Why do consumers buy repurposed products?

Principal Investigator: Irene Lu, Marketing
Project Title: Why Do Consumers Buy Repurposed Products: A Study of Motivations in Consumption Behaviour that is Good for the Environment
Funder: SSHRC Insight Development

This study focuses on the consumption of repurposed products. To repurpose is to transform old products into new products of greater value that serve a different function. For example, turning old iPhone parts into earrings or old hockey sticks into a chair. The earrings and chair are repurposed products. The goal of this research is to understand why people buy repurposed.  The specific objective is to segment Canadian consumers based on motivations to buy repurposed. The segmentation classifies people into groups: people within a group are similarly motivated, and people between groups are dissimilarly motivated. Thus, the researchers will identify distinctly motivated consumers. Self-determination theory (SDT) will be applied to explain how a consumer may be motivated. Based on SDT, nine motivations could explain a person’s behaviour. SDT thus facilitates an extensive account of consumer motivations. This is the first study to apply all nine SDT motivations to segment consumers. This research can advise retailers and policymakers on how to market repurposed products. The use of SDT will also advance the knowledge of why people are ecologically responsible.  As such, the study will also contribute to a greater understanding of how to promote greener lifestyles and consumption habits.