Consumers' Perceived Contagion and Purchase Intention in Online Second-Hand Marketplaces
Abstract
The primary aim of this research is to examine the effect of perceived contamination on purchase intention in digital second-hand marketplaces, through the mediating role of attitude toward buying second-hand products and economic motivation. The research was conducted with 551 participants in the United Kingdom. Another objective of this study is to determine whether the effect of the human element on purchase intention for second-hand products varies depending on the degree of contamination. Accordingly, the effects of visual content were tested using a scenario-based experimental method featuring product scenarios with low and high degrees of contact. In the developed research model, the moderating effect of perceived contamination and the mediating effect of attitude were analysed via regression analysis based on the Bootstrap method using the PROCESS Macro (Model 7). The results indicate that economic motivation has a strong effect on attitude, but this effect becomes even more pronounced under high contamination conditions. Furthermore, the study reveals that the use of human figures in products carrying high contact risk does not reduce purchase intention; on the contrary, it creates an element of trust through the “Positive Contagion” effect. This research recommends the use of trust-enhancing visual strategies in digital marketing communications, particularly in the presentation of high-risk second-hand products.
Keywords
Online Second-Hand Shopping, Contagion Theory, Positive Contagion, Economic Motivation, Purchase Intention, Sustainability
Ethical Statement
The ethical compliance of the study titled "Consumers’ Perceived Contagion and Purchase Intention in Online Second-Hand Marketplace" was approved by the Pamukkale University Social and Human Sciences Research and Publication Ethics Committee with decision number 68282350/2025/15 dated October 30, 2025.
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