Drivers and barriers influencing consumers’ online collaborative clothing consumption practices in the South African market

Abstract

The overall objective of this study was to explore and describe the drivers and barriers influencing consumers’ online collaborative clothing consumption practices in the South African market. The research focused specifically on consumers' actual behaviour that influences participation in three online collaborative clothing consumption business models, namely renting, swapping, and buying second-hand clothing. Furthermore, the influence of motivational drivers (i.e., environmental benefits, economic benefits, hedonic dimensions, need for uniqueness, convenience and social identity (community)) as well as specific barriers (i.e., hygiene issues, unfamiliarity with the concept, materialism, online trust) on consumers’ online collaborative clothing consumption practices were investigated. The term ‘collaborative clothing consumption’ is a relatively new concept, but falls under the sharing economy umbrella. These innovative business models centre around usage in the clothing industry rather than ownership, which could promote economic growth as well as mitigate the environmental impact of the fashion industry. It was considered essential to conduct this research in a South African context as most research on this topic thus far has been conducted in developed markets, such as the USA and Europe. Therefore, in a complex and diverse market like South Africa, research on collaborative clothing consumption is long overdue, especially with regard to the drivers and barriers that influence consumers’ participation.

The study followed a survey research design and quantitative approach and was exploratory-descriptive in nature. Data were collected through an online self-administered questionnaire developed on Qualtrics from existing scales. The scales were adapted in accordance with the specific research objectives of the study. Prior to data collection, the online questionnaire was pre-tested to clarify the statements and eliminate any errors before data collection. Primary data were collected from the larger South African consumer population (n= 766) over the age of 18 living in South Africa and who indicated that they participated in online shopping. Although existing scales were used for this study, they have, to date, not been used to establish the relevance of constructs related to South African consumers’ behaviour. Therefore, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to isolate relevant constructs and concepts in the dataset and validate the measures' internal consistency. Subsequently, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to confirm the relationships and factorial validity of the model obtained from the EFA. Finally, the measurement model was accepted as the goodness-of-fit statistics indicated satisfactory fit indices.

The sharing economy, and in this case, collaborative clothing consumption, has been hailed as a global paradigm shift that would radically shift consumer attitudes towards ownership. However, the findings of this study, confirmed that the uptake of these new business models in South Africa is still in its infancy. Despite the fact that these consumption models are widely revered for being a sustainable and environmentally beneficial solution to overconsumption, the results did not reflect environmental concern as a key driver for participating. Results indicated that consumers still attach too much value to materialism (ownership), economic gains and having fun (hedonism), and far less value on actually changing their consumption practices to aid the environment. As far as the three models were concerned, it was clear that renting, at this stage, has a weak foothold in the South African market. Almost 80% of the participants have never rented clothing which indicates that renting is still very novel amongst the participants. With regard to swapping, this model as an online platform is also not yet commonplace. Most swapping occurs in person between friends and family, and rarely online. Furthermore, very few apps/websites currently facilitate this method of collaborative clothing consumption models seamlessly and effortlessly. The buying of second-hand clothing had a far better uptake amongst the participants, with almost 50% currently buying second-hand clothes. The stigma around buying second-hand is dissolving, as more and more middle to upper-class consumers are 'thrifting' for the thrill of finding unique items. Whether these business models will take off in South Africa on a mass commercial scale remains to be seen but based on the results, they will face several challenges to find a foothold in the consumer's mind at this stage. Retailers considering entering the collaborative clothing consumption market should focus on leveraging the key drivers and addressing the key barriers as highlighted by the findings of this study, in order to entice consumers to participate in these practices.