A

PROJECT STUDY REPORT

ON

Consumer Buying Behaviour on Recommerce

END TERM SUBMISSION

FASHION BUSINESS RESEARCH

Submitted By- Submitted To-

Aishwarya Nair Dr. Sheetal Soni

Akshata Pai
Pratibha Chaudhary
Pritika Gupta
Stuti Biyani

17/12/2021
 PREFACE

The completion of this research report does not mean the end of our duties as
learners. In fact, this report is a first step towards consistently studying what we
have reviewed and written here.

The desire for this research work has originally come from my long-time
appetite for writing something on fashion and sustainability. As the world is
driving towards advancement, it is equally important to see that there is
sustainability for the wellness of future generation as well. We have a strong
belief that sustainability is one of the keys to an environment friendly world and
this write-up is a purpose to prove this.

Also, this lengthy work was impossible with the teamwork of not only all the
members of our group but also the mentors of our institution NIFT, Department
MFM. Their amount of hard work from each and every one is truly
commendable, each of whom has provided patient advice and guidance
throughout the research process. Thank you all for your unwavering support.
Acknowledgement 

I express my sincere thanks to my project guide, Dr. Sheetal Soni, Designation,

our mentor for Fashion Business Research Subject Department Masters of
Fashion Management, for guiding me right from the inception till the successful
completion of the project. I sincerely acknowledge him/her/them for extending
their valuable guidance, support for literature, critical reviews of project and the
report and above all the moral support he/she/they had provided to me with all
stages of this project. 
I would also like to thank the supporting staff of Masters of Fashion
Management Department, for their help and cooperation throughout our
project. 

Aishwarya Nair
Akshata Pai
Pratibha Chaudhary
Pritika Gupta
Stuti Biyani
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1 Benefits, Importance and Growth of Recommerce
2.1.1 Opportunities and Platforms in Recommerce
2.2 Introduction to Consumer Buying Behaviour towards Recommerce
2.2.1 Consumer Perception towards Reusable Clothing
2.3 Recommerce in luxury fashion brands 
2.4 Navigating re-commerce risks
2.5 Impact of Covid on Recommerce Fashion
2.5.1 Limitations 
3. Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction:
3.2 Objectives of study:
3.3 Scope of the study:
3.4 Research methodology:
3.4.1 Research universe:
3.4.2 Method of sampling:
3.4.3 Sample size:
3.4.4 Data Collection Method
3.4.4.1 Primary data: 
3.4.4.2 Secondary data:
3.5 Limitation of study:
 1. INTRODUCTION

As ramps in Milan and New York exhibit the subsequent in fashion, personal wardrobes
lower back domestic are putting standards of their very own. Offering hoarders a platform to
unload, and bargain-hunters an opportunity to clinch a deal, recommerce structures have
unleashed the ultra-modern trend in buying — ‘Smart Shopping’ (Bhardwaj, 2016).
Recommerce is a unique concept where pre-owned / used goods are being resold. It is also
known as resale commerce or reverse commerce. Its vision is to empower re-use of goods
(Jules, 2020). Recommerce is nothing but recommercialising or second-hand selling, a
concept that has been around for the reason that the dawn of markets themselves. However,
from being handled as an option for the financially-challenged, it has now been upgraded to
an alternative for the financially-challenged, it has now been upgraded to an alternative for
the clever, both financially and environmentally (Bhardwaj, 2016).
Recommerce includes re-selling objects as they end up obsolete. But inside the dynamic
world of fashion, novelty trumps software. In a globalised economy, in which people are
exposed to fashion traits that are up to date on a daily basis, even brand-new clothing can be
rendered obsolete in a few days (Bhardwaj, 2016). 
With customers becoming more conscious of the importance of reducing, reusing, and
recycling clothing, a suitable platform to sell and acquire fashionable clothes in good
condition became necessary. This led to the birth of re-commerce.Consumers' purchasing
patterns are shifting from the stereotypical impulsive shopper to the prudent money saver.
Buying a new basic garment from the latest styles and stacking one's wardrobe with too many
outfits is becoming outdated among the younger generation of customers. They are keeping
track of the advantages of spending more wisely and are more environmentally
conscious(Genest, 2020).
A recommerce concept is used by a wide range of businesses, from thrift stores to high-end
luxury boutiques. There are also a slew of digital markets that have shifted resale from brick-
and-mortar to online.
Clothing and secondhand apparel have the largest proportion of the recommerce business,
which is expected to reach $51 billion by 2023. Home items, collectibles, and art are all
prominent recommerce categories.
Trading in clothing that no longer needs to be replaced in order to keep up with the latest
fashion trend is the new buying trend among apparel consumers. The performance of re-
commerce of apparels and garments is driven by three key factors. Consumers have begun to
contemplate apparel re-commerce as a result of difficult economic conditions and budget
constraints. It also allows customers to personalise the current fashion trends. Another
concern that is fueling the idea of re-fashioning in a large way is keeping the earth green and
focussing on minimising waste. Consumers have embraced the re-commerce movement in
their desire to own something new (Fibre2Fashion, 2014).
Fashion re-commerce is clearly altering the way people shop, not just online but also in brick-
and-mortar stores. Big fashion businesses all around the world are participating, and
consumers are encouraged to do so as well with tempting return offers and recycling
discounts (Genest, 2020).

