December 18, 2019
Resale's popularity for gifted items is a generational thing. Image credit: Deloitte
A new survey from Deloitte found that more than a quarter of holiday shoppers plan to gift resale items this holiday season, mostly to those near and dear to them.
The shoppers’ main reason to gift resale items was to save money, as cited by 50 percent of respondents to the Deloitte survey, while a quarter are looking to afford a luxury or premium brand (24 percent) and 13 percent see this as an opportunity to be more sustainability focused.
“Resale also appears to be a generational thing,” said Stephen Rogers, executive director of Deloitte’s consumer industry center, in a piece on the survey.
“The vast majority of Gen Z embraces the opportunity to recycle or up-cycle a gift, while boomers and seniors, not so much,” he said. “And, while not as bullish as Gen Z, two out of five millennials are planning to gift a resale item this holiday.”
Deloitte surveyed 1,200 adults over age 18 in October and November. The survey was conducted online by an independent research company and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
Planning to gift resale products for the holiday season. Source: Deloitte
Old is new
This year U.S. holiday shoppers are planning to spend, on average, $1,496 on gifts, travel, entertaining and decorations, per Deloitte.
The resale market has grown 21 times faster than the retail apparel market in the past three years, according to ThredUp. The same company also expects the resale market to reach $23 billion in three years.
The boost in resale transactions in the upscale market has convinced Stella McCartney and Burberry to partner with The RealReal, the leading luxury consignor in the United States (see story). British department store Selfridges recently joined the circular economy by allowing European resaler Vestiaire Collective to open a shop-within-a-shop at its London flagship (see story).
Per the Deloitte study, the most popular pre-owned item to gift was clothing and apparel. This was followed by electronics and accessories, while nearly a quarter (24 percent) were unsure which used items they were going to gift.
“The opportunity to shop resale adds to the holiday treasure hunt,” Mr. Rogers said.
Recipients of resale gifting for the holiday season. Source: Deloitte
Responses to two questions – Is it better to give than to receive? Would you want to receive a resale gift? – were more conservative.
One in four say they would be delighted, but nearly half said they would neither be disappointed nor delighted.
But nearly a third (30 percent) said they would be somewhat to very disappointed to receive a resale gift.
“Maybe that’s why folks are playing it safer with those near and dear and whom they know well when it comes to their resale gifts,” Mr. Rogers said.
THE TOP THREE reasons for the 70 percent who will not be giving resale gifts this holiday season are the appearance of being cheap, concerns about the item’s condition and not finding exactly what they want.
“That said, the overall opportunity to participate in the fast-growing resale trend is not lost on several large retailers, who have partnered with major resale sites to offer a physical presence in the resale market,” Mr. Rogers said.
“We will see if the resale market becomes a holiday tradition for some,” he said. “In the meantime, it’s not the gift, but the thought that counts. We’ll be watching what people think.”
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