Selling Experience in C2C E-commerce of Second-Hand: Gen-Zers Among Bargaining, Personal Satisfaction and Sustainable Lifestyle

The Covid-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in e-commerce and digital adoption in Europe, with online consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplaces for second-hand goods experiencing newfold popularity. This trend is primarily driven by Gen-Zers, who are leading the way in buying and selling second-hand goods online, motivated by saving/making money, finding unique items and adopting a more sustainable lifestyle. This research aims to investigate Gen-Zers’ attitudes towards online C2C platforms and their motivations for selling second-hand clothes. In order to investigate this phoenomenon, a qualitative research method has been preferred. The study consists of two parts: the first involves a systematic collection and analysis of users’ reviews of the Apps on Trustpilot and App stores in order to identify the most relevant drivers in determining the Circular Customer Experience (CCE) from the sellers’ point of view, while the second part involves two focus groups to discuss the evidences emerged from the first study. The research perimeter includes the main Italian online C2C platforms for the clothing category (Vinted and Depop). The reviews were collected using web scraping software and a manual content analysis were conducted to identify topics that emerged from the qualitative data. The focus groups were organized in light of the predominant role of the participants (sellers). The results show that among Gen Z, the main motivation to sell is to “empty the closet” but the satisfaction of completing a transaction successfully is also important. Although sustainability is not the primary driving force behind the selling choice, some participants are concerned about sustainability and suggest that C2C platforms increase user awareness and provide solutions to be more responsible. The research highlights personal satisfaction and accomplishment as the key reason for sellers to stand out. Our findings suggest that C2C platforms can retain and attract sellers by improving the mobile experience, developing incentive systems to increase the propensity to leave reviews and equipping sellers with signalling systems to protect against buyers’ opportunistic behaviours. In conclusion, to create a positive perception of second-hand goods, marketers should emphasize their environmental and psychological benefits. If C2C platforms make it easy, rewarding and eco-friendly to sell second-hand goods, they can change people’s attitudes toward used items, so they will no longer be seen as inferior. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to adopt the sellers’ point of view, specifically focusing on the motivations of Gen-Z, as the main users of these platforms.