2Literature Review

2.2Benefits, Importance and Growth of Recommerce

The ones in trend have confined utility because of the short-paced nature of style. So, arriving
on the crux of the hassle — affordability — as discouraging as it is to be able to repeat
clothes, with the intention to come up with the money for new ones stays a task. While ‘stop
of season sales’ and ‘festival sales’ provide a good deal of wanted remedy from time-to-time,
seldom do they arrive from coveted, top-give up manufacturers.
Recommerce, therefore, has taken a targeted method to tackle these troubles for India’s
fashion-stimulated kids. Opening ecommerce platforms for buying and promoting pre-owned
style, on-line structures, which includes Elanic, Envoged and CoutLoot, among others have
placed recommerce into perspective. “India, as an economy, has unfolded and moved forward
culturally. It has grow to be more intake-pushed and generation is pleasant under this
pressure,” says Elanic Co-founder Abhilash Narahari, including, “Luxury manufacturers,
even at discounted fees, have a tendency to be quite steeply-priced. Recommerce, is the
maximum appropriate preposition for young girls, who would love to put money into them,
but are confined by affordability. On Elanic, the typical shopping for purchaser base is within
the ages of 18 to 25 years, that is in the main university-going and dwelling off of
allowances” (Bhardwaj, 2016).

There are various benefits of recommerce. Some of them include-

  It helps keep one's closet from overflowing
 Helps in saving money
 It helps trade up to the latest product
 Encourages recycling and reusing of garments
 Encourages conscious consumption 
Fashion-conscious buyers no longer have any qualms about wearing secondhand clothing as
long as they receive the latest and highest-quality items. Consumers want to get the most out
of their purchases, thus purchasing a product with a high resale value is increasingly a
priority. These factors all play a role in the fact that Womenswear isn't the only area that gets
increasing attention; there are also re-commerce options for kidswear, teenswear, college
wear, and maternity wear, in addition to menswear. Re-commerce in fashion is only going to
grow in the near future, with customers having an active interest in going green and
recycling, and apparel retail firms implementing measures to promote reuse and recycling of
clothes apparel and
clothing industry's reselling activity (Ketait, 2020, 78)

2.1.1 Opportunities and Platforms in Recommerce

Because of the large market size and number of consumers in India, the Re-commerce
business would undoubtedly prosper in the future. Re commerce in the garment sector, like
consumer electrical products in India, is expected to grow rapidly in the future. Even though
the market is enormous, the sector is expected to develop at a CAGR of more than 38%
through 2019. Currently, there is no established industry in India for used garments. The
potential for re-commerce to organise this unorganised industry is enormous. When it comes
to the job opportunities that Re-commerce creates, it will create a slew of them in India,
particularly in the fields of Marketing, Technical Inspection, Customer Service, Logistics, etc

(Ketait, 2020, 78).

