What Resale Market Industry Really Is
The resale market is nothing new, but it is undergoing a transformation faster than listings in the Depop stores of Generation Z. What’s different today is the number of platforms, peer-to-peer selling apps, logistical powerhouses, and the age-old charity shops. The average reseller or non-resellers who want to sell their decluttered goods engages in the resale platforms like https://www.backflip.com/ and uses minimum merchandising. They’re selling in a Marketplace instead of a traditional brick-and-mortar store.
Online resale marketplaces
There are a variety of online resale marketplaces, but what makes them different from each other? While most of these websites have the same basic functionality, a few of them have a more niche focus. Some online resale marketplaces make it easy to sell work clothing. You take pictures of the items you want to sell, and you get paid a fee for every sale. Some sites have stricter policies than others, though. Some brands, are restricted and cannot be used for reselling. Other resale sites recently received funding from other investors. Online resale marketplaces are the way to get the best deals on secondhand clothes and accessories.
Sustainability benefits
The sustainability benefits of resale markets go beyond just the circular economy. Reselling discarded items helps extend a garment’s lifecycle and reduces its need for manufacturing new ones. The linear supply chain involves excessive water, fabric, and energy to manufacture new items, and it is also often characterized by unethical labor practices. But recommerce can be an essential part of a company’s sustainability efforts.
While large companies already widely use resale markets, they can also benefit small businesses. Private individuals can use online platforms sell resale items. Some companies use blockchain technology to track a product’s lifecycle. It has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of an item significantly. This trend is likely to increase as the resale market industry expands across the globe.
Growing market size
With the global economic recovery and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the resale market is experiencing a renaissance. Online retail sales were up 129% in Q1 & Q2 of 2020, a massive growth rate. But much of this growth was hampered by supply chain problems. A structural shock hit China in February, followed by a demand shock that shook the global economy. These issues exposed the vulnerability of global supply chains, creating an ideal environment for the secondhand market to flourish.
Today, resale is a billion-dollar industry, with revenues estimated to reach almost $53 billion by 2023. A largest online consignment marketplace, predicts that the resale market will reach $51 billion by 2023, up from the $26 billion of traditional secondhand. This online marketplace also notes that the resale market is growing 11x faster than traditional retail, with the shift in consumer perceptions to be more sustainable.
Impact on other industries
The resale market industry is expected to be $64 billion in revenue by 2025, with antique stores and online marketplaces accounting for 13% of that total. Consumer habits have also contributed to the growth of this industry. More people are shopping online, and fewer stores are opening. Also, COVID-19 forced many stores to shut down and empowered consumers to sell their items. But why is the resale market thriving? In a variety of ways, the secondhand market business has benefitted other industries. It gave rise to high-end e-commerce websites. It has also led to the increase of high-end re-commerce marketplaces. Some marketplaces receives 100,000 items a day. As a result, resale retailers see a surge in sales.
