For the post-war generation and the boomers, buying clothes from "American markets" and shops with "clothes by the pound" signs may have been an object of ridicule, but today generation z, with the help of technology, has made second hand fashionable again. In Greece, two chains specialising in second hand, the Bulgarian Mania and the Lithuanian Humana, will soon open their first stores.
Second hand clothes and accessories are the fastest growing market in fashion. According to Statista, the global market in this category is estimated to be worth $177 billion in 2022 and is expected to double over the next five years to reach $351 billion in 2027. Meanwhile, according to market research by GlobalData, the used apparel market is growing 11 times faster than traditional retail.
The used clothing market grew during the pandemic as people realized that what clothes they don't use can be resold. The resulting free time due to mobility restrictions changed shopping habits, while store and mall closures turned people to the second-hand market.
During the pandemic period there was an increase in the use of apps providing a second-hand clothes resale service. Indeed, mobile apps such as Wallapop and Vinted have become particularly popular, through which people can sell clothes they no longer use.
The second-hand app
A particularly interesting case is depop.com a site and app that specialises in buying and selling second-hand items, but mainly clothes, between consumers. It was created in 2011 and sold ten years later, at the height of the pandemic, for $1.6 billion to Etsy. In 2020 it added 13 million users and now has around 35 million users with 90% of them under the age of 26. Gross sales made through depop alone reached $552 million in 2022, almost double the 2019 figure ($288 million).
Strikingly, one of the markets leading this trend is Spain, the home of fast fashion. This rise has been helped by an increase in environmental empathy and the need for sustainability. According to a survey, 60% of Spaniards are in favour of buying second-hand goods and the majority of consumers buy second-hand clothes for economic or environmental reasons, with 9% turning to vintage clothing.
Zara in the second hand sector
The issue of sustainability has become a pivot on which many branded chains have sought to influence consumers by creating collections based on sustainability. However, these efforts have not been enough to win over consumers, as they are part of green-washing.
Zara, realising the potential of the space, last November, went ahead and opened its first store (Zara - Pre Owned) with second hand products in London. At the end of May it announced the expansion of the brand in Europe, starting with the Netherlands.
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