Sharing Fashion: An Abstract

Abstract

The traditional fashion consumption model has evolved over the last two decades. Digital selling platforms (e.g. website, mobile applications) and pure-play retailers have allowed to consumers to engage in alternative forms of consumption (sharing) (Belk 2014). Consumers are moving away from disposable purchasing and enhancing their social consciousness leading to fashion retailers garment recycling opportunities (Armstrong et al. 2015). Despite the success of garment exchange platforms, companies are yet to introduce sharing platforms within their retail strategy. Through engagement in the process of sharing fashion consumers can reuse clothing, which offers an alternative to fashion consumption as a means of projecting self-identity. Authors relating to sharing consumption themes have explored attachment ownership (Belk 1988, 2014), re-circulation through second hand markets (Gregson and Crewe 2003), sharing within a sustainable context (Botsman and Roo 2010) and the digital sharing economy (Martin and Upham 2016). However, Choo et al. (2014) debated that there is very little research into fashion sharing behaviour from a consumer perspective. Furthermore, they suggest that the relationship between ownership, identity formation and recirculation needs further exploration to be understood in terms of relevance within this research. The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between sharing, identity and garment ownership to allow fashion retailers to establish whether sharing platforms can be introduced in their selling strategy. To establish the role of ownership and identity within consumers sharing behaviour, a purposive sample of millennial females (generation y and z) (Hall and Towers 2017) was recruited. Respondents engaged within a sharing event (e.g. a swap shop) recorded their experiences which were followed by an in-depth interview. Employing an interpretivist perspective, interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to establish the core themes presented by consumers. This will indicate whether consumer’s experience of sharing engagement compromises individual identity and their potential use of pre-owned garments. The findings of this research shall develop consumption literature by providing a fashion sharing context. This will identify the implications within the fashion industry and address the research gaps outlined. Fashion retailers can then determine the potential of including sharing platforms within their retail channel strategy.