Over the past three years, the fashion resale market has been expanding 21x faster than
traditional retail. Those leading the change include:
 Rent the Runway – Launched in 2009, this online service focuses on rental of
designer clothing, dresses and accessories.
  ThreadUP – Founded in 2009, thredUP is one the largest online consignment and
thrift stores to buy and sell high-quality secondhand clothes.
 Poshmark – Social commerce marketplace to buy and sell new or used clothing,
shoes, and accessories (Hufford, 2020).
There are various models that are operating in the online thrift shopping trend currently.
Some re-commerce models like Threadflip, Poshmark, and 99dresses help in connecting the
buyers and sellers of the product for a price, for which they charge a fee. While some online
re-commerce sites acquire garments like ThredUp from sellers and re-sell them. This model
is beneficial for customers who do not wish to waste time, money, and efforts. And the third
kind is where re-commerce sites provide concierge services of collecting, photographing and
shipping products like The Real Real. These online sites also curate styles and apparels
through a selection process. Mobile applications of re-sale fashion sites are fuelling this
concept.
Moreover, online re-commerce platforms let consumers share their stories behind a dress or a
garment and create profiles to make the whole process more humanizing, rather than a boring
conventional buying and selling transaction. Re-commerce sites are trying to make the
process of re-selling trustworthy through product authentication, quality control, and social
and interactive mechanisms for building confidence among consumers. Swapping sites and
events are also a growing and innovative way of reusing and recycling clothes.
Consumers nowadays want to invest money in garments that have a resale value and in a
small way do their bit to reduce landfill and save the environment. Hence many retailers
opening physical stores have also joined the bandwagon of recycling clothes through re-
commerce. For example, A.P.C, the French denim retailer, introduced a butler worn-out jeans
collection, where customers could exchange their old denim for a new one for half the price.
The brand fixed the worn out jeans with initials of the previous owner and resold them.
Similarly GAP and Levi's stores also lured customers to trade their old denims and avail
discounts for their new pairs of jeans (Fibre2Fashion, 2014).

2.2 INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS

RECOMMERCE

Environmental impact and re-commerce attitude was observed to be very high and most of
the respondents totally agreed in favour of purchasing environmental protective products and
were very conscious about preventing environment and pollution arising from burning old
clothes. After giving top priority to environmental protection, recommerce drastically helps
in maintaining the latest fashion and inculcates new buying habits amongst those who are
environmentally cautious. Nevertheless Indian consumers are very curious about the price of
the product, availability, easy access and the budget for the same. Even the educational level
also had a great impact on purchase on re-commerce products (Ketait, 2020).

2.2.1  Consumer Perception towards Reusable Clothing

The success of recommerce mirrors the increasing empowerment of Millenials and Gen Z
which have a different perception of buying second-hand garments compared to older
generations. The stigma previously associated with purchasing pre-owned products is fading
through these younger generations, so we can relate the recommerce growth to a generational
mindset shift which involves the desire to buy more second-hand goods, and so supporting a
circular economy.
According to ThredUp, 62 million women bought second hand clothes in 2019 compared to
56 million in 2018. Even though studies have already reported a year-by-year recommerce
surge, the unexpected Covid-19 pandemic and the consequential behaviour change speeded
up its growth even more. McKinsey & Company wrote ‘the next normal has started to
emerge, with consumers indicating they will adopt long-term behavioural changes that will
last beyond Covid-19’. Consumers are starting to embrace different shopping habits and see
the advantages of purchasing pre-owned goods, in fact ThredUp’s recent report showed 82%
of its respondents adopted a thriftier attitude and 88% are open to purchasing used fashion
when financial resources get tighter (Cossio, 2020).

Consumers love Recommerce as it has several benefits as they can:

 Save money: Pre-owned items come at a discount price. It also gives luxury brand
lovers on a smaller budget a way to access out-of-reach collections.
 Save the planet: Buying used is better for the planet. Given that fashion
manufacturing uses so many resources, this makes consumers feel good. What’s more
73% of millennial consumers said they prefer to purchase from sustainable brands. So
retailers will need to find new ways to court them—including recommerce.
  Save space: Conscious consumption is all the rage. So is small space living. In short,
consumers don’t want as much ‘stuff’ in their lives. Yet feel guilty if they throw
things out. So recommerce gives them a sustainable way to clean out their closet.

Recommerce has become so popular that the pre-owned products market is currently
worth approximately $28 billion and is projected to reach $64 billion by 2024. (Kinsella,
2021)
Bengaluru-based Elanic, which gives a cell app platform for humans to sell their items
online, specialises in fashion. Featuring a number brands from Zara, Vero Moda,
Hidesign and MAC to Ritu Kumar and Anamika Khanna, as much as 80% of its listings
are in the fashion class. The platform is the brainchild of Abhilash Narahari, Aditi Rohan
and Palkush Rai Chawla  , who of their own numerous studies discovered the element of
consideration among the capacity purchaser and vendor to be a bottleneck within the used
goods marketplace. In an interplay with DH, Elanic Co-founder Abhilash Narahari said:
“Trust is a problem when it comes to buying pre-owned goods due to the fact there is no
measure of popular and fine. In attempting to find an approach to this, we observed that
the consideration is pretty excessive, whilst people are contributors of a community. This
brought about the beginning of Elanic, that's like an online network for consumers and
sellers of used items (Bhardwaj, 2016).

