It’s not your mama’s resale market.
Long gone are the days when the garment resale market was driven by penny hoarders and low-income earners. According to the latest report by online reseller ThredUp, high-paid millennials make up the majority of today’s thrift shoppers.
Despite millennials’ penchant for $5 lattes and Instagram-worthy vacations, 30 percent of them said they had shopped secondhand in the past 12 months, and 21 percent said that they would shop resale goods in the future, ThredUp’s study found.
What’s more, ThredUp said that 36 percent of those flocking to its online resale superstore earn between $250,000 and $1 million annually. Just 23 percent of the resale site’s shoppers make less than $50,000 per year.
In fact, ThredUp says that high-income shoppers are 35 percent more likely to try secondhand than low-income shoppers.
Watch on FN
Experts say the thrift market has two main draws for millennial shoppers: It helps them meet their goal of being more eco-conscious, and it makes them feel more responsible when it comes to how they manage their finances.
Where finances are concerned, millennials get the savings perks of snapping up used clothing and accessories at bargain prices, as well as the moneymaking benefits of selling their used clothing.
ThredUp’s research found that more than half of millennials actually consider the resale value of an item before they make a purchase.
