Shared research study link
Depop: How Gen Z Actually Feels About Resale Fashion
Explore Gen Z attitudes toward Depop fashion resale marketplace - what drives them to buy secondhand, how they feel about the social commerce model, seller fees vs buyer fees, and whether sustainability claims actually influence their purchasing decisions.
Study Overview
Updated Jan 29, 2026
Research question: Explore Gen Z attitudes toward Depop-what drives secondhand purchases, how the social commerce model lands, preferences on buyer vs seller fees, and whether sustainability affects decisions.
Research group: 6 UK Gen Z shoppers (19–28) from Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds-students and early‑career workers, including a parent-providing 18 responses across three prompts.
What they said: Buying is pragmatic and transactional-price and low hassle dominate; sustainability and “unique finds” are supportive but rarely primary; basics/hygiene items are bought new for predictability.
Depop’s social layer is mostly noise for task-led shopping; participants mute feeds, rely on search/saved searches, follow a few trusted sellers, and use likes as a lightweight wishlist. Buyer fees revealed at checkout feel sneaky, trigger abandonment, and drive switching to Vinted unless the item is rare; small predictable fees (~£1–£2) are tolerated, but totals crossing mental caps stop the sale.
Main insights: Conversion is driven by clear all-in price, speed/dispatch predictability, and fit clarity; the social-first UX and drip-pricing undermine trust and value perception.
Takeaways: Show all-in pricing upfront or bake fees into listings (consider a visible fee cap); launch a toggleable “shop-only” mode; require key measurements/materials and surface seller delivery stats; evolve likes into a wishlist with price‑drop alerts.
These changes align the product to Gen Z’s transaction-first mindset while preserving optional social discovery.
Research group: 6 UK Gen Z shoppers (19–28) from Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds-students and early‑career workers, including a parent-providing 18 responses across three prompts.
What they said: Buying is pragmatic and transactional-price and low hassle dominate; sustainability and “unique finds” are supportive but rarely primary; basics/hygiene items are bought new for predictability.
Depop’s social layer is mostly noise for task-led shopping; participants mute feeds, rely on search/saved searches, follow a few trusted sellers, and use likes as a lightweight wishlist. Buyer fees revealed at checkout feel sneaky, trigger abandonment, and drive switching to Vinted unless the item is rare; small predictable fees (~£1–£2) are tolerated, but totals crossing mental caps stop the sale.
Main insights: Conversion is driven by clear all-in price, speed/dispatch predictability, and fit clarity; the social-first UX and drip-pricing undermine trust and value perception.
Takeaways: Show all-in pricing upfront or bake fees into listings (consider a visible fee cap); launch a toggleable “shop-only” mode; require key measurements/materials and surface seller delivery stats; evolve likes into a wishlist with price‑drop alerts.
These changes align the product to Gen Z’s transaction-first mindset while preserving optional social discovery.
Participant Snapshots
6 profiles
Lauren Atkinson
19-year-old Leeds FE student and thrifty homeowner-by-inheritance. Budget-focused, faith-grounded, and practical, she values transparent pricing, durable goods, and community. Aiming for a design apprenticeship; enjoys local music, cooking, and quiet routines.
Callum Reeves
Callum Reeves, 22, a Birmingham-based operations admin, is a practical, empathetic widower. A budget-savvy homeowner, he values reliability, safety, and honest brands, balancing career growth with gym, football, home cooking, and low-cost local adventures.
