The Secondary Luxury Consumer: An Investigation into Online Consumption

Abstract

The secondary luxury market is a recent phenomenon attributed to changing consumer beliefs that influence their consumption process. The purpose of this study was to explain consumption behaviors of secondary luxury consumers by investigating secondary consumer beliefs and purchase intention, specifically in the context of online shopping. An online survey was created in Qualtrics to collect data. After a preliminary analysis, structural equation modeling was used to conduct a confirmatory factory analysis and to test the hypothesized relationships. The findings revealed that all consumer beliefs, including environmental, frugality, online retailing, and fashion consciousness, positively influenced consumers’ attitudes and subsequent purchase intention for second-hand luxury items from online secondary luxury retailers. This study added to the literature by utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior framework and incorporating the secondary luxury consumer beliefs. Ultimately, the researchers were able to better understand this online secondary luxury consumer and what influences the consumer to purchase secondary luxury goods from online retailers such as The RealReal.