More parents will opt for the budget-friendly resale option for this year’s back-to-school shopping

When students start their history classes again soon, chances are their clothes and backpacks will have some history, too. As interest in resale grows, and inflation continues to steal our lunch money, parents are saying they’ll be buying more secondhand items for the back-to-school shopping season.

According to a survey by decision intelligence company Morning Consult compared to last year, parents will be purchasing more resale items in several categories:

• Among 1,866 respondents, 8% plan to purchase used school supplies (like backpacks and binders), compared to 4% in 2022.
• This year, 14% plan to purchase used books, compared to 11% last year.
• Also, 12% plan to purchase used home goods, compared to 6% last year.

A survey for National Retail Federation from Prosper Insights & Analytics seconds the notion, with 39% of back-to-school and 35% of back-to-college shoppers saying that they’d consider buying used clothing and accessories this year.

Extra credit: Retailers, meanwhile, are getting out the pom-poms for resale.

ThredUp, the resale marketplace, has partnered with High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star Sofia Wylie to create Get Ready With Us: Back-to-School Edition, a curated secondhand storefront.

The program highlights items that Wylie and nine other influencers curated and enables shoppers to search for close matches to the items in ThredUp’s inventory.

On Lululemon Like New, the brand’s re-commerce site, the landing page declares “Class is back in session” and offers a 10% discount for shoppers to “reintroduce yourself with the unique finds of genuine, gently used Lululemon gear and get an A+ in sustainability.”

One-stop Schwopping: On the other side of the pond, the UK department store chain Marks & Spencer has introduced its Back To School Shwopping program, where customers who donate their used school uniforms earn a 20% discount for new uniforms. M&S will in turn donate  them to Oxfam, which is launching a used-uniform shop on eBay, and use the proceeds for its efforts to combat poverty and inequality worldwide.

It also enables the brand to highlight that its uniforms are “cleverly designed to be hand-me-downable and exceptionally long-lasting” because they’re made with stain-resistant fabrics and have “adjustable hems and waistbands [that] allow clothes to grow with your child.”