Fears of a recession and a rising cost of living are pushing many to save money in whatever way they can. Some are rearranging savings accounts and adjusting tax witholdings on their paychecks while others are eating out less and, increasingly, buying second-hand clothes.
An annual report from online thrift shop ThredUp calculated that two in three fast fashion consumers want to buy more secondhand clothing while the global secondhand apparel market is expected to grow from $211 billion in 2023 to $350 billion by 2027.
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Reselling is at once a way for those in need of new clothes to save some money and a source of income for those who have overflowing closets or may have made a few too many impulsive purchases.
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These Are The Brands That Resell For Big $$$
According to the 11th annual ThredUp report, the resale market grew five times more than the wider retail sector. Each year, certain popular brands resell particularly well — the Torrid chain was the most valuable brand among buyers in 2023.
The remaining top five include, in order of popularity, lululemon athletica (LULU), Madewell, Zara and Free People of Urban Outfitters (URBN). Gap (GPS)-owned athleisure company Athleta, meanwhile, saw the highest number of total listings.
The report looks at affordable and mid-range brands while taking out ultra-luxury fashion houses such as Chanel and Hermès whose pieces often get more valuable with time — the price of a used Chanel 2.55 flap bag grew from $7,800 to $8,880 in one year alone.
Amid the higher-end spectrum of the brands looked at by ThredUp, the most valuable brands for resale include Tory Burch, Oxford Industries (OXM)' Johnny Was and Dooney & Burke.
Particularly popular individual items include Patagonia vests, the popular Fjällräven backpack, Dr. Martens boots and Gap's iconic denim overalls.
Here's Why The Fashion Resale Market Is Only Going To Get Bigger
The report also throws some perspective on the scope of the resale market — in the 12 months leading up to April 2023, one in every three clothing items purchased globally was pre-owned.
In 2022, U.S. shoppers bought 1.4 billion secondhand clothing pieces. This number is up 40% from 2021 as 37% of American consumers spent more on secondhand clothing.
About 63% of those did so to outpace inflation by decreasing the number of newer items that they purchased while 30% are of Generation Zers buy secondhand in order to afford more expensive brands.
A staggering 94% of the 3,012 shoppers polled by ThredUp said that they were concerned about inflation's impact on their day-to-day spending ability.
To respond to rising demand, more brands that would have in another decade not wanted to be associated with anything secondhand are starting to sell it directly in their stores and websites. According to ThredUp, 88 fashion brands launched new resale programs in 2022 — in January 2023, the bankruptcy-evading J.Crew Group became the latest to join them.
"Resale is starting to blossom globally, with many of the largest retailers in the world adopting more circular business models," ThredUp CEO James Reinhart said in a statement. "While value continues to be a key driver that motivates consumers to think secondhand first, global climate issues have increased resale's potential to reduce fashion's impact on the environment."