2.3 Recommerce in luxury fashion brands 

In a bid to retain brand exclusivity and prestige, the luxury fashion market has traditionally
been largely hesitant to enter the resale market. However, since 2018, the luxury fashion
second-hand market has grown by around 27% worldwide and is expected to be worth over
60 billion US dollars by 2025.

So why are luxury fashion brands now turning to re-commerce? Put simply, it's a way to
reach younger, environmentally conscious consumers who are keen to fuel the circular
economy and extend the lifestyle of products to reduce their carbon footprint. Plus the
timeless, long-lasting nature of luxury goods means they are well-placed in the resale
market.  Alive to this, various luxury fashion brands have recently sought a slice of the resale
market (Joukador & Kaur, 2021).
Examples include eight luxury brands, such as Stella McCartney and Balenciaga, who paired
with a prominent online luxury marketplace, TheRealReal.  TheRealReal launched its first
upcycling programme, "ReCollection" this April. The collection will see verified but
damaged designer pieces upcycled into one-off luxury pieces in a zero-waste process and
resold via TheRealReal's website.

There is also Vestiaire Collective, a global marketplace for pre-loved luxury fashion, who is
partnering with a range of fashion houses, including Alexander McQueen and Mulberry.  As
part of Vestiaire's "Brand Approved" service, the fashion houses will verify pre-owned pieces
for resale on the Brand Approved section of Vestiaire's website.

But it's not all luxury brands and resale partnerships.  Nike recently announced its "Nike
Refurbished" line. The footwear giant will keep its resale scheme in-house by fixing shoes
that are “like-new, gently worn and slightly imperfect" and reselling them in Nike stores at a
discount.

2.4 Navigating re-commerce risks

Whilst the second-hand market for luxury goods is not new, the channels in which they can
be sold are increasing and there is a greater reach for potential customers. These channels are
providing opportunities for retailers and brands to better engage in re-commerce.  Such direct
engagement can be beneficial for reaching new categories of customers and for building on
the brand's reputation by responding to the public demand for sustainability. It is also prudent
for maintaining the status of a brand, as it can help ensure authenticity and minimise the risk
of counterfeiting and damage to brand reputation rather than simply relying on trade mark
rights, which in some circumstances will have been exhausted and not available to help.  

It is worth noting that there is often a debate over whether brands should look to keep re-sale
in-house.  Building an e-commerce platform for resale is not for the faint-hearted (especially
if you do not already have an established in-house e-commerce platform) with many aspects
to navigate but it does give a level of reassurance to customers, and there are benefits for the
brand as they can re-engage directly when it comes to re-selling.

Generally, however, partnering with developed platforms, such as the "Brand Approved" or
"ReCollection" as in the examples above, is an easier and quicker route to engagement which
can reach new audiences and help spread the risk but brands do need to accept this will mean
there is less scope for control

2.5 Impact of covid on recommerce fashion

Recommerce is solidifying itself a spot in the new normal the coronavirus pandemic has
created. With the economic impact of the pandemic, consumer behaviors that formed during
2020 are likely to stick, forming into habits due to the length of these uncertain times. With
the state of technology, concerns over humans’ environmental impacts, and tight budgets,
online resale marketplaces have never had a better platform to thrive. 

Clothing will always be a necessity, but the more sustainable, secondhand options are on the
way to becoming mainstream. This shift will help reduce the overall amount of clothing
waste that ends up in landfills, bettering the planet for future generations. 