Natalia Nowak
22-year-old Birmingham homeowner-by-inheritance, Polish-British, studying digital marketing while inactive from work. Frugal, practical, values transparency and local relevance. Thrifts, batch-cooks, volunteers monthly, and builds a portfolio toward entry-l…
Lucy Ainsworth
Manchester-based 21-year-old MSc student, inherited flat owner, budget-practical and community-minded. Loves cycling, museums, and batch-cooking. Politically unaffiliated yet civic, sustainability-leaning, and skeptical of hype. Plans a mission-led data car…
Marek Kowalski
28-year-old Polish CAD technician in Birmingham, co-parenting two kids. Budget-focused, pragmatic, bus-and-tram commuter. Values reliability, transparency, and time-saving tools. Liberal Democrat, no religion. Plans career growth via certifications and stea…
Jamie Cartwright
Widowed 28-year-old dad in Birmingham, remote care coordinator, raising a toddler with empathy and routines. Budget conscious, values flexibility and transparency, loves football, batch cooking, and community. Prefers practical, trustworthy, time-saving sol…
Lauren Atkinson
19-year-old Leeds FE student and thrifty homeowner-by-inheritance. Budget-focused, faith-grounded, and practical, she values transparent pricing, durable goods, and community. Aiming for a design apprenticeship; enjoys local music, cooking, and quiet routines.
Callum Reeves
Callum Reeves, 22, a Birmingham-based operations admin, is a practical, empathetic widower. A budget-savvy homeowner, he values reliability, safety, and honest brands, balancing career growth with gym, football, home cooking, and low-cost local adventures.
Natalia Nowak
22-year-old Birmingham homeowner-by-inheritance, Polish-British, studying digital marketing while inactive from work. Frugal, practical, values transparency and local relevance. Thrifts, batch-cooks, volunteers monthly, and builds a portfolio toward entry-l…
Lucy Ainsworth
Manchester-based 21-year-old MSc student, inherited flat owner, budget-practical and community-minded. Loves cycling, museums, and batch-cooking. Politically unaffiliated yet civic, sustainability-leaning, and skeptical of hype. Plans a mission-led data car…
Marek Kowalski
28-year-old Polish CAD technician in Birmingham, co-parenting two kids. Budget-focused, pragmatic, bus-and-tram commuter. Values reliability, transparency, and time-saving tools. Liberal Democrat, no religion. Plans career growth via certifications and stea…
Jamie Cartwright
Widowed 28-year-old dad in Birmingham, remote care coordinator, raising a toddler with empathy and routines. Budget conscious, values flexibility and transparency, loves football, batch cooking, and community. Prefers practical, trustworthy, time-saving sol…
Overview
0 participants
Sex / Gender
Race / Ethnicity
Locale (Top)
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Demographic Overview
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Participant locations
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Participant Incomes
US benchmark scaled to group size
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Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 ACS 1-year (Table B19001; >$200k evenly distributed for comparison)
Media Ingestion
Connections appear when personas follow many of the same sources, highlighting overlapping media diets.
Questions and Responses
3 questions
Response Summaries
3 questions
Word Cloud
Question Summary
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Summary
Themes
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Outliers
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Persona Correlations
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Overview
Gen Z in this sample treats Depop-and-resale as a pragmatic, cost-driven channel rather than primarily a sustainability or social-first experience. Price, clarity of total cost, speed and low friction dominate purchase decisions. Depop’s social-feed mechanics are divisive: useful for curated follow-lists and discovery but often experienced as distracting or inducing FOMO when shoppers are task-oriented. Sustainability is a positive but secondary motivator that rarely overcomes poor price/value, slow shipping, unclear fees or difficult returns. Segments differ mainly by income, life-stage and local shopping culture, which shape tolerance for social features, willingness to deal with seller messaging, and preference for in-person charity shopping vs calm transactional marketplaces.
