The influence of persuasive design features on fashion resale apps

The rapid growth of peer-to-peer fashion resale platforms has made persuasive technology a key factor of purchase intention in the second-hand clothing market. Aside from the increasing amount of research on persuasive system design in e-commerce contexts, few studies are examining how generational differences influence user perception of persuasive features on their purchase intention while navigating mobile fashion resale platforms. This thesis examines which persuasive design features most efficiently influence purchase intention among Generation Z and Millennial users of mobile fashion resale platforms, and what statistical generational differences emerge. Vinted’s interface was mapped using the Persuasive Systems Design framework across the three stages of its customer journey. The direct observation of its persuasive features resulted in the design of an online survey answered by 45 respondents, including 31 Gen Z participants and 14 Millennials. The questionnaire focused on assessing the respondents’ perceived influence of each persuasive feature present in Vinted’s interface, using a 5 likert-scale metric. The findings indicate that Primary Task support and System Credibility support features are highly endorsed as influential on purchase intention across both generations. The analysis also indicates that persuasiveness increases progressively as users advance towards completing the transaction process. While generational differences were observed, they reflect subtle trends rather than significant changes, with Millennials showing more receptiveness to structured guidance in contrast to Generation Z users perceiving social proof and seller credibility features as more influential. These findings offer evidence-based recommendations for developing generation-centric persuasive strategies in the context of resale platform design.