This study has two main objectives. First, it identifies a new psychological barrier: the perceived association between second-hand items and their former owners, which raises contamination concerns and hinders their adoption. Second, it proposes practical strategies to reduce this perceived association, promoting greater acceptance of second-hand goods.
This study proposes six hypotheses, which are tested through three online experiments involving 517 participants recruited via Prolific.
This study reveals that consumer hesitation towards second-hand items stems from perceived contamination linked to the previous owner, especially for close-to-body products. Study 1 shows that cleanliness perception mediates this owner-item association. Study 2 replicates this, demonstrating that hedonic framing improves cleanliness perception. Study 3 confirms these effects, showing that hedonic framing reduces the owner-item association, making t-shirts (close-to-body) seem cleaner and more desirable than utilitarian items like laptop bags (away-from-body). Overall, hedonic framing effectively minimises contamination concerns by reducing previous owner-item association, making second-hand goods appear cleaner, fresher and more appealing to consumers.
This study’s findings could encourage second-hand item adoption, boosting the circular economy, reducing waste, lowering demand for new products and mitigating environmental issues like resource depletion and pollution.
This research reveals how perceived connections between previous owners and pre-owned items influence cleanliness perceptions, significantly affecting buyers’ preferences for second-hand goods.