Total responses: 18
Key Segments
| Segment | Attributes | Insight | Supporting Agents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Younger students / lower-income Gen Z |
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Highly price-sensitive and time-constrained: surprise buyer fees or slow shipping are deal-breakers. They treat social features largely as noise, using follow-lists only pragmatically for trusted sellers and saved searches. Prefer platforms where total cost and speed are explicit (e.g., Vinted, charity shops). | Lauren Atkinson, Natalia Nowak, Lucy Ainsworth |
| Early-career workers / mid-income Gen Z |
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Task-oriented shoppers who value efficient search, reliable sizing info and predictable delivery. They find the social-feed distracting and would adopt a plain-shop mode; they migrate to calmer transactional alternatives when Depop adds friction or hidden costs. | Callum Reeves, Jamie Cartwright, Marek Kowalski |
| Caregivers / parents among Gen Z |
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Extremely pragmatic resale users: they buy bundles, prioritise availability and durability, and will choose new when speed/returns/warranty matter. They tolerate resale when it demonstrably saves time and money per use. | Jamie Cartwright |
| City / local retail culture |
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Local retail ecosystems shape channel choice and tolerance for social commerce: Birmingham leans to in-person charity/thrift shopping for immediacy and try-on; Leeds shows budget behaviours (saved sellers, Monzo tracking); Manchester respondents are most likely to report social-feed driven FOMO. | Natalia Nowak, Lauren Atkinson, Lucy Ainsworth |
Shared Mindsets
| Trait | Signal | Agents |
|---|---|---|
| Price sensitivity | Across income brackets price or perceived value is the primary decision driver: resale wins when discounts vs new are meaningful and transparent; hidden fees or marginal savings push shoppers away. | Callum Reeves, Lauren Atkinson, Lucy Ainsworth, Natalia Nowak, Jamie Cartwright, Marek Kowalski |
| Sustainability as a secondary motivator | Sustainability is positively viewed but functions more as a moral bonus than the decisive factor; shoppers will not accept worse price, speed or fit for sustainability alone. | Callum Reeves, Lucy Ainsworth, Natalia Nowak, Jamie Cartwright, Marek Kowalski |
| Aversion to social-feed commerce when shopping with purpose | Many users find the feed noisy and distracting for task-focused purchases; they would welcome an off-switch or a plain-shop/browse-by-store mode to remove FOMO and streamline buying. | Callum Reeves, Lauren Atkinson, Lucy Ainsworth, Jamie Cartwright, Natalia Nowak, Marek Kowalski |
| Preference for transparent, all-in pricing | Buyer-facing platform fees provoke abandonment and shift demand to competitor platforms or in-person charity shops. Clear upfront totals or seller-baked-in pricing reduce friction and increase conversion. | Lauren Atkinson, Callum Reeves, Natalia Nowak, Jamie Cartwright, Marek Kowalski, Lucy Ainsworth |
| Importance of fit, quality, and low faff | Clear measurements, quality photos, fast postage and straightforward returns are decisive; lacking these, shoppers prefer buying new for basics despite resale price advantages. | Lauren Atkinson, Lucy Ainsworth, Natalia Nowak, Marek Kowalski, Jamie Cartwright |
Divergences
| Segment | Contrast | Agents |
|---|---|---|
| Younger students / lower-income Gen Z | Prioritise lowest possible out-of-pocket cost and minimal surprises versus early-career Gen Z who will pay a modest premium for speed and predictability. | Lauren Atkinson, Natalia Nowak, Lucy Ainsworth, Callum Reeves, Marek Kowalski |
| Social-feed engagement (Lauren Atkinson) | Lauren actively uses following/likes as a purposeful discovery and wishlist tool, while most peers regard social mechanics as noise and would prefer a transactional interface. | Lauren Atkinson, Callum Reeves, Lucy Ainsworth |
| Caregivers / parents | Caregivers accept more transactional complexity (bundles, messaging) when it delivers clear time and cost savings for children’s needs, whereas non-caregivers often reject messaging friction unless savings are large. | Jamie Cartwright |
| Regional retail culture (Birmingham vs Manchester) | Birmingham respondents show a stronger preference for in-person charity/thrift shopping and calm marketplaces; Manchester respondents report higher susceptibility to FOMO from social feeds and discovery-driven browsing. | Natalia Nowak, Lauren Atkinson, Lucy Ainsworth |
| High-friction tolerance (Marek Kowalski) | Marek imposes explicit numeric thresholds (≥40% saving and <10 minutes messaging) before using resale, unlike others who express preferences qualitatively-this signals a subgroup whose resale adoption can be modeled with concrete elasticity rules. | Marek Kowalski |
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Recommendations & Next Steps
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Overview
Gen Z in this study treats resale as a pragmatic, transactional channel: price, clarity of total cost, and low faff drive purchase; the social feed is mostly noise during task-focused shopping. Depop underperforms vs Vinted when fees appear late and interactions are slow. Plan: deliver transparent all-in pricing, a toggleable shop-only mode, faster shipping signals, and stricter listing data (measurements/condition). Keep sustainability as a supportive message, not the lead.
