Trust as a Factor of Consumer Choice in the Commercial and Non-Commercial Segments of the Collaborative Consumption Economy (the Case of Second-hand Clothes)

This study examines the role of trust in commercial and non-commercial second-hand clothing practices. The purpose of the study is to identify the role of trust in the sharing economy and the difference between this role in the commercial and non-commercial sectors using the example of the used clothing segment as well as to identify the role of trust towards the platform, towards the buyer, towards the seller and the individual propensity to trust in consumer choice. Based on the results obtained a system of measures aimed at increasing the level of consumer confidence on ESP platforms is proposed. The analysis is based on a survey in which 237 people participated. Three binary logistic regressions were constructed where the dependent variables are inclusion in the practice of selling clothes, inclusion in the practice of buying clothes and inclusion in the practice of free transfer of clothes. The results obtained indicate that for commercial practices trust towards the seller, towards the platform, as well as towards the practice of sharing in general are important factors. Barriers to entry into commercial practice in addition to a low level of trust are the perception of the practice as "inconvenient" as well as lack of experience or insufficient experience in other segments of the sharing. While in the non-profit segment trust plays a lesser role and is important only in the form of trust towards the recipient of the clothes.