One might not want charts and graphs at this level to know that, prior to now couple of years particularly, the shopping for and promoting of used garments has develop into mainstream. Any stigma that after got here with thrifting pre-worn items has virtually disappeared. Thredup, Poshmark and The Actual Actual have all gone public. The idea has been confirmed.
Nonetheless, for the previous 5 years, Thredup has been monitoring and projecting the expansion of the secondhand clothes market, releasing annual studies performed in partnership with third-party analysis and analytics agency GlobalData. The corporate simply launched its 2021 Resale Report, full with loads of staggering figures — it is nonetheless one of many fastest-growing segments of retail, projected to double to $77 billion by 2025 — in addition to some new insights on how resale fares when there is a international pandemic. (As Thredup predicted one yr in the past, it fares fairly properly.)
Picture: Courtesy of Thredup
Evidently, the pandemic birthed thousands and thousands of latest secondhand customers: 33 million shoppers purchased secondhand attire for the primary time in 2020. And in accordance with surveys, 76% of these first-timers plan to extend their spend on secondhand within the subsequent 5 years. In different phrases, the pandemic might have helped speed up the expansion of style resale even additional. It additionally created extra resellers: There have been an estimated 36.2 million first-time sellers in 2020.
As we have lined, the pandemic modified our mindsets round purchasing in a number of methods. And the brand new “post-pandemic shopper” has been a boon to the secondhand market, in accordance with Thredup’s report, which discovered {that a} third of shoppers care extra about sporting sustainable attire than they did earlier than the pandemic, and that half of shoppers care extra about worth than earlier than the pandemic. The report additionally discovered that 43% of shoppers care extra about clothes high quality than they used to (implying they need gadgets they’re going to be capable to resell quite than eliminate) and that over 50% care extra about avoiding waste than they did earlier than.
Picture: Courtesy of Thredup
Thredup additionally highlighted the post-pandemic purchasing habits of moms: One in two mothers with younger youngsters plans to spend extra on secondhand within the subsequent 5 years, representing an even bigger “shift to thrift” than some other shopper group, in accordance with the report.
The primary motivators for individuals to buy secondhand are saving cash and decreasing environmental affect, however secondhand shops aren’t their solely choices to succeed in these targets. They might store from a fast-fashion retailer or a reduction chain to economize; they might hire garments or purchase sustainably-made new garments to cut back environmental affect. Whereas off-price and fast-fashion retail continues to be rising, it is doing so extra slowly than resale and rental, and Thredup discovered that demand for brand spanking new clothes marketed as “sustainable” is declining as properly: 42% of shoppers plan to spend extra on secondhand clothes within the subsequent 5 years, whereas solely 26% plan to spend extra on “sustainable” new garments.
Picture: Courtesy of Thredup
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As a lot as resale has develop into a mainstay of our purchasing lives, there’s nonetheless extra market share for Thredup and its opponents to seize. Thredup estimates that 9 billion clothes gadgets are sitting idly in shoppers’ closets, and that 34 billion are thrown away within the U.S. every year — 95% of which may very well be recycled or reused.
So, other than altering shoppers’ mindsets, what must occur to get these garments into the resale market? Thredup factors to getting extra main market retailers and types incorporating resale into their methods (i.e. shopping for again and reselling their very own used items) or incentivizing shopper to recycle their wares in a roundabout way. (Thredup powers resale for 21 manufacturers and retailers, like Hole and Reformation.)
Picture: Courtesy of Thredup
Authorities coverage incentives might additionally drive extra adoption of round style: Think about if retail corporations acquired tax breaks for investing in resale, or if shoppers did not should pay gross sales tax on secondhand clothes.
Picture: Courtesy of Thredup
Thredup likes to additionally share what number of clothes gadgets it helps divert away from landfills by reselling, however this yr, notably, it additionally delivered some details and figures round its personal inner sustainability practices.
Each retail firm — even one which sells used garments — has a big environmental footprint by advantage of working amenities and the delivery and receiving of products. The report additionally touched on office variety, proven under. Might Thredup share extra of those particulars? Certain. Is that this at the very least a step in the proper path? Undoubtedly.
Picture: Courtesy of Thredup
You may view the total 2021 Resale Report right here.
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