2.5.1 Limitations 

During COVID-19, supply chains in the apparel industry have proved to be unreliable and the
demand for clothing fell dramatically. Together with overproduction this has led to a
metaphorical ‘clothing mountain’. Resale of these clothes has not changed the system and
reports of clothing destruction were not well received. On the other hand, an increasing
number of Millennial and Gen Z consumers are selling their second-hand clothes online.
Recommerce and sustainable fashion are very popular among young consumers and the
industry picked up on this trend as an opportunity to accelerate the  adoption of  a more
sustainable business model. 
Consumers might worry about the safety of second-hand clothes but re-commerce brands are
efficient and transparent about their sanitation processes.
Shilpa Bhatia, founder of The Clothing Rental, an online high-fashion rental platform, is
worried. “In the past, people might have had a mental block about wearing something that
somebody else has worn but now there’s a sense of paranoia because of the (corona) virus
and the media we are consuming. I don’t know how people will react to things once the
lockdown is lifted," says Bhatia.
Her fears are not misplaced. Most retail businesses have come to a grinding halt, social
events have been cancelled and travel postponed. It’s tough for all retail businesses but
perhaps particularly so for the apparel industry’s re-commerce, or resale and rental, brands.
Going by prevalent advice, such as that shared by the US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), “current evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 may remain viable for
hours to days on surfaces made from a variety of materials." Despite the fact that garments
are properly processed before being put up for rent on these platforms, most customers will
perhaps continue to feel an “ick" factor owing to the pandemic, even after current restrictions
on e-commerce are lifted.
According to market research and advisory company Allied Market Research’s 2017 report,
Online Clothing Rental Market—Global Opportunity Analysis And Industry Forecast, the
global online market for rental clothing was estimated to reach $1,856 million (around
₹14,000 crore now) by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 10.6% from 2017-23. Online
consignment and thrift store ThredUP’s 2019 resale report suggested the total second-hand
apparel market would double by 2023, from $24 billion to $51 billion.
Now, all bets are off for an industry that is still young in India. “The rental business in India
has been around for decades but in an unorganized ‘mom-and-pop’ shop manner," says
Aanchal Saini, CEO of fashion rental service Flyrobe and co-founder of RENT IT BAE; the
companies have merged. 
Organized resale and rental businesses build the bulk of their inventories from brand
consignments, be it fast-fashion players or designer labels.
These consignments include clothes and accessories ranging from formal and casual wear to
ethnic occasion-wear. Resale and rental orders are taken both online and through stores.
Pricing varies, depending on the item’s brand of origin (the higher the brand value, the higher
its depreciated price), condition and the time it’s rented for.
Some orders are still being placed on online re-commerce sites. VRTT Vintage, an online
luxury resale store, for instance, specializes in reselling clothes and accessories from
international luxury brands. “From a sales standpoint, customers are still placing their orders
with us because these products are one-of-a-kind, and they want to buy pre-owned products
rather than new ones. Also, with travelling being restricted for the foreseeable future, I
personally feel that customers are more inclined towards supporting local, small brands such
as ours," says VRTT Vintage’s co-founder, Diva Dhawan. One more reason could be that
people are spending more time indoors, in front of their screens.
But re-commerce platforms such as Rewear, Flyrobe, RENT IT BAE, The Clothing Rental
and VRTT Vintage are obviously unable to add to inventories or make deliveries—their
websites and social media handles carry notices of indefinite delays.
Vikram Ramchandani, founder of Rewear, is worried about staying relevant and
contemporary over the short term. “We rely on incoming garments from women’s wardrobes.
Because we can’t service that aspect, the catalogue has remained static. That has resulted in
concerns about the company looking stale over time."
Moreover, brands are worried about how customers will react to used (pre-owned/second-
hand) clothes in a post-lockdown world. “It’s (already) a crisis time for rental businesses as
all occasions and events have been cancelled," says Saini. Events and occasions, especially
weddings, figure prominently on the calendar for clothing rental services.
Apart from business-to-consumer models, re-commerce brands also offer customer-to-
customer models, so consumers can earn money by renting out their wardrobe. In India,
Flyrobe started operations with this model.
There are fears now that consumers may hesitate to subscribe to such a model, given that
these clothes aren’t owned by the brand. Yet resale and rental brands are particular about the
clothes they offer. They are efficient in their sanitation and laundering processes, and
transparent about it.
Flyrobe launders clothes and then sanitizes them again before placing them in their inventory.
Saini says “that takes care of any viruses". Rewear has tied up with Bueno, a premium dry-
cleaning service. All the garments return wrapped in safe plastic bags. “After the clothing has
been dispatched, it almost hasn’t been touched. Our clients are usually the first ones to do that
after dry-cleaning," says Ramchandani. That was the practice even before the pandemic.
In fact, trying on new garments in retail stores could be potentially more problematic. “At the
store, an average of 17 people have tried any piece of clothing before you. That’s when
hygiene becomes questionable," says Saini.
She is hopeful that business will pick up once the lockdown ends and the wedding season
begins. “The crisis is already having a major toll on the economy and coming out of this
people might not want to spend too much money. The rental and resale business models will
see growth," she says.
It may be time, she believes, to try out the kind of rental subscription models offered by
international companies such as Rent the Runway and Armoire—a more flexible wardrobe
with a greater variety of clothing for a longer time period that could help Indian businesses
cater to a broader market than events and occasions. 
For consumers, the obvious incentives for recommerce and rental are a good price for the
products and the desired sustainability effects. Daemen (Kuyichi): ‘Not buying and owning a
garment should make you feel better, but the fact that you know the brand you bought is
doing its best to be more sustainable.’ 
Dworsky (ASKET), ‘A lot of consumers don’t strive for ownership of all their clothes, think
of party outfits and skiwear.’ Cunningham mentions ‘the thrill of the hunt’ as one of the
biggest drivers for recommerce among the younger generations. ‘In my experience young
people now are a bit exhausted by the mass market and are looking for something that is one
of a kind and unique. Second-hand has the same scarcity factor as fashion drops of exclusive
small collections.’
The benefits of recommerce and rental are different for consumers and fashion brands. Nelen
mentions the fact that it’s very common to return unused garments to a department store in
exchange for items of a different brand. ‘Similarly, in the future there will probably be an
increasing number of (online) warehouses where consumers can return used garments for a
voucher that can be used for another product in that warehouse.’ 
‘It can be inconvenient for consumers if all fashion brands have their own take-back
programme. But if you combine brands on a platform, consumers may lose the brand
experience because they connect more with the platform. I see opportunities for such
initiatives if the brands and consumers on the platform all share the same sustainability
values.’
Integrating recommerce and rental models requires business model restructuring as well as
the technology to enable the new processes. Smits: ‘Rental is even more disruptive than
recommerce as it requires a bigger change in existing operating systems than a recommerce
model and therefore also requires more investments. 
Nelen adds: ‘It also requires a mindshift among organisations as they need to move from
offering a product to offering a service’. That’s why entering a partnership with an online
rental platform can be a solution because it takes away some of that risk.’ Cunningham:
‘Unfortunately, we don’t have that many rental service providers in Europe, but I’m sure
once there are more service providers, you’ll see a big bump in brand uptake.’
https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/coping-with-covid-the-re-commerce-
industry-11587704230816.html
https://www.pwc.nl/en/insights-and-publications/services-and-industries/retail-and-
consumer-goods/renting-or-buying-second-hand-clothing-as-a-sustainable-option.html
 
