To tell or not to tell? The roles of perceived norms and self‐consciousness in understanding consumers' willingness to recommend online secondhand apparel shopping

Abstract Secondhand apparel shopping resides in a domain characterized by used goods traditionally associated with financially marginalized consumers. Acknowledging the elusive psychological barriers associated with preowned apparel, this study explores mechanisms that facilitate consumers' willingness to recommend online secondhand apparel shopping. Results from three experimental studies and a cross‐sectional survey of online secondhand shoppers in the United States reveal that hedonic and ethical benefits influence recommendation behavior via perceived norms, whereas economic benefit directly influences consumers' willingness to recommend. Moderated mediation analyses further demonstrate that self‐consciousness alters the strength of the indirect effects, such that consumers with lower self‐consciousness displayed greater willingness to recommend compared to highly self‐conscious consumers. Findings contribute to a greater theoretical understanding of the roles perceived norms and self‐consciousness play in facilitating or inhibiting recommendation behavior in a context that implicitly involves self‐disclosure of one's secondhand purchase behavior. Managerial implications offer insights on salient benefits that can be leveraged to influence word‐of‐mouth recommendation.