Secondhand Goes Mainstream As More Shoppers Turn To Thrift And Online Resale

Second hand wardrobe idea. Top view over woman outfit.

It’s ‘Second Hand September,’ a shopping season launched in the U.K. by Oxfam in 2019, where participants pledge to buy only secondhand items during the month of September. The campaign shines the spotlight on the harmful environmental impact of the fashion industry – “Each year, up to 40% of all clothing manufactured globally is never sold,” it states.

While the movement has yet to gain traction on this side of the pond, Americans have needed little outside encouragement to get in on the secondhand shopping trend, both online, led by marketplaces like ThredUp and The Real Real, and in thrift stores.

The U.S. secondhand apparel market has grown from $28 billion in 2019 to $49 billion last year and is projected to reach $56 billion this year, according to ThredUp. And thrift stores, which offer a wide range of household items besides clothing, experienced a 40% surge in foot traffic from the second quarter of 2019, Placer.ai reports.

Citing pressure from current economic conditions and consumers’ efforts to save money while maximizing value, Placer.ai director of research Elizabeth Lafontaine said, “Consumers of all backgrounds, even those coming from high-income households, are gravitating toward thrift to round out their wardrobes and embrace treasure hunting. Consumers are looking for the right mix of value and selection that traditional retailers typically can’t provide.”

Thrift Store Stampede

Following the pandemic closures, visits to thrift stores has grown steadily, while clothing store traffic has fluctuated sharply, rising one quarter then dropping the next. Compared to the second quarter of 2019, clothing store traffic rose a modest 9.5%, while the increase in thrift store traffic was four times greater.

Over the past few years, inflation has driven more shoppers to thrift, and most recently, tariff pressures have contributed to an 8% year-over-year rise in the second quarter and a 10% increase to date in the third quarter. However, this doesn’t explain all of it or why higher-income shoppers are shopping thrift.

Placer.ai’s Lafontaine attributed it partly to “shoppers’ desire for uniqueness and expressing individuality,” as well as the highly experiential, treasure-hunt atmosphere that can only be found in the hands-on nature of thrift store shopping.

“With potential tariffs threatening to raise the cost of imported clothing, continued economic pressures and rising demand for sustainable alternatives, thrift stores appear poised to thrive well into the future,” she noted.

Luxury Takes A Secondhand Turn

The secondhand luxury market is benefiting from similar consumer drives as thrift stores, though with a twist. Rather than responding to primarily to economic pressures, luxury consumers are turning to the resale market in a search for greater value.

Following the pandemic, the price for luxury goods in the primary market increased on average between 20% and 30% percent at retail. However, luxury consumers couldn’t see a comparable increase in value to justify higher price tags.

For example, a May survey among some 400 American luxury consumers with an average income $250,000 and above found that 46% were hesitant to make a new purchase because they couldn’t justify the expense. The survey was conducted by the Affluent Consumer Research Company with which I am affiliated.

Purchasing luxury goods secondhand from a marketplace like The RealReal, where prices may be reduced 30% to 70% off retail, can overcome their hesitation. The RealReal is considered the leader in luxury resale with 40 million members and revenues up 13% through the first six months of the year, from $289 million to $325 million in 2025.

On the flip side, The RealReal CEO Rati Levesque, observed that more luxury consumers are considering resale value before they buy in the primary market and pointed to steadily increasing resale prices for the most in-demand brands. For example, the price for a secondhand Hermès Birkin 30 bag rose 15% since 2021 and the value of The Row Margaux bag – said to be the next Birkin – has more than tripled in price on the platform.

“Resale has gone from disruptor to cornerstone in the customer journey,” she said and added during the second quarter earnings call, “Today’s modern consumer is embracing the circular economy and approaching luxury resale as an option of first resort, not last. Our customers view their closet as an investment that retains value; in fact, 47% of consumers consider the resale value of ready to wear items before making a purchase.”

She believes more consumers are rejecting the lockstep uniformity found in the primary market and have a growing desire for pieces that feel “real, unfiltered and unreplicable.” On that note, the ACRC survey reported that 52% of affluents were disappointed with the options presented by luxury brands.

“The result is a moment in fashion not shaped by brands or trends, but by individuals expressing their personal style,” she shared.

Secondhand For All Seasons

While thrift stores are enjoying their time in the sun, over half (56%) of secondhand apparel shoppers are digging into online resale marketplaces as well, like The RealReal and ThredUp, according to a GlobalData consumer survey among 3,000 American adults conducted in association with ThredUp.

In addition, the survey found that 58% of consumers shopped for clothes secondhand in 2024, a dramatic six-percentage point increase over 2023.

“The consumer mindset is transforming,” ThredUp’s chief strategy officer Alon Rotem shared. “The stigma around buying used clothing is slowly going away, replaced by an embrace of better product value and alignment with consumer ‘values.’” Those values being the appeal of finding better deals, the thrill of the hunt and concern for the environment.

“While alignment with their sustainability values is a key motivator, the current economic climate and rising prices on new clothing have made secondhand a critical financial value play,” he continued. He also noted that new tariff policies and the the end of the de minimis loophole favoring imported fast-fashion brands, like Shein and Temu, creates “powerful economic tailwind for the secondhand market.”

The U.S. secondhand apparel market is projected to grow from $49 billion in 2024 to $74 billion by 2029 and ThredUp has been benefiting from the surge. Over the last three quarters, ThredUp revenues shot up 9.5% in the fourth quarter to $67.3 million, 10.5% in the first quarter to $71.3 million and 16.4% to $77.7 million.

Rotem concluded, “As resale companies have reported strong financial performance in recent quarters, the analyst narrative has shifted from ‘can resale work?’ to ‘how big can it get?’”