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5 Ways We Can Tell The Resale Retail Market Is On The Rise

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The Resale Retail market is growing

Written by Cooper White

What is the most rapidly expanding sector of the retail business?

You may be surprised by the answer…

It’s the secondhand market — or the resale retail industry – a marketplace where customers may purchase gently worn clothing or pre-loved pieces of stuff that have been carefully sorted, cleaned, and packaged for resale.

According to GlobalData Market research, the circular economy and the resale market is projected to expand from $7 billion in 2019 to $36 billion in 2024, reflecting a 39% growth rate.

Still not convinced? Here are more indicators that the retail resale market is booming.

Consumers are becoming more concerned about social and environmental issues. Environmental responsibility is a subject that many people are passionate about. Textile manufacturing alone produces 1.2 billion metric tons of greenhouse emissions per year.

Furthermore, clothing manufacturing effluent is estimated to be responsible for 20% of global water contamination. Thus, sustainable shopping is rapidly gaining traction.


“COVID-19 outbreak increased people’s concern about the environment. Consequently, they became aware that they may effectively address these problems by donating, reselling, or renting,” says furniture rentals provider Karina Wolfin of Direct Appliance Rentals.

Profiting from repair, renovation, and reselling is no longer a taboo subject but a profitable and popular industry.

Large conventional merchants have begun to see the advantages of collaborating with resale businesses while other businesses concentrate on the reselling industry’s backend logistics. Even fast-fashion retailers are experimenting with a repair program and boutiques that exclusively sell second-life items.

Another popular way to buy pre-loved goods is via online resale. A growing number of online stores that resale retail use their digital markets to offer loads of secondhand things for reuse in real-time. Shoppers have access to a broader range of products and can advertise their goods and services through the platforms, all without leaving their homes.

Another indicator that the resale retail industry is reaching a tipping point is developing a business-to-business (B2B) market for secondhand products. There is now a slew of well-funded B2B companies that provide services at every value chain stage to assist brick-and-mortar shops in reselling.

Services such as maintenance, restoration, and refurbishing have become standard. Businesses benefit from offering these services instead of new products, from repairing household appliances to refurbishing mobile phones. 

More notably, repairing and refurbishing one million different items takes more work — and more complicated labour — than producing one million identical ones. More employment may be created as a result of this.

Why Buy New When You Can Buy Used?

The tide is turning. As manufacturers are well aware, a high value from a used product does not detract from the worth of a new one; rather, it enhances it. Such mindset is the kind of change we need to see in the coming years: a setting where people, Earth, and businesses can live sustainably.


World’s Biggest Garage Sale is doing exactly that. Check out our latest collection of preloved stuff and join our cause in starting a revolution for change.

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