OVER HALF OF SHOPPERS NOW PREFER RESELLING OVER BUYING

Over half of the shoppers polled in OfferUp’s re-commerce report for 2024 found reselling clothes “a fun and enjoyable hobby,” and “more fun than buying new”. The authors found that around three-quarters of second-hand shoppers have received compliments on their purchases and believe that the stigma around buying clothes from reseller markets has decreased in the past year. Increased social awareness around reselling was credited for fueling an increase in the “trendiness” of reselling, with a third of buyers stating that shopping for resale was more fashionable than shopping new. 

Over half of existing resale shoppers surveyed said they found “community” to be a keystone of the resell experience. Over half of buyers preferred to meet in person to conduct transactions and “made new friends or formed meaningful connections” through reselling, while a fifth said that shopping for resale “makes them feel less lonely.”

The increased demand for reselling fielded a surge in the number of new second-hand shoppers this year, with 1 in 3 shoppers experimenting with reselling for the first time this year. The authors project the re-commerce market to be worth 226.4B in 2025, a nearly 10% increase in the industry compared to 2024.

Recent economic trends were the main driver behind this growth in 2024, with over half of new customers saying that “increased cost of living” and “decreased costs compared to buying new” were the main factors in their use of resale markets. Seller sentiment matched this reasoning, with over half of sellers using their funds to pay for bills or other household expenses.