Quick Wins (next 2–4 weeks)
| # | Action | Why | Owner | Effort | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Show all-in price upfront | Late buyer fees feel sneaky and trigger checkout abandonment; upfront totals reduce anxiety and make cross-app comparison easy. | Product-Pricing & Checkout | Low | High |
| 2 | Shop-only toggle (MVP) | Users want a plain, transactional UX that hides feed/noise; improves intent-driven conversion. | Product-UX | Med | High |
| 3 | Require key measurements in listing | Fit/quality clarity is decisive; measurements + material reduce messaging and returns risk. | Seller Ops & Listings | Low | Med |
| 4 | Delivery stats badge | Displaying avg dispatch time and on-time rate builds trust and speeds decisions. | Trust & Logistics Data | Med | Med |
| 5 | Likes → Wishlist with price-drop alerts | Users already use likes as bookmarks; lightweight alerts convert hesitant buyers without extra messaging. | Growth Product | Low | Med |
| 6 | Fee disclosure microcopy + cap pilot | Clear early disclosure with a visible fee cap (e.g., ≤£1.99) reduces the "airline vibes" shock. | Pricing | Low | High |
Initiatives (30–90 days)
| # | Initiative | Description | Owner | Timeline | Dependencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Transparent Pricing & Fee Model Experiments | A/B test:
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Pricing, Finance, Data Science | 0–90 days | Legal/Compliance review, Experiment framework, Seller comms plan, Analytics instrumentation |
| 2 | Transactional Mode ('Plain Shop') | Build a toggleable mode that suppresses feed/alerts and surfaces search, filters, saved searches, all-in price, measurements. Phase 2: user default preference + price caps. | Product-UX, Mobile/Web Eng | 0–120 days | Design system updates, Notifications settings, Search/Filters, A/B testing |
| 3 | Seller Quality Standards & Incentives | Enforce measurements/material/condition fields, auto-size mapping, photo checklist; reward with Fast Dispatch badge and fee discounts; penalize repeat non-compliance. | Seller Ops, Policy, Data | 30–150 days | Listing schema changes, Badge logic, Seller education, Policy enforcement tooling |
| 4 | Shipping Speed & Convenience | Improve perceived and actual speed:
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Logistics Partnerships, Operations | 60–180 days | Carrier APIs/SLAs, Label integrations, CX for exceptions, Legal for pickup |
| 5 | Trust & Protection Clarity | Surface buyer protection upfront, simplify disputes, and add a Protected Purchase badge for eligible listings to justify platform value even when fees exist. | Trust & Safety, Payments | 30–120 days | Policy copy, Risk systems, Support workflows, Legal review |
| 6 | Calm UX Rebalance | Reduce hype pressure: throttle 'drop' alerts, consolidate followed-seller updates into a weekly digest, and prioritize intent signals over social content for session routing. | Growth, Notifications, Data Science | 0–90 days | Notification service, Ranking models, User prefs |
KPIs to Track
| # | KPI | Definition | Target | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Checkout fee abandonment rate | % of sessions with fee revealed at checkout that end without purchase | -30% within 60 days of upfront pricing | Weekly |
| 2 | All-in price coverage | % of listing impressions where buyer sees total price (item + shipping + fees) before checkout | ≥95% within 30 days | Weekly |
| 3 | Transactional mode conversion lift | Relative lift in search-to-purchase conversion for users in shop-only mode vs control | +10% within 90 days | Weekly |
| 4 | Listing completeness (measurements) | % of apparel listings with required measurements/material fields filled | From 70% to 90% in 90 days | Weekly |
| 5 | Dispatch speed | Median time from purchase to carrier scan + % shipped within 48h | Median < 2 days; ≥80% within 48h | Weekly |
