Overview
Conducting user research to understand the most important attributes in a second-hand store to foster sustainable consumption.
Role
UX Researcher
Date
Jul 2019 - Dec 2020
Project
User Research, Qualitative & Quantitative Methods
Deliverables
Research Findings, Strategy
Project Context
The impact of product consumption is one of our deepest cultural fissures. It has been developed over the past decades, there is a need for circular and sustainable economy nowadays in order to assure a common future. Second hand clothing stores were researched in this project, where improvement is essential since it is one of the most consumption-driven activities in the world today.
The factors influencing customer’s decision on buying a product / service were mapped
Research goal
The main objective of this research project was to explore consumer acceptance towards second-hand clothing, understand the importance of trust in the interaction with clothes and identify the main attributes influencing the consumers in this industry.
Research process
Research was carried out using literature review, conjoint method (quantitative) and short interviews with participants (qualitative).
In this process, triggers and motivations to buy products and specifically second-hand clothing were understood.
Research question
In order to successfully introduce product/service in the customer’s everyday life, we found it was crucial to build trust first. We decided to keep exploring this concept further through a conjoint analysis.
Research method: Conjoint
In Conjoint Analysis, consumers build their preferences by considering several attributes. Through this comparative assessment we gain insight, making research participants explicitly weight several attribute levels.
The attributes that affected trust most in consumption were identified: Brand, Quality, Availability, Warranty.
Four attributes and each of the levels within those
Each of the presented scenarios for the concept second-hand store for our participants was a specific combination of four attribute levels (brand, quality, availability and warranty) and the two different levels inside of each attribute, see next image. The different scenarios with all the possible combinations of the attributes were sketched in sixteen cards and the participants had to rate the different scenarios.
Brand - Can be high-end (Levi’s, Nike, Adidas) or low-end (Primark, Zara, H&M).
Quality - Can be high (less damaged, cotton or silk) or low (polyester).
Availability - Can be extensive (different sizes, colors, variety of clothing and styles) or limited (specific sizes, colors, variety of clothing and styles).
Warranty - Can be a 6-month warranty (if the clothing piece is in a bad state you can return it in that amount of time once bought) or no warranty (no return allowed).
Cards based on second hand store scenarios sorted by participants depending on their preferences
Participants
We performed a Conjoint Analysis involving 47 participants with ages ranging from 21 to 19. We chose this group of participants because their representation of being potential consumers of the future, being the ones who will be part of that future sustainable economy we would like to design.
We collected the data of each participant’s ranked preferences with the aim of a later analysis.
Outcome
Results showed that quality was the most important attribute to include in second-hand stores for higher trust and acceptance. The second most important attribute rated was brand, which had a component of quality in itself. The outcome was to ideate a store concept including consumer preferences based on quality, which was the attribute most valued by participants and would have the most influence towards their decision of buying second hand clothing in a store.
This research project was published at the Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) conference and presented later in Berlin.
Team: Marie Van den Bergh & Mariana Itza de Miguel
