Buying and selling of used goods is something that has been done for centuries. Throughout the last 20 years, rapid growth of second-hand products consumption has got the attention of researchers and raised the question why customers buy second-hand products. The growth of the Internet has developed different applications, and this combined with the introduction of new electronic devices, provides users with buying and selling facilities of goods over the Internet and mobile devices. The uses of social networks and smart-phones have also revolutionized the second-hand product market among all economic classes. The consumption of second-hand products is increasing daily. Therefore it is important to pay attention to the factors that affect the purchase of second-hand products since it is not a simple form of mercantilism. It's a lifestyle, a way to acquire goods that we need and get rid of those that we do not see as useful anymore. The purpose of this study is to create new knowledge in the area of second-hand products consumption and customer buying behavior by identifying factors that influence the customer in buying second-hand products. In order to fulfill the research purpose, a quantitative research approach and cross sectional research design were adopted. Questionnaires were designed using Google survey tool and through this method 169 questionnaires were collected from respondents. After which, SPSS was used to perform the required tests of descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, bivariate correlation, single item measurement and multiple regression analysis. It was observed that price was the most important factor influencing customers when purchasing second-hand products; risk is the second most influencing factor and brand is the third and location come last as most influencing factor.  The results show that the factors such as brand, price and purchase intention of second-hand products have no association and influence on each other during the purchase decision. In contrast, risk and location factors have a weak association with each other but both factors lack association with brand, price and intention. This study contributes to the existing literature on second-hand products consumption and customer buying behavior as well as touching upon theories of brand, price, risk, and seller location.

As there are more than 1.4 billion smartphones sold every year in the world and around four million smartphones in Sweden. In recent years there has been a growing concern to move from a linear economic system to a circular economic system. Smartphones and other electronic equipment stand for the largest growing waste streams in the European Union. The rising prices of raw materials used in smartphone manufacturing over the last decades, along with the fact that these minerals are being mined in conflict stricken areas and the growing environmental awareness among people makes the refurbished smartphone’s market very current. Thus, it is of great interest to investigate consumer behaviour linked to refurbished smartphones as it is still in its early stages. As such, many of the barriers identified in this thesis can be linked to the communication of refurbished smartphones. The purpose of this thesis is to get a deeper understanding of how companies can communicate to break the barriers that exists for the consumer acceptance of refurbished smartphones in the Swedish market. Earlier studies have also focused on refurbishment as a concept rather than the consumer’s responses towards it. The study will be conducted in Sweden which has not been done previously. Therefore, our study will contribute to a deeper understanding of the consumer behaviour in the refurbished smartphone market in Sweden and thus aid companies in their communication of refurbished smartphones. To fulfil the purpose, a qualitative study has been conducted through semi-structured interviews. The sample groups were environmental enthusiasts, technology experts, refurbished product buyers, second hand buyers and companies. From the interviews five themes were derived: initial response, benefits, risks, barriers and communication. The findings and conclusions of the thesis are derived from the themes and subthemes that were created. There are many barriers and risks that make people avoid purchasing refurbished smartphones. The findings suggest that the consumers’ initial response are generally very positive and many consumers would consider a refurbished smartphone as their next smartphone purchase. Another finding is that a lack of knowledge about refurbishment lead to doubts about refurbished smartphones. The barriers found were lack of awareness, lack of thrill of newness, naming of refurbished products and lack of knowledge. The largest barrier, was lack of awareness. A solution to resolve this barrier could be to communicate the refurbishment process. A major finding was that that the environmental aspects were a vital purchase criteria for the consumers, however, not the most vital aspect. Moreover, societal benefits were raised regarding refurbished products in terms of benefitting the entire society. The biggest risk detected in the study was the performance, risk as the consumer may believe that the smartphone will be in a poor condition even though it has been refurbished. A big risk was the financial risk in terms of the substantial price for a refurbished smartphone. To reduce this the companies could adapt to the market standard and sell their refurbished smartphones in package deals. Our findings suggest that price should be communicated in combination with warranty and also environmental aspects, however, the environmental aspect is often abstract. The companies should consider using branding more to communicate these messages. Word of mouth was seen to be important and companies should utilise customer reviews more. In terms of emotional and rational appeals both should be used, however, what appeal that the companies should focus on emphasise on is not obvious.

A circular economy has been suggested to be able to respond to environmental challenges caused by over-production and consumption of products. Reuse is a circularity measure ranked high in the waste management hierarchy and is especially relevant for passive durable products such as furniture. Reusing furniture has the potential to contribute to the decarbonization of companies. This thesis aimed to explore the potential of reuse contribution to climate change mitigation. An Excel model was developed to explore different reuse scenarios from a life cycle perspective, accounting for potential avoided emissions by selling second-hand furniture. The results indicated that reusing furniture resulted in about 42% reduced climate impacts, although it depended on the characteristics of second-hand trade. Furthermore, the second-hand furniture trade characteristics that influence the GHG emissions were identified, such as replacement rates, second-hand transport, and variability of items sold. An improved scenario by optimizing the furniture trade characteristics can save up to 80% of climate impact. The results indicated that reuse could significantly contribute to the climate commitments of companies, although it cannot be the only mitigation measure to reach carbon neutrality. / Att implementera en cirkulär ekonomi har föreslagits för att kunna adressera miljöutmaningar orsakade av överproduktion och konsumtion av produkter. Återanvändning är ett cirkulärt mått som rankas högt i avfallshanteringshierarkin och är särskilt relevant för passiva och slitstarka produkter som möbler. Återanvändning av möbler har potential att bidra till att minska koldioxidutsläppen hos företag. Denna avhandling syftade till att undersöka potentialen om återanvändning kan bidra till att minska klimatförändringen. En Excel-modell utvecklades för att utforska olika återanvändnings- scenarier ur ett livscykelperspektiv som räknar ut potentiella undvikna utsläpp genom att sälja begagnade möbler. Resultaten visade att återanvändning av möbler resulterade i cirka 40 % minskad klimatpåverkan, även om det berodde på second-handhandelns egenskaper. Vidare identifierades second-handmöbelhandelns egenskaper som påverkar utsläppen av växthusgaser, t.ex. som ersättningstaket, second-handtransport och variation av sålda varor. Ett förbättrat scenario genom att optimera möbelhandelns egenskaper kan spara upp till 80 % av klimatpåverkan. Resultaten visade att återanvändning avsevärt skulle kunna bidra till företagens klimatåtaganden, även om det inte kan vara den enda begränsningsåtgärden för att nå koldioxidneutralitet.