Why Is Collaborative Apparel Consumption Gaining Popularity? An Empirical Study of US Gen Z Consumers

Lindsay McCoy, Yuan-Ting Wang and Ting Chi
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Lindsay McCoy: Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
Yuan-Ting Wang: Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
Ting Chi: Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-18

Abstract: Apparel rental, also known as collaborative apparel consumption, has created an innovative and popular business model, providing consumers with the ability to focus on using their products instead of ownership. Recent surveys show that sustainability is driving demand and customer loyalty in the US. Among all generations, Gen Z consumers lead the way. To better understand the emerging popularity of apparel rental services among Gen Z consumers who are becoming a major driving force for retail growth and the sustainability movement, this study aimed to identify the factors significantly influencing Gen Z consumers’ intention to use apparel rental services; 362 eligible responses were gathered via a questionnaire survey. The psychometric properties of the proposed model were examined, and the multiple regression method was applied to test the hypotheses. Attitude, subject norms, perceived consumer effectiveness, past environmental behavior, and fashion leadership significantly affected Gen Z consumers’ intentions to use apparel rental services. Attitude plays a mediating role between Gen Z consumers’ environmental knowledge, fashion leadership, need for uniqueness, and their intention to use apparel rental services. The proposed research model exhibited good explanatory power, accounting for 58.6% of the variance in Gen Z consumers’ use intention toward apparel rental services.

Keywords: apparel rental service; use intention; Gen Z consumers; collaborative consumption; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

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