The digital acceleration of the early 2020s has matured into a permanent structural shift in consumer behavior. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplaces for second-hand goods have evolved from niche alternatives into primary retail destinations, with industry leaders like Vinted reporting a Gross Merchandise Value of €10.8 billion in 2025, a 47% year-on-year increase (Vinted, 2025). This expansion is set against a global second-hand apparel market projected to reach $367 billion by 2029 and growing roughly 2.7 times faster than the broader apparel industry, having already accounted for some 9% of global apparel spending in 2024 (ThredUp, 2025). Vinted’s scale within this market is considerable: in 2025 it became the largest clothing retailer by sales volume in France, surpassing Amazon and established local competitors (Vinted, 2025). This trajectory reflects a market that has effectively doubled in size within five years, transitioning from a pandemic-era trend to a cornerstone of modern commerce. This growth is fundamentally driven by Gen Z, who have redefined ownership through "circular micro-economies." For this demographic, resale platforms function as social-financial hubs where financial pragmatism aligns with a commitment to the circular economy. However, academic literature remains skewed toward buyer behavior, often neglecting the sellers who sustain these ecosystems. This research addresses this gap by investigating Gen Z’s attitudes within the Circular Customer Experience (CCE) from the seller's perspective, building on recent work that examines the customer journey across second-hand fashion platforms (Murtas & Pedeliento, 2024). Our objective is twofold: to identify the core drivers of the seller’s journey in a mature digital market and to evaluate the extent to which sustainability remains a pivotal motivator. Utilizing a tripartite qualitative approach— comprising sentiment analysis of user reviews, focus groups, and Generative Market Research (GMR) via Digital Twins—this study provides a novel contribution to understanding C2C dynamics through the lens of its most influential demographic.
Iuffmann Ghezzi, A., Negri, F., Selling Second-Hand Online: Gen Z Motivations and the Circular CustomerExperience on C2C Platforms, Abstract de <<Colloquium on European Research in Retailing (CERR) 2026>>, (Linz, Austria, 01-03 July 2026 ), CERR, Linz, Austria 2026: 99-106 [https://hdl.handle.net/10807/350144]
Selling Second-Hand Online: Gen Z Motivations and the Circular Customer Experience on C2C Platforms
Iuffmann Ghezzi, Alessandro;Negri, Francesca
2026
Abstract
The digital acceleration of the early 2020s has matured into a permanent structural shift in consumer behavior. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplaces for second-hand goods have evolved from niche alternatives into primary retail destinations, with industry leaders like Vinted reporting a Gross Merchandise Value of €10.8 billion in 2025, a 47% year-on-year increase (Vinted, 2025). This expansion is set against a global second-hand apparel market projected to reach $367 billion by 2029 and growing roughly 2.7 times faster than the broader apparel industry, having already accounted for some 9% of global apparel spending in 2024 (ThredUp, 2025). Vinted’s scale within this market is considerable: in 2025 it became the largest clothing retailer by sales volume in France, surpassing Amazon and established local competitors (Vinted, 2025). This trajectory reflects a market that has effectively doubled in size within five years, transitioning from a pandemic-era trend to a cornerstone of modern commerce. This growth is fundamentally driven by Gen Z, who have redefined ownership through "circular micro-economies." For this demographic, resale platforms function as social-financial hubs where financial pragmatism aligns with a commitment to the circular economy. However, academic literature remains skewed toward buyer behavior, often neglecting the sellers who sustain these ecosystems. This research addresses this gap by investigating Gen Z’s attitudes within the Circular Customer Experience (CCE) from the seller's perspective, building on recent work that examines the customer journey across second-hand fashion platforms (Murtas & Pedeliento, 2024). Our objective is twofold: to identify the core drivers of the seller’s journey in a mature digital market and to evaluate the extent to which sustainability remains a pivotal motivator. Utilizing a tripartite qualitative approach— comprising sentiment analysis of user reviews, focus groups, and Generative Market Research (GMR) via Digital Twins—this study provides a novel contribution to understanding C2C dynamics through the lens of its most influential demographic.
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
