Industry Statistics & Trends
Resale or retail? Can you tell the difference? Probably not! Today’s resale shops look the same as mainstream retailers... except for one big difference—they sell high quality goods at lower prices! The resale industry offers "Quality at a Savings!"
While many businesses close their doors every day, resale remains healthy and continues to be one of the fastest growing segments of retail. With new stores entering the industry and current establishments opening additional locations, the industry has experienced a growth—in number of stores—of approximately 7% a year for the past two years. This percentage reflects the estimated number of new stores opening each year, minus the businesses that close. NARTS is proud to say that future owners who look to the Association for education prior to opening, then continue their education through NARTS membership and meetings, are very successful. Many resale shops don't survive that crucial first year because the owners did not do their "homework" and had no idea where to begin or what to expect. There are currently more than 25,000 resale, consignment and Not For Profit resale shops in the United States.
Resale is a multi-billion dollar a year industry. There is a major discrepancy on annual revenues reported for the U.S. resale industry.
First Research estimates the used merchandise industry in the U.S. includes about 20,000 stores with combined annual revenue of about $15 billion.
The secondhand and resale market is forecast to reach about $350 billion by 2028, according to the annual forecast from thredUP, an online resale marketplace. The U.S. secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $73 billion by 2028, growing by 11% annually on average, according to the 2024 thredUP survey of 3,654 U.S. adult consumers and 50 fashion retailers conducted by GlobalData. Almost three-fourths of retail executives said they currently offer or are open to providing resale goods to their customers, an increase from 2022, the report said. 25% of consumers resold apparel in 2023 - nearly at parity with 2021 figures when post-pandemic activity was elevated. (Compared to 33% of Gen Z and Millennials), per the report.
More than 70% of consumers globally plan to buy used goods this year, according to eBay’s 2024 Recommerce Report released in May. Additionally, 86% of shoppers surveyed have bought or sold a pre-loved item in the last 12 months, the report found. eBay sales of apparel and accessories with “thrifted” in its item description grew over 400% globally from March 2023 to March 2024. Half of eBay’s sellers reported an increase in selling pre-loved compared to 1-5 years ago.
Changes in consumer buying habits and an influx of new competitors and investor money are enlarging and reshaping the market for used apparel. Re-commerce companies, including The RealReal, Poshmark, and thredUP, are forecast to account for about 20% of the clothing industry by 2031, according to RetailDive.
Winmark, the franchiser of resale stores Once Upon a Child, Plato’s Closet, Style Encore, Play It Again Sports, and Music Go Around, had 1,319 franchises in operation, as of December 30, 2023. Winmark’s sales were over $40 million in 2023. They have recycled over 1.8 billion items since 2010.
The RealReal, a luxury consignment site, reported revenues of $603 million in 2022.
Add to this the many thousands of single location shops, hundreds of multi-location chains, franchises and Not For Profit stores and you begin to realize the vast scope of this continually growing industry.
Resale shopping attracts consumers from all economic levels. There is no typical resale shopper, just as there is no typical resale shop. No one is immune to the excitement of finding a treasure and saving money. Shrewd shoppers take advantage of the opportunity resale offers to save money on apparel, furniture and other consumer goods. These savings can add quality to life when used for vacations, entertainment, funding college and retirement accounts, and expanding family activities.
According to America’s Research Group, a consumer research firm, about 16 - 18% of Americans will shop at a thrift store during a given year. For consignment/resale shops, it’s about 12 - 15%. To keep these figures in perspective, consider that during the same time frame; 11.4% of Americans shop in factory outlet malls, 19.6% in apparel stores and 21.3% in major department stores.
Resale has become destination shopping with the recent industry trend of clustering. Many areas are seeing resale stores opening in close proximity to each other, taking advantage of existing traffic. Antique shops have clustered for years and factory outlet stores are grouped together, proving that consumers will travel farther to reach a group of like stores. Resalers love to make an event out of shopping in an area where they can visit a variety of resale stores with different merchandise lines.
The resale market is blossoming thanks to value and sustainable conscious consumers. As concerns over the environmental impact of fast fashion increase, consumers recognize the inherent sustainability factor of shopping resale. With an increasing awareness of the importance of reducing pointless waste, we are progressing from a disposable society to a recycling society—a change that has enormous market potential for the resale industry as a whole. After all, "Resale is the ultimate in recycling!"