Situational Factors And Consumer Behavior Towards Secondhand Clothes In Kenya

Abstract

There has been increased demand for secondhand clothes globally, a trend attributed to the global economic crisis, and comparatively low prices for those products in comparison with new garments. In Africa, there are millions of hawkers selling secondhand clothes in major cities and in local open markets in the rural areas. The purpose of the study is to determine whether situational factors have significant effect on the probability of consumers of secondhand clothes choosing open market retailers among other retailers in Kenya. This study adopted both descriptive and exploratory research design. Target population of this study was 15,513 respondents from 7 counties with the highest population according to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) (2019) population census. A sample of 384 respondents was selected using Krejcie & Morgan (1979) formula. Structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data from the selected respondents. All the situational factors identified for the study had significant effect on the consumer behavior in terms of the amount of money spent on secondhand clothes. The findings from the binary logit regression analysis revealed that time of purchase (end month) was associated with high probability of buying from open markets (including streets) than if the customers are buying during other times, and the association was significant. Results further indicated that, density (market crowding) was associated with low probability of buying second hand clothes from the open market than consumers consumer who rates them as of low density (less crowded, and the association was significant. It can also be observed from the results that, atmospherics (favourable) was associated with high probability of buying second hand clothes from the open market than if the consumers who considered atmospherics otherwise but the association was insignificant. Companionship was also associated with higher probability of buying from open markets including streets compared to if the consumers are not accompanied during shopping, and the association was significant. Second hand retailers would benefit from this study in that, the information generated would help them to understand drivers of consumers’ behavior towards second hand clothes. This understanding would assist them when designing the marketing strategy of their clothes in order to maximize profits.