The lines between retail and social media continue to blur: 58% of shoppers are comfortable purchasing items through a social media platform instead of directly from a company’s web site, according to Poshmark’s 2020 Social Commerce Report. This shift in purchasing habits coincides with greater interest in resale: secondhand clothing now takes up 14% of consumers’ closet space, rising to 16.5% among Gen Z.
“The commonality across generations underscores how widespread the resale phenomena truly is,” said a Poshmark spokesperson in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “Shoppers across generations might be attracted to resale for a variety of reasons, whether to consistently cycle fresh looks in and out of their closet, shop more sustainably, or snag a deal on a coveted brand.”
Poshmark is benefiting from this trend: 40% of the clothes in its shoppers’ closets are secondhand. Additionally, 48% of Poshmark sellers use a portion of their earnings to make purchases on the platform as well, which helps build loyalty, and 80% of daily shoppers are repeat buyers.
The social side of the business has made Poshmark popular with Gen Z, which accounts for 20% of Poshmark all users and 25% of new users in 2019. These shoppers are well-suited to social commerce:
Advertisement
- 34% take their style cues from social media influencers;
- 48% listen to their peers;
- 38% follow the latest streetwear trends; and
- 37% look to celebrities and pop culture icons.
“Many Poshmark sellers are also influencers on the platform — they use Poshmark to create their own fashion brands, engage directly with followers and develop aesthetic and rapport,” said the spokesperson. “We’ve built and developed Poshmark with social discovery in mind. Since the beginning, Poshmark has included all of the traditional capabilities of a social media platform (liking, commenting, sharing) and we’ve continued to evolve and leverage the social experience both on and offline.”