More than half (54%) of Gen Z consumers and 44% of millennials choose secondhand products over new ones most of the time, according to a new report from OfferUp, the local resale marketplace.
The report found that among Americans of all ages, there’s less reason than ever to not be loud and proud about a thrift score, with 70% reporting that the stigma associated with buying resale has diminished in the last year.
It also has been a banner year for both buyers and sellers to get their wings, with 19% of respondents saying they purchased a preowned item for the first time and 22% saying they sold one for the first time.
The OfferUp report said that apparel comprises only 25% of the resale market, and that harder-to-ship items like furniture and sporting goods also are big resale categories, which of course it behooves local marketplaces like OfferUp to emphasize.
Ditto for this finding: Meeting in person rather than transacting entirely online reduces the risk of being scammed or sellers being unreliable, according to 49% of respondents, while 43% say doing so allows them to verify the item’s up to snuff.
“Our mission is to build the most trusted platform to buy, sell, and connect locally,” OfferUp CEO Todd Dunlap wrote in an intro to the report. “As resale moves from the margins to the mainstream, our vision to connect people to a world of local opportunity has never felt more relevant.”
The total US e-commerce resale market will reach an estimated $64.29 billion in 2025 and $91.97 billion in 2027, according to Research and Markets.