The use of artificial intelligence to help clothing shoppers find a particular product and the tariffs being implemented in the US are driving secondhand clothing sales as new clothing prices inflate.
According to a report from analysts at GlobalData for ThredUp, an online clothing reseller, artificial intelligence is driving up sales of secondhand clothing, with sales rising by 15% last year.
Secondhand clothing now accounts for around $227 billion, 9%, in total global fashion sales. Within the past five years this sector of the fashion market has grown exponentially, making resellers a major player in the retail industry.
This year, if the market keeps moving as it has been, sales are expected to increase by 11%, and surprisingly, AI is playing a role. AI has been helping shoppers find specific items that they want, often from the resale market.
James Reinhart, the chief executive of ThredUp, discussed how shoppers on a budget have more recently been turning towards secondhand retailers due to the tariffs being implemented in the US on goods made in China.
“The market will have a breakout year relative to previous years. It is not likely to have the same downward pressures from tariffs that the rest of the industry will face and [when] the American consumer deals with more insecurity, the pursuit of value is heightened.”
Artificial intelligence is specifically being used by shoppers to help them put together outfits, or reverse search images of outfits they find online to figure out where they can purchase the garment in the image, or something similar. AI tools can also be used to find cheaper versions of expensive/designer clothing.
“[These tools] will really improve secondhand shopping experiences relative to shopping new,” Reinhart added.
The study that was cited from this data also showed that there has been a 58% increase in shoppers that are prepared to mainly buy clothes secondhandly, this is a 6% increase from 2023.
Younger generations are driving this percentage as well, with 68% buying secondhand clothing last year. Sites such as Vinted, Depop, ThredUp, and eBay were listed as some of the main sources for buying used clothing, according to The Guardian.
Reinhart also said that the growth in the secondhand market is not yet where experts think it could be, and it failed to reach a market goal of accounting for 10% of the entire fashion market.
“[The industry has] underestimated the penetration of Shein and Temu.”
Fast fashion brands are extremely popular, especially among young people who are shopping on a budget. With changes coming to the importing rules in the US and Europe, online sellers from China will likely see a decrease in shopping as resale sites flourish.
Reinhart stated “ThredUp had been profitable on an underlying basis for more than a year and the narrative of resale not being able to make money is outdated,” according to the Guardian.
ThredUp sales only increased by 1% last year, however, with these current trends it’ll likely see an increase in the coming years.
UK-based reseller Depop, on the other hand, saw an increase in sales by 31% in 2023, and Vinted reported a 61% rise in sales in the same year.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
