Dive Brief:
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According to survey findings from Mercari, the peer-to-peer resale app, 61% of consumers are comfortable with receiving a used item as a gift, especially if it's unique or difficult to find. The survey, which collected responses from 1,276 consumers, found that 63% of women and 59% of men said they're okay with receiving a used item as a gift.
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The survey also indicated that 49% of Millennial and Gen Z consumers aged 18 to 34 would give secondhand gifts, but only 38% of consumers 55 years old and older said the same.
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Four percent of Americans would be displeased with a receiving a used item as a gift, and 16% of U.S. consumers have at least one unused gift from last holiday season in their possession, per the survey results.
Dive Insight:
These findings from Mercari further contextualize the rise of resale retail. This year, Macy's, Madewell and J.C. Penney have all announced partnerships with ThredUp. Burberry launched its partnership with The RealReal. Even the Kardashian-Jenner family made headlines earlier this fall with their venture into the resale market.
ThredUp projects that the market will reach $51 billion by 2023. It remains to be seen how much of that market Mercari will capture, but the app raised about $6.5 billion on its debut trading day on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2018.
It's also worth noting that this shift is occurring as consumers seek to shop with the environment in mind. An Accenture report found that nearly half of consumers want to shop with responsible retailers that address social issues, and half want to take advantage of lower environmental impact delivery options like slower shipping and buy online, pick-up in-store (BOPIS) services.
"Store-bought gifts can be predictable and generic since there's a limit to the variety provided at retail," John Lagerling, Mercari U.S. CEO, said in a statement.