3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
3.1 Introduction:

Research methodology is the specific procedures or techniques that are used to identify,
select, process, and analyse information about a topic. In a research paper, this methodology
section allows the reader to critically evaluate a study's overall validity and reliability. 

This research aims to understand the research methodology of Consumers buying behaviour
towards recommerce with the help of Primary and Secondary data. A survey had been carried
through Questionnaire method and the perceptions of about 155 respondents were noted and
analysed. Analysis was done with the help of pie charts, bar diagrams, etc.

Environmental impact and re-commerce attitude was observed to be very high and most of
the respondents totally agreed in favour of purchasing environmental protective products and
were very conscious about preventing environment and pollution arising from burning old
clothes. 

Thus such factors will be analysed in this study and different perceptions of different
consumers will be analysed. 

3.2 Objectives of study:

A research objective is a clear, concise, declarative statement, which provides direction to

investigate the variables under the study. Research objectives focus on the ways to measure
the variables, such as to identify or describe them. The objectives of a research project
summarize what is to be achieved by the study. Research objective is a concrete statement
describing what the research is trying to achieve.

Research is an organized investigation of a problem where an investigator attempts to gain a

solution to a problem. In order to get the right solution, clearly defined objectives are very
important.. Without focused objectives, no replicable scientific findings can be expected.

The following are the objectives of this study:

1. To understand the consumer perception towards reusable clothing. 

2. To study the impact of covid-19 on recommerce in the fashion industry
3. To analyze consumers feedback on using reused products.
 4. To determine the scope of recommerce in India
5. To assess the awareness of buyers about various recommerce brands.

3.3 Scope of the study:

The study is basically conducted to understand consumers' perceptions and attitudes towards
recommerce. 

From this study, we can have a better understanding of how covid-19 impacted on
recommerce in the fashion industry and how it benefits the environment. We will know about
the  perception regarding the training programs organised by various manufacturing units and
their perception towards the same. Therefore, these findings may help the organisations who
do not implement training but will get known huge returns on investment in training leads to.

