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The apparel resale sector grew during the pandemic and is projected to accelerate during recovery and beyond, says a study of the US second-hand market by thredUp, an online resale platform for women’s and kids’ apparel, shoes and accessories. Second-hand is now a $36-billion market, projected to reach $77 billion by 2026 and resale is an emerging growth channel for apparel retailers, it said.
Second-hand is displacing fast fashion, new clothing purchases and harmful production as consumers shift to thrift. Resale is expected to be more than twice bigger than fast fashion by 2030, with two in five thrifters saying they are replacing fast fashion purchases with secondhand clothing.
Resale is expected to grow 11 times faster than retail clothing over the next five years, said the 2021 Resale Report, which surveyed 3,500 consumers.
In 2020, 33 million consumers bought second-hand apparel for the first time; and 76 per cent of those first-time buyers plan to increase their spending on second-hand in the next five years.
This year’s study—the ninth in the series—reveals 62 per cent of retail executives say their customers are already participating in resale, and 42 per cent of them say resale will be an important part of their business in the next five years. One in three executives say resale is becoming table stakes for retailers.
Forty three per cent of consumers say they are more likely to shop with a brand that lets them trade in old clothes for brand credit; and 34 per cent say they are more likely to shop with a brand that offers second-hand clothing alongside new.
The average thrifter bought around seven second-hand items in the past year that they would normally buy new, displacing more than 542 million new items of apparel.
In the past decade: 6.65 billion items of apparel have been recirculated via the second-hand market. Consumers have saved $390 billion by buying second-hand. 116 billion pounds of CO2e have been displaced by buying used instead of new apparel.
One in three consumers care more now about wearing sustainable apparel than they did before the pandemic.
Sixty per cent of consumers are more opposed to wasting money, while 51 per cent are more opposed to environmental waste. One in two consumers care more about seeking value.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
The apparel resale sector grew during the pandemic and is projected to accelerate during recovery and beyond, says a US study by thredUp, an online resale platform for women's and kids' apparel, shoes and accessories. Second-hand is now a $36-billion market, projected to hit $77 billion by 2026, and resale is an emerging growth channel for apparel retailers.