A used clothing treatment center operated by Thredup, the online resale market for … More
A record number of Americans bought second -hand clothes in 2024, and more than half of these buyers made an online purchase, according to the Thredup 2025 resale report.
Thredup, an online resale platform for clothing, shoes and accessories for women and children, followed the evolution of the resale market since 2013, with an annual report. Although each report has shown constant growth in consumer acceptance and demand for used clothing, this year report13th of Thredup, indicates that the resale is positioned for an accelerated growth period.
AI Thredup tools and other resale platforms began to use in 2024 facilitate research and online purchases for used clothing only to buy new goods. The growing integration of social trade and resale, as well as the price problems triggered by tariff policies should also increase used sales.
The US second -hand clothing market up 14%
The US second -hand clothing market increased by 14% last year – its strongest annual growth since 2021 and five times the growth rate of the overall clothing market, said Thredup in its report, which is based on GlobalData research, including surveys with consumers and retail managers.
American online resale experienced even more dramatic growth in 2024, up 23%. Online resale should grow at an annual rate made up of 13% over the next five years and double, reaching $ 40 billion by 2029, according to the report.
Globally, the used clothing market is expected to reach $ 367 billion by 2029, with an annual growth rate composed of 10%, according to the Thredup report.
In 2024, 58% of buyers bought second -hand, compared to 52% in 2023, which was the first time in the history of Thredup reports that used buyers exceeded 50%.
An even higher percentage of young buyers – 68% of millennials and generation Z – said they bought Secondhand in 2024.
Secondhand is the first choice for young buyers
Among these young buyers, 48% said that Secondhand was the first option they are looking for when they buy clothes, up 7 points compared to the previous year.
“It’s a bit wild to think that in the younger generations, it is not only that they do used shopping, but that this is the first place they go,” said Alon Rotem. Thredup’s strategy director said in an interview. The change in acceptance of used clothes occurs widely, “but that happens even more with the younger generations,” he said.
Rotem has said that a number of factors stimulate resale growth, the most important of which are artificial intelligence tools that allow consumers to move more easily in all online used offers and find exactly what they are looking for.
“You have shopping innovations that facilitate shopping, so it looks more like shopping,” he said.
Three new ways to take advantage of AI in the past year are with an improved image search, a style cat and an improved response to written research requests, said Rotem,
The search for images allows buyers to search for a used item using an image that they downloaded on the internet, or that they took something they saw in the street and associate it with the Thredup inventory.
The style cat, said Rotem, works as an IA style expert who can help a customer to assemble complete outfits.
Ai changed game for the thredup
The CEO of Thredup, James Reinhart, in an interview last August, called the recently launched IA tools the “most convincing product” in the history of the company and the change of game for Thredup.
In the call of the profits of the fourth quarter of Thredup with investors on March 1, Reinhart said: “We continue to believe that AI benefits disproportionately compared to other markets and retailers, and that generator can considerably improve the used shopping experience.”
Reinhart also said on the call that Thrept had launched automated digital measures during the quarter, which will improve customer shopping experience and will lead to better conversion, lower yields and an increase in customer loyalty.
The progress of AI in the resale industry reflect the rapid adoption of the AI in the world of retail.
Consumers also show a wide acceptance of AI purchase tools. With Adobe reporting earlier this month than AI traffic to US electronic commerce websites has been doubled every two months since September.
Social trade with second -hand agreements
Social trade also stimulates used growth, said Rotem.
“This is the way people who make the fastest growing online purchases,” he said, and consumers share videos on their used discoveries and celebrating the fact that they have found an excellent second-hand article. “All these things normalize the resale of second-hand and lead and contribute to this growth,” he said.
According to the Thredup report, 39% of the buyers of the young generation made a second-hand purchase on a social trade platform in the last 12 months. Among these, 62% made a purchase on Tiktok or Tiktok Shop.
The managers of the 50 best fashion and retail brands were interviewed for the report, and 38% said they were currently allowing customers to buy occasion via a social business platform. 48% additional said they plan to integrate social trade in the future.
