Beyond sustainability narratives: exploring Generation Z's shopping motivations in vintage fashion

Generation Z (or Gen Z) is reshaping fashion trends with a growing interest in vintage clothing. Although sustainability is oftenassumed to drive their choices, little research has explored their specific motivations within this context. This study combinesGenerational Cohort Theory and Self-Determination Theory to examine the intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of Gen Z's vintagefashion shopping. A mixed-methods approach was used: a focus group (Study 1) informed a survey of 392 Italian respondents(Study 2). Results show that hedonic motivations, especially the need for uniqueness and fashion involvement, along with budgetconsiderations, are key factors. In contrast, sustainability and anti-consumerist ideals had limited influence. Despite their digitalfluency, Gen Z prefers offline vintage shopping for its experiential and leisure appeal, as leisure time positively influences offlinepurchase intent. These findings underscore the primacy of self-expression and experience over ideological motives and offerguidance for retailers to enhance offline engagement, whereas online platforms should capitalize on their functional advantages,such as search efficiency and product variety.