploratory study. We noticed that the behavior of buying and selling second hand products is connected with sustainability in the literature but throughout the 12 in-depth interviews we hold with consumers (6 of them with experience in selling and buying secondhand products online and 6 of them with this experience), we realized that economic reasons are actually the main reason to engage in second hand product consumption and selling. Consumers seem to be willing to have a better use of their products by sharing their products' lifecycle with other consumers, which is consistent with the Collaborative economy of the 21st century: instead of owning a product for a long time, and then discard it for free, consumers sell them to other consumers for a low price, and also buy from other consumers second hand products, exchanging, as a way of sharing products.