| 6 | Pricing clarity NPS | Buyer NPS to 'How clear was the total price?' post-purchase survey | +15 points in 90 days | Monthly |
Risks & Mitigations
| # | Risk | Mitigation | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fee model changes reduce take-rate/margin | Stage A/B with margin guardrails, deploy flat-fee caps first, backstop with seller incentives not blanket subsidies | Pricing & Finance |
| 2 | Seller backlash or price inflation when fees are baked in | Seller education, pricing guidance bands, temporary credits for compliant listings, monitor sell-through elasticity | Seller Ops |
| 3 | Lower social engagement from shop-only mode | Opt-in toggle, session-intent routing, weekly seller digest to preserve discovery without clutter | Product-Growth |
| 4 | Engineering complexity across platforms | Phased rollout behind feature flags, shared components, limit scope of v1 to listing/PDPage/checkout | Eng Leads |
| 5 | Logistics partner reliability for click-and-collect | Small regional pilot, strict SLAs, fallback to home delivery, clear CX comms | Logistics Partnerships |
| 6 | Regulatory risk around pricing disclosures | Legal review of displays, avoid drip-pricing patterns, ensure taxes/fees shown pre-commit | Legal & Compliance |
Timeline
0–30 days: Ship all-in price on PDP; fee disclosure + cap pilot; listing measurement requirement; wishlist alerts; start calm-UX tweaks.
30–90 days: A/B fee models (inclusive, flat cap); launch shop-only mode MVP; seller quality badges; buyer protection copy refresh; begin dispatch stats.
90–180 days: Shop-only v2 (defaults, price caps); click-and-collect pilot; expand seller incentives/penalties; refine notification digest; policy/returns improvements.
30–90 days: A/B fee models (inclusive, flat cap); launch shop-only mode MVP; seller quality badges; buyer protection copy refresh; begin dispatch stats.
90–180 days: Shop-only v2 (defaults, price caps); click-and-collect pilot; expand seller incentives/penalties; refine notification digest; policy/returns improvements.
Research Study Narrative
Objective and context
We explored how Gen Z actually feels about Depop’s resale experience: why they buy secondhand, whether the social commerce layer helps or hinders, reactions to buyer vs seller fees, and how much sustainability really motivates purchases. Across questions, respondents treat resale as a pragmatic, transactional channel. Price, clarity of total cost, speed and low faff decide outcomes; sustainability is welcome but rarely decisive.
What actually drives Gen Z to resale (vs new)
- Price first, convenience close behind. “It’s price first, every time” (Lucy Ainsworth). Rule-based shoppers set explicit thresholds like “≥40% saving and <10 minutes of messaging” (Marek Kowalski). Low hassle (fast delivery, easy returns) is essential; waiting for parcels or drawn-out DMs kills intent (Callum Reeves).
- Sustainability = bonus, not trigger. “I care, but I’m not a hero. It’s mainly budget” (Jamie Cartwright). Eco benefits reinforce a choice but do not overcome poor value or slow shipping.
- New for hygiene and predictability. Underwear, socks and many shoes are purchased new for fit/support, warranty and returns certainty (Marek Kowalski).
- Platform friction deters. Perceived Depop markups and slow seller interactions push buyers to Vinted or in-person charity shops, where tactile checking and calm, transactional flows win (Natalia Nowak).
Reaction to Depop’s social commerce model
- Net negative when shopping with intent. The feed and notifications create clutter, FOMO and decision friction: “turns shopping into vibes and clout… I spiral into FOMO and buy nothing” (Lucy Ainsworth). Several mute notifications and go straight to search/filters; one quantified it as “70% noise, 30% useful” (Callum Reeves).
- Narrow, high-value use cases. Following a small set of trusted sellers aids discovery and trust (Jamie Cartwright). Likes are repurposed as a lightweight wishlist/bookmark (Callum Reeves).
