The hunt for treasures, bargains and individuality in pre-loved luxury

Purpose This work aims to discuss the motivators for the consumption of pre-loved luxury items and verify how these motivators interact, leading consumers to engage in behaviors that blend the characteristics of different motivators: treasure hunting, bargain hunting and individuality seeking. Design/methodology/approach This is an exploratory dyadic qualitative research conducted using semi-structured in-depth interviews involving luxury brand store managers and loyal clients for pre-loved luxury products in Monaco. Findings Throughout the analysis, the authors found three types of behavior that incorporate different parts of motivators that have been considered as specific motivators for pre-loved luxury consumption: bargain hunting, an intersection of recreational and economic motivations, treasure hunting, a blend of nostalgic and recreational motivations, and individuality, a mix of need for uniqueness and fashion involvement motivation. Practical implications Identifying three types of behavior for the pre-loved luxury consumer helps practitioners craft marketing strategies for their brands and products in the pre-loved luxury market. Social implications The authors propose a theoretical framework that identifies intersections between the motivators for pre-loved luxury consumption, potentially identifying new types of consumer behavior in this market. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first work to discuss these three types of behavior in the pre-loved luxury market. The authors propose a theoretical framework that identifies intersections between the motivators for pre-loved luxury consumption, potentially identifying new types of consumer behavior in this market.