Resale platform ThredUp is at the top of its game — the company has been profitable for seven straight quarters in the U.S., and in Q2 it acquired more new customers than in any previous quarter in its history, a 74% increase year-over-year.
Much of this is due to ThredUp’s hard work over the years to find the right balance of experience and pricing, but a number of other factors are serving as tailwinds for the resale site — namely advances in AI and an economic environment that is pushing customers to seek out value and domestic goods.
That last piece of the puzzle is one of resale’s biggest advantages in our current tariff-battered economy: “We are selling the same clothes that were manufactured overseas, but because we’re sourcing them from Americans closets, we’re effectively domesticating our supply chain. That’s really what makes our offering immune to tariffs,” shared ThredUp’s Chief Strategy Officer Alon Rotem on the Retail Remix podcast.
Other political moves like the end of the de minimis loophole also are playing in resale’s favor: “When the de minimis loophole was closed a few months ago, it leveled the playing field for domestic apparel and particularly secondhand apparel, which is the most prevalent domestically sold apparel,” said Rotem. “It caused the costs of doing business for fast fashion to go up, and we in turn observed their marketing spend come down, which made our marketing dollars more efficient by comparison. They also raised prices, which made secondhand, by comparison, an even better value.”
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Rotem joined the Retail Remix podcast to share more about ThredUp’s recent growth and what it says about the future of retail, including:
- Why this moment could mark the tipping point when resale permanently moves from the margins to the mainstream;
- How ThredUp has finally been able to achieve profitability in the U.S. and what it plans to do with that capital;
- Why AI advancements are poised to “disproportionately benefit” secondhand retail;
- Details of the company’s forthcoming peer-to-peer offering;
- PLUS what everyone gets wrong about lawyers.
This episode breaks down why the resale model is no longer a trend — it’s the future. Listen in here or anywhere you get your podcasts.
