Consumer perception of social media marketing of online second-hand goods: Do risks matter?

Abstract

The advent of social media commerce has sparked enormous expansion in the marketing sector. One such visible strength of social media marketing is particularly felt in the way it empowers second-hand goods vendors to publicize their goods on online platforms to boost sales. However, while online transactions sometimes pose risks to the consumer, the accumulation of second-hand goods exacerbate these risks to the consumer. This paper sets out to investigate online users' aversion and fears relating to the purchase of second-hand goods on social media. The approach seeks to elicit and analyse user aversions (preferences) for second-hand goods on social media. Using traditional conjoint analysis, the relative importance (weights) of the perceived risks and combinations of the risk features are revealed. As a sequel, the findings showed that Health Risk is the adjudged riskiest attribute. This was seconded by financial risk and Security risk attribute. However, the Psychological risk attribute recorded the least risky attribute by respondents. The part-worth utility also revealed that respondents were not concerned with financial risk, however, security-wise, they seek for their integrity. Also, psychologically, they are keen on the Appearance of the used good while in Healthy situations, respondents are much particular about the recyclable nature of the used good in question. Situated in the Czech Republic, the study provides insight into the second-hand goods market in Europe and the associated risks, aversions and fears of the online consumer. Following a systematic approach, market reactions to variations of online second-hand goods market would be simulated. © The Authors, 2019. All Rights Reserved.