The secondhand apparel market is projected to reach $70 billion by 2027 in the United States as resale continues to drive growth with consumers embracing secondhand amid economic uncertainty and persistent inflation.
The research: The findings were released in the 2023 Resale Report from ThredUP, one of the largest online resale platforms for apparel, shoes, and accessories,
- Conducted by third-party retail analytics firm GlobalData, the 11th annual study serves as the most comprehensive measure of the secondhand market globally and in the US, with forward-looking projections through 2032.
- The research also reveals new insights about key factors driving market growth; consumer shopping behaviour amid economic uncertainty and inflation, including younger generations' attitudes towards resale; and why retailers are adopting resale at an accelerated rate, based on surveys of US consumers over the age of 18 and fashion retailers and brands. In addition, the report includes the top 20 most popular brands in resale.
The findings: The study finds that more than half of consumers shopped secondhand apparel in 2022; 1 in 3 apparel items purchased in 2022 was secondhand.
- The global secondhand market is set to nearly double by 2027, reaching $350 billion.
- The U.S. secondhand market is expected to reach $70 billion by 2027.
- Online resale is the fastest-growing sector of the US. The secondhand market is expected to grow 21% annually on average over the next 5 years, reaching $38 billion by 2027.
- Value is the top spend motivator. Trends is the weakest spend motivator.
- 52% of consumers shopped secondhand apparel in 2022. 1 in 3 apparel items bought in the last 12 months was secondhand, and 2 in 5 items in Gen Z's closet are secondhand.
- 37% of consumers spent a higher proportion of their apparel budget on secondhand last year. Of those, 63% increased their spend in response to inflation.
Shopping secondhand has a positive environmental impact. Resale has the potential to cut new clothing production.
- Buying and wearing secondhand clothing instead of new reduces carbon emissions by an average of 25%, according to Green Story Inc.
- US consumers bought 1.4 billion secondhand apparel items in 2022 that they normally would have bought new, up 40% from 2021.
- More than one-third of retailers say if resale proved to be successful, they would cut production of new products.
Retailers with branded resale programmes skyrocketed in 2022. Resale is driving Gen Z's purchasing decisions.
- 86% of retail executives say their customers are already participating in resale, up 8 points from 2021.
- 88 brands launched dedicated resale programs in 2022 – a 244% increase from 2021.
- 82% of Gen Z has considered the resale value of apparel before buying it, and 64% of Gen Z look for an item secondhand before buying it new.
Retailers view resale as a strategic business initiative that generates positive ROI and satisfies investor demands around ESG.
- 58% of retail executives say offering resale options to customers is becoming table stakes, up 6 points from 2021.
- 82% of retailers who offer resale expect it to generate a positive ROI.
- 45% of retail executives who offer resale say they're satisfying investor demands around ESG.
