Consumers had already begun to discover the joy and benefits of shopping secondhand, and now economic pressures have accelerated that adoption. In 2025, 59% of consumers shopped secondhand apparel, a seven-point increase in just three years, according to ThredUp’s 14th annual Resale Report, which has become an important industry benchmark.
Now, mounting cost pressures look set to push that number even higher, with 72% of consumers surveyed saying that rising prices are directly impacting their apparel spending, and 27% saying they plan to increase their secondhand purchasing as a result.
And consumers aren’t alone in feeling the pinch of today’s current economic climate: 36% of retailers said they now view resale as a hedge against inventory and supply chain volatility.
U.S. Secondhand Market to Reach $78.8 Billion by 2030
As a result, the global secondhand market is projected to hit $393 billion by 2030, growing 2X faster than the overall apparel market at an estimated CAGR of 9%. In the U.S., secondhand sales are outpacing broader retail by a whopping 4X, actively cannibalizing traditional market share and expected to reach $78.8 billion by 2030.
U.S. online resale specifically (the segment of the secondhand market that accounts for online sales) is expected to nearly double by 2030, reaching $48.3 billion and growing 10% annually, on average, from the $29.7 billion it reached in 2025.
These numbers make it clear that resale is entering a newly competitive, more structurally complex phase, particularly in the U.S., where growth is being driven not just by new participants but by wallet share shifts — from new to used, yes, but also between different resale platforms operating in an increasingly fragmented market.
“Resale is no longer just growing, it’s taking share,” said James Reinhart, Co-founder and CEO of ThredUp in the report. “As the market scales, the next phase will be defined by competition for supply, fragmentation across platforms and new ways for consumers to discover and engage with secondhand.”
Resale can be a Powerful Hedge for Retailers, but Execution is Lagging
Not only can resale offer resilience against inventory and supply chain volatility, it’s also become a loyalty driver: 60% of Gen Z and millennial shoppers say that integrated resale features directly increase their trust in a brand, and 47% of consumers say they are more likely to make a first-time purchase if trade-in credit is offered.
“Trade-in programs are no longer a brand ‘perk,’ they are the new baseline,” said Alon Rotem, Chief Strategy Officer of ThredUp in a statement. “Resale has officially moved from a sustainability experiment to a primary lever for customer acquisition and long-term relevance.”
Indeed, 60% of customers also say that resale value is a key factor when buying apparel (up 13% YoY).
And yet, even though most retailers now see resale as a strategically important lever, most brands are not equipped to pull it: Just 16% of organizations say they are ready to scale their resale program immediately, with 38% citing logistics and operational gaps as key challenges.
The ‘Resale Flywheel’ is Kicking into High Gear
Younger generations are the undisputed heavyweights of the resale economy; through 2030, 71% of all market growth will come from Gen Z and millennials, with new shoppers making up the vast majority of this number.
So the fact that resale marketplaces and apps are not the only place where these shoppers find their secondhand scores shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Nearly 50% of shoppers are now discovering secondhand through social media, creators and influencer feeds rather than traditional search. In fact, 43% of secondhand shoppers say they have purchased via social commerce or livestream formats.
And many of these buyers are also becoming sellers, with 57% of shoppers surveyed saying they resell items for income. This interconnected ecosystem, with consumers alternating between roles as buyers and sellers, and using social media to bolster their profile and access in both regards, is helping to build what ThredUp is calling the “Resale Flywheel.”
“We’re moving from a linear apparel economy toward a resale flywheel, where consumers increasingly buy with future value in mind,” said Reinhart.
ThredUp’s 2026 Resale Report is based on a combination of market modeling, a survey of 3,268 U.S. consumers and insights from 50 top fashion brands, and was developed in partnership with retail analytics firm GlobalData. GlobalData’s assessment of the secondhand market is determined through consumer surveys, retailer tracking, official public data, data sharing, store observation and secondary sources. The report also draws on internal ThredUp customer and brand performance data.
Get an inside look at ThredUp’s own evolving resale business in this recent podcast with Chief Strategy Officer Alon Rotem:
