From your grandmother’s thrift store to a glamorized sustainable shopping experience, secondhand shopping has transformed into a mainstream phenomenon. The global secondhand apparel market is on track to reach $74 billion by 2029, driven by changing consumer values, environmental concerns, and economic pressures.
The Functional Appeal of Pre-Loved Shopping
Walk into any thrift store today, and the energy feels different than it did a decade ago. What once was a hidden necessity for some and a niche hobby for others, is now a thriving, bustling common shopping choice for diverse shoppers from all walks of life. It represents a significant shift reflecting a complex interplay of changing consumer values, growing environmental concerns, and the harsh realities of today’s economic pressures.
Affordability. Finding clothing, furniture, and household goods for a fraction of retail price, often for high-end items that would otherwise be out of reach, is a lifeline for many and a savvy choice for others.
“I’ll buy things second hand so I can get higher quality. And I’m very mindful of how I spend.“
– a Latina, Middle-Class city dweller
“thredUP.com, it’s like a consignment shop, it’s a thrift store slash consignment shop, and I posted a picture of an order that I got a really, really good deal on. You can see the sale items I got, and I actually got free shipping on that order.”
– a White, Female, Middle-Class, Gen-Xer living in a city
Sustainability and Environmental Impact. Thrifting offers an attainable compromise between still being able to buy things and doing your part for the environment by avoiding the waste other affordable new options perpetuate (Fast Fashion).
“I am proud that I am frugal and I try to look for the best pricing on things. And that I don’t shop at fast fashion places. I am proud of that. And that I really do like the Poshmark and the thrifting and recycled clothing right now. Because it’s best for the environment.“
– a White, LGBTQ+ Female
The Emotional Allure Of Thrifting and The Undeniable Quest For Individuality
Along with clear functional benefits like cost savings, reducing waste, and lowering demand for new production, thrifting offers emotional rewards tied to identity and values. Its growing and trending appeal gives consumers an accessible way to be more sustainable and express their individuality through unique finds. For many, thrifting is not just a budget-friendly option but a personal statement, making fashion more inclusive and authentic.
Self-Expression.In a world consumed by non-stop advertisements, micro-trends, and influencer-hyped products, thrifting offers a break from mass-produced homogeneity in an accessible way to create an individual style without breaking the bank. There is also a sense of pride that is associated with curating thrifted outfits, DIY’ing (#thriftflip, #upcycling) , and upcycling used items to add a personalized touch to the current trend.
Thrill of the Hunt. Many express excitement and turn secondhand shopping into an adventure, tapping into the childhood joy of treasure hunting. Finding a vintage or antique piece, a hidden designer item, or the coveted “new-with-tags” find combines the emotional excitement with the financial practicality that leads to many expressing “thrifting is addicting.”
I love to get secondhand stuff. Just because a lot of times you can find stuff that still has the tags on it, but is way cheaper.
Thrifting fundamentally challenges our notions of value and luxury, allowing access to quality and craftsmanship at lower costs. The value lies in the brand, materials, and design – secondhand adds savvy and sustainability. Similarly, consumers seek balance, reducing over-consumption while still looking great. Thrifting enables this, allowing splurges by saving on staples, creating space for more intentional purchases.
Who’s Thrifting, and Why?
So, who are these savvy thrifters? And what’s motivating them? While there are distinct generational motivators for opting for secondhand shopping, the current financial pressure (inflation, economic uncertainty, potential tariffs on new goods) is a top driver for many consumers across generations to turn to secondhand.
Aside from affordability and value, Gen Z & Millennials are more motivated by a quest for uniqueness and self-expression that they can attain through affordable and sustainabile means. The social aspect (IRL and the broader digital community) creates a path to connection that many crave.
While, Gen X & Boomers are more focused on the practicality and quality, driven by a nostalgia for past craftsmanship. For them, the affordability is often more necessity driven, than value.
But the growing popularity of thrifting isn’t without its complications – the landscape is rapidly shifting, creating new pressures and pricing out many who thrift out of necessity.
The Ultra-Fast-Fashion Trap
Thrift stores are increasingly overrun by cheap, low-quality fast fashion, making it harder to find the quality, long-lasting pieces that were once a hallmark of thrift finds.
The Reseller Squeeze
The rise of online resale has turned thrifting into a lucrative side hustle, but also driven up prices within thrift stores, directly impacting affordability for those who rely on them.
The Curated Thrift
Trendy “vintage boutiques” and “curated thrift” shops offer a more polished experience, but their prices often rival or exceed new retail, losing the core essence of accessible secondhand goods.
Tech’s Thrifty Transformation
AI and technology are subtly but powerfully influencing what items are available, how much they cost, and how easily they’re found, further modernizing (and in some cases, commercializing) the traditional thrifting experience.
How Brands Can Adapt
Understand the motivators of why your consumers are chosing to thrift:
Financial Survival
Thrifting offers affordable options in times of inflation and economic uncertainty.
Sustainable Ideals
Second-hand shopping represents a deliberate step toward more conscious consumption.
Personal Expression
Thrifting allows for unique style development that reflects individual values and creativity.
Create your own secondhand program to engage with your loyal customers and create a community that circles back to your brand.
Some Key Players in This Space
Many apparel brands have recognized the need to break into the growing secondmarket themselves, establishing trade-in and store-credit programs to engage with their loyal customer base and capitalize on the cyclical nature of fashion. Brands accept eligible pre-owned clothing items to referbish and resell them, while customers get store credit that they can use on new or secondhand items
Eileen Fisher: Renew (a pioneer luxury brand in this space since 2009)
Many of these brands partner with Trove, a “Recommerce Operating System” that provides the technology platform for branded resale, offering solutions from dedicated e-commerce sites and integrated in-store trade-ins to dynamic pricing and combined new/used product listings.
Partner with already established resale consignment platforms, to gain to capitalize on the surge of the pro-owned market without the initial investment and ongoing managment to build your own.
Partnerships to Pay Attention To
While some brands have initiated partnerships with established reseller and consignment platforms to not only promote the sustainability of secondhand shopping, but to also engage with a broader consumer base that may otherwise not be able to afford their products.
ThreadUp.com is a leader in this space, using their “Resale as a Service” (RaaS) to power partnerships with many established brands by providing them the logistics of their platform allowing for a more cost-effective way to break into the secondhand market. These programs allows customers can send in any pre-loved clothing for store/brand credit.
Another big player in this space is Reskinned, a company that focuses on direct partnerships with specific fashion brands to provide a comprehensive, end-to-end solution for participating in the circular economy by taking back, re-selling, reusing, and recycling their pre-owned or end-of-life products. Similar to ThreadUp, consumers are able to send in their pre-owned items for store credit to the brands.
Even luxury brands have broken into the secondhand market, signifying not only a shift in acceptance of the pre-loved market, but a direct engagement with their consumers looking for alternatives to buying new.
While others have partnered with leading luxury resale platforms:
The RealReal: Gucci launched a dedicated online shop for authenticated pre-owned Gucci items, Stella McCartney initiated upcycling partnerships like “ReCollection”, and Burberry collaborates to promote cicularity.
Vestiaire Collective: Official partners include luxury brands like Burberry and Chloé.
Fashionphile: Has a significant partnership with Neiman Marcus, operating in-store “Selling Studios” where customers can sell their luxury accessories to Fashionphile directly and receive immediate payment
Given the current socio-economic landscape, it is safe to say that that thrifting and the secondhand market are not going anywhere. If brands want to continue to engage their loyal customer base, they will have to adapt to the cycling and sustainable options that pre-owned shopping offers consumers.
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Understand the motivators of why your consumers are chosing to thrift:
Create your own secondhand program to engage with your loyal customers and create a community that circles back to your brand.
Partner with already established resale consignment platforms, to gain to capitalize on the surge of the pro-owned market without the initial investment and ongoing managment to build your own.
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