The coronavirus crisis has decimated retail, however secondary market platform StockX has experienced its share of promising and encouraging moments.
The “stock market of things” released its second-ever “StockX Snapshot” report today, which gives insight on how its business is performing in the more than 197 countries and territories it is available. In the report, StockX revealed it has surpassed $2.5 billion in lifetime gross merchandise value, or total value of merchandise sold over a period of time. Also, the company stated that it has closed more than 10 million lifetime trades, with 50% coming within the last year.
For the first half of 2020, StockX said May and June were its biggest buyer months ever, and the average resale price for the top 500 sneakers increased 6% between February and June. Also, the company said it had 18 of its top 20 sales days of all time in the second quarter of the year.
And sneakerheads aren’t just buying in the United States. According to the report, sales in Europe have grown more than 200% year-over-year.
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Although it’s no surprise that Air Jordans are a top performer on the secondary market, the success that StockX has seen with them this year may be.
StockX said it has authenticated 3.5 million pairs of Air Jordans ever, with 1 million of them coming in the last six months. And in May, as people were tuned into ESPN’s 10-part docuseries on NBA icon Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, titled “The Last Dance,” StockX said sales of Air Jordans climbed 40%.
The following month, StockX said it sold 40,000 pairs of the Air Jordan 13 “Flint,” which became the fastest selling sneaker in the platform’s history.
And the buying frenzy that “The Last Dance” created wasn’t the only cultural moment that moved the needle in terms of sneaker sales. StockX revealed in its report that the price of the Nike SB Dunk “Ferris Bueller” climbed 50% after Kylie Jenner laced up a pair on Instagram.
Although Jordan Brand continued to be popular, smaller brands are emerging as favorites. The growth of New Balance, for instance, has outpaced the overall market by more than 100%, StockX said.
In terms of shopper demographics, StockX said the sales of women’s sneakers have outpaced the rest of the market by 70% over the last 12 months, and the majority of customers on the platform users are 24 or younger. However, it is worth noting that the platform’s users who are 45 years old and older has risen 30% over the last six months.
And people weren’t just buying sneakers. StockX said it experienced growth in product categories such as puzzles (which increased 582% in GMV), slides (up 364%) and face masks (with a 282% increase) during the first half of 2020.
