Branded, partnered, or opting out: A comparison of secondhand business models in shaping consumer responses

As secondhand retail becomes central to fashion's shift toward circularity, traditional brands increasingly adopt secondhand business models. While this adoption is expected to enhance sustainability perceptions of the original brand, their strategic value remains empirically underexamined. Grounded in signaling and attribution theories, this research examines how secondhand business model structure shapes perceived environmental commitment, brand attitudes, and downstream responses—including evaluations of subsequent CSR efforts. Two between-subjects experiments (N = 304; N = 302) tested three structures: a traditional model (new products only), a dual-branded model (new and secondhand products sold by the brand), and a dual third-party model (new products sold by the brand and secondhand offered via a partner). Both studies employed serial mediation analysis using PROCESS Macro Model 6. Study 1 found that the dual-branded model enhanced perceived environmental commitment relative to the traditional model, improving brand attitudes, word-of-mouth, and purchase intentions—but yielded outcomes similar to the dual third-party model. Study 2 focused on a subsequent CSR evaluation, showing that the dual-branded model strengthened value-driven attributions and perceived authenticity but again performed comparably to the dual third-party model. These findings position secondhand models—regardless of format—as powerful signals that shape consumer interpretations of brand sustainability.