Gen Z shoppers to give more secondhand gifts

Dive Brief:

Twenty-seven percent of consumers plan to give secondhand items as holiday gifts, according to a Deloitte report. Gen Z consumers are the most likely to give used gifts. While 61% of Gen Z and 43% of millennials plan to give used goods as gifts, only 25% of Gen X and 13% of baby boomers said the same, the report found.
Among the consumers giving used items to loved ones during the holiday season, 68% of consumers planned to give their family secondhand items as gifts, followed by 37% of secondhand gifts slated for friends, 28% for themselves and 17% for work colleagues, according to the report.
As for why consumers are opting to give used items as gifts, 50% of consumers said they're doing so to save money, 24% are doing so to afford a luxury item and 13% want to shop sustainably, per the report.

Dive Insight:

It's not surprising that younger consumers are embracing the secondhand market. A report from Mercari, the peer-to-peer resale app, found that 49% of millennial and Gen Z consumers aged 18 to 34 would give used items as gifts.

Consumers turning to used items as a more affordable option for luxury goods could validate luxury retailers' efforts to corner their share of the secondhand market. Earlier this year, Burberry launched a partnership with The RealReal, which has recently had to defend its authentication practices. Meanwhile, Ralph Lauren is looking to introduce resale and rental options to spur growth.

The resale market is projected to grow to $51 billion in five years, according to a ThredUp report. As younger consumers warm up to used items, retailers and brands have been courting customers with their own secondhand initiatives or teaming up with like-minded partners. Patagonia in November debuted its first Worn Wear store, which is stocked with Worn Wear products and items from the company's ReCrafted Collection, which sells clothes made from apparel that was beyond repair.

Both Macy's and J.C. Penney partnered with ThredUp to sell secondhand apparel in select stores, part of a big year of securing retail partnerships for the e-commerce platform. Even the Kardashian-Jenners launched Kardashian Kloset as a means of selling items from their own wardrobes.