- Clear request: a toggleable “shop-only” mode that suppresses social noise and surfaces measurements, fees, delivery stats and all-in price.
Fees and pricing perceptions
- Checkout buyer fees damage trust and conversion. The pop-up fee feels “sneaky,” “mugged off,” and “airline vibes” (Lauren Atkinson, Callum Reeves). It triggers abandonment and switching to Vinted/Facebook Marketplace when totals are comparable.
- Strong preference for all-in price upfront. “Bake it into the sticker price” (Natalia Nowak). Small, predictable add-ons (£1–£2) are sometimes tolerated; crossing a mental price cap causes instant drop-off (Lucy Ainsworth). Unique items are the main exception (Jamie Cartwright), with some factoring buyer protection and time cost (Marek Kowalski).
Personas and demographic nuances
- Younger students / lower income (19–22): Highly price-sensitive; surprise fees and slow shipping are deal-breakers; prefer platforms with explicit totals and speed (Lauren, Natalia, Lucy).
- Early-career workers (22–28): Task-oriented; want efficient search, sizing info, predictable delivery; defect to calmer marketplaces when Depop adds friction (Callum, Jamie, Marek).
- Caregivers: Extremely pragmatic; accept messaging/bundles only if they clearly save time and money for children’s needs (Jamie).
- Local culture: Birmingham leans to charity/thrift for immediacy; Manchester reports higher FOMO from feeds; Leeds shows budget tracking and curated follow lists.
What Depop should do
- Show all-in price upfront. Display item + shipping + fees on the listing page; pilot fee caps and seller-baked pricing to reduce “drip” anxiety.
- Launch a “Shop-only” mode. Suppress feed/alerts; prioritize search, filters, saved searches, sizing/measurements, delivery ETA and seller dispatch stats.
- Raise listing quality. Require measurements/material/condition fields; add photo checklists and auto-size mapping. Incentivize with “Fast Dispatch” and fee discounts.
- Speed and convenience. Surface seller dispatch performance; default to prepaid labels; pilot click-and-collect to win micro-moment purchases.
- Clarify protection. A visible “Protected Purchase” badge and simpler disputes to justify platform value even when fees exist.
Risks and measurement guardrails
- Margin impact from fee changes: A/B test inclusive pricing vs caps with margin guardrails; use seller incentives rather than broad subsidies.
- Seller backlash/price inflation: Clear pricing guidance, temporary credits for compliant listings, monitor sell-through elasticity.
- Lower social engagement: Keep shop-only opt-in, route by intent, offer weekly seller digests to protect discovery.
KPIs: Checkout fee abandonment (-30% in 60 days); All-in price coverage (≥95% of impressions in 30 days); Shop-only conversion lift (+10% in 90 days); Listing completeness (measurements to 90% in 90 days); Dispatch speed (median <2 days; ≥80% within 48h).
Next steps
- 0–30 days: Ship all-in price on PDP; disclose/cap fees pilot; require measurements; enable wishlist price-drop alerts; begin calm-UX tweaks.
- 30–90 days: A/B fee models (inclusive, caps, seller-paid); launch Shop-only MVP; add seller quality badges and dispatch stats; refresh protection copy.
- 90–180 days: Shop-only v2 (defaults, price caps); click-and-collect pilot; expand seller incentives/penalties; refine notification digests; iterate returns/policy.
Success equals fewer surprise-fee drop-offs, faster intent-to-purchase paths, higher listing completeness, and improved dispatch reliability-delivering the pragmatic, price-clear, low-faff experience Gen Z expects.
Recommended Follow-up Questions
Updated Jan 29, 2026
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Which listing details most increase your likelihood to buy on Depop? Consider: exact measurements, fit notes, photos on-body, photos of flaws, condition grade, seller rating/sales, typical dispatch time, return policy, shipping cost estimate, authenticity proof (if branded).maxdiff Prioritizes the listing requirements and UI signals that reduce uncertainty, improving conversion with minimal added friction.
