Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know
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When thredUP and GlobalData Retail released their annual Resale Report yesterday, every retail pro’s eyes went to the same stat: The global resale market will reach $64 billion in value by 2024, up from $28 billion this year.
The stats that make you go 🤯 don’t end there...
- Resale grew 25x faster than retail overall in 2019.
- By 2029, resale will account for 17% of the average person’s closet space—second only to off-price retailers like TJ Maxx, with 19% closet share.
Disaster proof
Let’s put these numbers in context. Resale’s one of a few retail segments where the pandemic couldn’t do what it does best: ruin everything. From fresh funding rounds to national retail partnerships, interest in resale platforms keeps growing because...
- In a recession, shoppers consider used items a better deal than perpetual 15% promos. Shoppers surveyed by thredUP said they’d spend 44% more on secondhand items in the next 12 months than they did in the past year.
- Those same conditions also turn online scavengers into entrepreneurs. ThredUP notes that two out of three surveyed consumers are now open to reselling their clothes for extra cash.
Naturally, retailers want in on the action. Brands including Gap, Reebok, and Hollister have partnered with thredUP to offer resale payouts in store credits (a subtle loyalty play). ThredUP president Anthony S. Marino told Fashionista the company has received inbound partnership requests “every day” of the pandemic.
But there’s a downside: Retailers could eventually lose customers when they need them most.
- The Resale Report notes that overall retail spending is expected to shrink 23% this year as resale grows; new apparel sales are already well below 2019 baselines.
- Down the line, purchasing secondhand clothing ends up reducing shoppers’ overall consumption, a separate study underwritten by Farfetch found.
My takeaway: Long-term winners in the resale surge won’t be traditional retailers, even if they enter resale partnerships. The real winners will be proprietary secondhand selling platforms and their customers.