1. General purpose of the study is to know about the different perceptions of different
consumers regarding reused clothing. 
2. The population or sample that we are studying are the middle and high class families
residing in India. The total sample size we have taken here is 155. 
3. The topics or theories that we have discussed here are pre-owned / used goods being
resold, Psychology of consumers buying pre owned clothes and the reasons for a
consumer to buy it. 
4. The main aim of the study is to know what the consumers prefer. Would they prefer
to buy second hand clothing or would they prefer to buy a new one. 
5. The study helps us to know what factors interest the customers before buying
preowned clothes and what factors disinterests them from buying it.

3.4 Research methodology:

3.4.1 Research universe:

This research is conducted with India being the universe. All the respondents reside within
India. 

3.4.2 Method of sampling:

The sampling technique used is convenience sampling. It is a type of non- profitability
sampling that involves the sample being drawn from that part of the population that is close
to hand.

Researchers have nearly no authority to select the sample elements, and it’s purely done
based on proximity and not representativeness. This non-probability sampling method is used
when there are time and cost limitations in collecting feedback. In situations where there are
resource limitations such as the initial stages of research, convenience sampling is used.

3.4.3 Sample size:

The sample size is a term used in market research for defining the number of subjects
included. The sample size in this research is 155. They are selected from the general
population and is considered representative of the real population for this specific study. The
samples are mostly working employees as well as students in India.

3.4.4 Data Collection Method 

In this research a mix of both primary and secondary methods were conducted to collect data
from various sources. 

3.4.4.1 Primary data: 

Primary data are those data, which are collected afresh and for the first time and therefore it
happens to be original in character. They are collected by the investigator conducting the
research. Primary data is information that you collect specifically for the purpose of your
research project. An advantage of primary data is that it is specifically tailored to your
research needs. A disadvantage is that it is expensive to obtain. 

Method of primary data collection: 

The questionnaire method is used for primary data collection. Questionnaire is an instrument
for collecting uniform and comprehensive information in survey research. Basically, it is a set
of standardized questions, often called items, which follow a fixed scheme in order to collect
individual data about one or more specific topics. Sometimes questionnaires are confused
with interviews. In fact, the questionnaire involves a particular kind of interview—a formal
contact, in which the conversation is governed by the wording and order of questions in the
instrument. The questionnaire often is administered in a standardized fashion, that is, in the
same way to all the respondents of the survey. The questionnaire was prepared on google
docs and sent to the respondents to understand and comprehend their opinion.

Statistical tools for analysis of primary data:

Data Analysis is the process of systematically applying statistical and/or logical techniques to
describe and illustrate, condense and recap, and evaluate data. Analysis is to extract useful
information from data and taking the decision based upon the data analysis. Here, the
questionnaire was prepared using the google document and the answers received by
respondents was interpreted with the help of pie charts, histogram, bar diagram, graphs and
percentage method. Data analysis is understanding the responses with the help of various
graphical representative tools such as bar-diagram, pie charts, etc.  

Data was collected by means of questionnaire and was analysed according to the plan.
Statistical tools used are as follows – • Percentage Method- “One of the most frequent ways
to represent statistics is by percentage. Percent simply means "per hundred" and the symbol
used to express percentage is %. One percent (or 1%) is one hundredth of the total or whole
and is therefore calculated by dividing the total or whole number by 100.” 

3.4.4.2 Secondary data:

Secondary data are those which have already been collected by someone else and which have
already been passed through the statistical process. The secondary data collects supplements
that primary data previously collected. It helps to broaden the view of the subject that is taken
into consideration for conducting the research study.

Method of secondary data collection:

 Data collected by scholars and research institutes: Scholars and research institutes
research various research problems and publish information collected by them. This
source of information is used as a source of secondary data for the research as the data
is valid and can be relied upon. 
 Internet searches: Internet is a platform which provides an abundance of data within a
second. Plenty of authorized websites have been referred to provide secondary data. 
  Libraries: Already published books from the library helped in collecting secondary
data as information provided in the published books are authentic and gone through
much analysis. 
 Commercial services: There are many organizations which charge for providing
information such as published market research reports and other publications
produced by them. This information provided by commercial services is accurate,
latest and sorted. Thus, information like consumer information, media statistics is
sought for collecting data through commercial services as a secondary source.