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Which pricing/fee approach would make you most comfortable buying on Depop? Options: price includes all fees, buyer fee shown before checkout, buyer fee shown only at checkout, seller pays commission, buyer subscription for zero buyer fees, flat buyer fee per order, variable fee by price, free shipping with slightly higher item price, cash-on-collection (no platform fee).maxdiff Identifies the most acceptable monetization and fee presentation model to reduce abandonment while protecting revenue.
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For a £20 item, what is the maximum total add-on cost (fees + shipping) you would accept before abandoning the purchase?numeric Sets concrete caps for fees and shipping to guide pricing rules and promotions.
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What is the maximum seller dispatch time you consider acceptable when buying secondhand clothing on Depop (in full days from purchase to dispatch)?numeric Defines SLA expectations to inform seller standards, badges, and sorting.
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Which sustainability signals would most influence you when prices are similar? Options: recycled packaging, local pickup option, carbon footprint shown, repair/alteration offered, charity/thrift-origin disclosure, durability/care info, brand sustainability rating, take-back/trade-in proof, secondhand by default.maxdiff Clarifies which sustainability proofs actually shift choice, informing messaging and feature investment.
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How likely are you to use a ‘shop-only’ mode that hides the social feed and shows only search, filters, listings, and checkout?likert Validates adoption potential of a transactional mode to streamline task-led shopping.
Keep MaxDiff lists concise in the UI; rotate and randomize attributes. For numeric questions, collect currency in GBP and allow whole numbers.
Study Overview
Updated Jan 29, 2026
Research question: Explore Gen Z attitudes toward Depop-what drives secondhand purchases, how the social commerce model lands, preferences on buyer vs seller fees, and whether sustainability affects decisions.
Research group: 6 UK Gen Z shoppers (19–28) from Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds-students and early‑career workers, including a parent-providing 18 responses across three prompts.
What they said: Buying is pragmatic and transactional-price and low hassle dominate; sustainability and “unique finds” are supportive but rarely primary; basics/hygiene items are bought new for predictability.
Depop’s social layer is mostly noise for task-led shopping; participants mute feeds, rely on search/saved searches, follow a few trusted sellers, and use likes as a lightweight wishlist. Buyer fees revealed at checkout feel sneaky, trigger abandonment, and drive switching to Vinted unless the item is rare; small predictable fees (~£1–£2) are tolerated, but totals crossing mental caps stop the sale.
Main insights: Conversion is driven by clear all-in price, speed/dispatch predictability, and fit clarity; the social-first UX and drip-pricing undermine trust and value perception.
Takeaways: Show all-in pricing upfront or bake fees into listings (consider a visible fee cap); launch a toggleable “shop-only” mode; require key measurements/materials and surface seller delivery stats; evolve likes into a wishlist with price‑drop alerts.
These changes align the product to Gen Z’s transaction-first mindset while preserving optional social discovery.
Research group: 6 UK Gen Z shoppers (19–28) from Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds-students and early‑career workers, including a parent-providing 18 responses across three prompts.
What they said: Buying is pragmatic and transactional-price and low hassle dominate; sustainability and “unique finds” are supportive but rarely primary; basics/hygiene items are bought new for predictability.
Depop’s social layer is mostly noise for task-led shopping; participants mute feeds, rely on search/saved searches, follow a few trusted sellers, and use likes as a lightweight wishlist. Buyer fees revealed at checkout feel sneaky, trigger abandonment, and drive switching to Vinted unless the item is rare; small predictable fees (~£1–£2) are tolerated, but totals crossing mental caps stop the sale.
Main insights: Conversion is driven by clear all-in price, speed/dispatch predictability, and fit clarity; the social-first UX and drip-pricing undermine trust and value perception.
Takeaways: Show all-in pricing upfront or bake fees into listings (consider a visible fee cap); launch a toggleable “shop-only” mode; require key measurements/materials and surface seller delivery stats; evolve likes into a wishlist with price‑drop alerts.
These changes align the product to Gen Z’s transaction-first mindset while preserving optional social discovery.
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