A System Design Project
ONLINE THRIFTING
Project Brief
The project aims at understanding the present online thrifting scene in India, the stakeholders involved, the flow of information and the product, along with the prevalent problems.
What is online thrifting?
Thrifting is the process of buying or selling pre-owned or upcycled clothing and accessories. When this transaction is made through an online medium, like an e-commerce platform or a social media platform, then such a type of thrifting is called online thrifting (Vice India, 2022)
Data Collection Method
The data collection for this project was done through primary and secondary research.
Secondary research -
Secondary research was done through online sources, research papers, social media, blogs, and youtube.
Primary research -
Primary research was done through semi-structured interviews with 25 stakeholders relevant to the project. Out of the sample size of 25 participants, 7 were male and 18 were females belonging to the age group of 17 to 34 years. They majorly belonged to tier one and tier two cities.
Popularity of online thrift in India
The pandemic became one of the main triggers in determining the recent increase in popularity of online thrifting in India. The popularity of thrift skyrocketed during the beginning of the pandemic. There was an increased awareness of climate change and eco-fashion. Apart from this, the time of people on social media and the internet increased drastically.
Steps for thrifting
In this mapping, we have tried to explain the steps involved in thrifting by both the stakeholders. The map discusses all the factors involved in each step, from the point of sourcing to the point of sales.
Stakeholder involved
From the stakeholder map, we have tried to understand the different stakeholders and sub stakeholders involved in online thrifting while also trying to find the pain points and goals of each group of individuals.
Understanding the pain points
The solution - Thrift System
Function in digital space
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A one-stop place for buying and selling thrift (long-term or one-time).
Function in physical space
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Incorporation of delivery services as one of the stakeholders by offering pick up and delivery services of purchased products for sellers and buyers.
Features of Thrift System
Verification of buyers and sellers
Product listing form
Category specif product catalogues
Features for delivery and money transaction
Conclusion
By looking at the project till now we have been able to understand the current online thrifting system and all the factors involved. Apart from the benefits we have been able to see the gap areas and issues through various synthesis mapping techniques, and have also come up with solutions. The final solution was Thrift System, an online platform solely for buying and selling thrift with included pick-up and delivery services.