Swapping Stories: An Exploratory Study of Consumer Exchange Motivations and Behavior

Abstract

Fashion retailing has become more and more competitive as new retailers are constantly entering the bricks and mortar as well as the Internet marketplace. The more products become available, the greater the interest among apparel consumers (Bianchi and Birtwistle, 2010). This consumer interest is apparent, as according to Mintel (2010) women spend, on average, $597 annually on apparel, and eight out of ten women have made an apparel purchase within the last year. In recent years, however, some women have gravitated toward acquiring clothing through exchange rather than purchasing new. These clothing exchange venues, often referred to as “clothing swaps,” allow apparel consumers to swap their gently used clothes for stylish, new-to-them garments of others without having to spend money (The Hamilton Spectator, 2011). Currently, the clothing swap phenomenon has gained such popularity that it extends beyond the local in-person event and occurs on a regular basis on websites designed specifically for the purposes of clothing exchange. For instance, Swapstyle.com - now in its 9th year - claims to be the world’s largest and most popular free online fashion swap site and currently has 55,000 active members (Swapsryle.com, 2011).