Pre-owned suits me! Exploring Generation Z’s purchase behaviour towards second-hand fashion

This study was designed to investigate Generation Z’s attitudes towards second-hand fashion purchases in both traditional stores and online. A theoretical model based on existing literature is proposed to analyse the antecedents of such behaviour. Specifically, the attention is focused on three groups of motivations, namely, critical, recreational, and economic. Results of the structural analysis from a sample of 391 Italian respondents showed that both critical and economic motivations positively affected the attitude towards second-hand fashion purchases, whereas recreational factors did not exert a positive effect on attitude. The results of hypotheses testing also revealed that the path coefficient characterising the relationship between attitude towards second-hand fashion purchase and intention to shop online is greater than that of the relationship between attitude towards second-hand fashion purchase and intention to shop at brick-and-mortar stores. Results also provide useful information about the type of second-hand fashion items purchased in each type of channel.