3.5 Limitation of study:

 A small sample size of 155 respondents 

 The study was carried out in India, so the findings may not be applicable to the other
parts of the world   because of social and cultural differences.
 Exposure and awareness to people regarding the concept of recommerce and  its
impact on the environment. 
 The information given by the respondents can be biased. It is the tendency of a person
to answer questions on a survey untruthfully or misleadingly. They may feel pressure
to give answers that are socially acceptable. Thus the results obtained from the
research may not be totally accurate.
 People may find it boring to answer the questionnaire which is a major difficulty that
affects the study. They might not answer the questionnaire or randomly select any
options. Thus the results may be flawed. 

FINDINGS

Most people of mainly the younger generation have an inclination to buy rental clothes and
save money given the hygiene and quality of the product is also good. Here, an attitude
becomes an evaluating judgement (desire or not desire) based on prior or present experience
such as previous satisfaction from the actual owners or products and services (after sales and
quality), wearing experience, and socioeconomic status of customers. It is also possible that
an attitude can be developed based on prior information without experience, as when
consumers develop preferences or biases for or against brands based on the brands’ images in
the marketplace. This also depends largely on the purchasing power of individual customers.
Customers may have a favourable attitude towards some rental or reverse clothing, but may
lack the ability due to insufficient purchasing power or willingness to take buying action. On
the other hand, rental or reverse clothing may be neglected by customers who have high
purchasing power (or over purchasing power in this sense). For example, most buyers (with
high, medium, or low income) tend to have a preferable attitude towards some rental or
reverse clothing. While a higher income class person would also not mind actually spending
money instead of renting clothes, medium and lower income class people do not mind the
idea of renting instead of splurging their money on a new cloth. Either way both the classes
agree that it is sustainable clothing and environment friendly. Some consumers would prefer
renting clothes instead of spending tons of money on new one only to wear it once. Others
believe that when it comes to rental clothes the hygiene and quality of the product is
questionable and hence, they would prefer to buy a new one. But all of them if not strongly
but do agree that renting clothes is a great way towards sustainability and good for the
environment.

Change in attitude of the customer accounts for the sudden increase in the renting or reverse
clothing in India, as the emphasis has been shifted to price consideration and affordability to
design, quality and pleasure. The Indians who believed in traditional savings now follow an
extravagant approach. Renting and Reverse clothes have often been associated with the core
competences of creativity, exclusivity, craftsmanship, precision, high quality, innovation and
premium pricing. These product attributes give the consumers the satisfaction of not only
owning expensive items but the extra-added psychological benefits like esteem, prestige and
a sense of a high status that reminds them and others that they belong to an exclusive group
of only a select few, who can afford these pricey items.

CONCLUSION

Consumer Buying Behaviour is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying
and using products. Need to understand why consumers make the purchases that they make,
what factors influence consumer purchases, the changing factors in our society. There are
various factors that have been analysed in the above study stating that Age, Education level
of respondents, Occupation and Income level of the people influences the purchase of the
rental clothes. Intern it also deals with other influencing factors such as Sources of
information, Level of Awareness of brands that rent or revise clothes etc. Consumer Buying
Behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of the ultimate consumer.

Recommerce industry needs to analyse buying behaviour for:

 1. Buyer’s reactions to a firm’s marketing strategy has a great impact on the firm’s success.

2. The marketing concept stresses that a firm should create a Marketing Mix (MM) that
satisfies (gives utility to) customers, therefore need to analyse the what, where, when and
how consumers buy.

3. Marketers can better predict how consumers will respond to marketing strategies. Though
extensive research has been applied for the study as the consumer preference or buying
behaviour may be changed over time. This study further enhances the researchers to make an
elaborate study on the particular brand of recommerce and how far it has had an impact on
the consumers. The advancing demand of rental clothes across the globe represents a
promising trend to the growth of the Recommerce industry. The rising demand of rental
clothes in India is a sign of people saving money and not impulsively buying clothes.
Consumers are not thinking of renting clothes as borrowing from a friend. But by paying,
they are assured of the quality of the clothes they rent. There is quality control by the
provider because they want to ensure that their customers will do business with them again. It
can be an enjoyable experience at a very affordable price. Now the mindset of the Indian
consumers is a lot different. Previously, Indian consumers would never try to look at the
option of renting. Now, the consumers try to save money and enjoy the affordable clothes as
well considering the fact that the quality and hygiene of the product is great also. More than
price, quality matters.

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