When Archive was founded in 2021, brands and retailers that were implementing resale programs were considered “early adopters.” Secondhand fashion has, of course, been around for decades, but brands only started to bring their resale programs in-house in the years following the pandemic. Since then, pre-loved fashion has become a $16 billion market, with continued growth expected in the years ahead. Early adopters are now adding new resale platforms in stores and contributing to campaigns like Secondhand September, while makers of backpacks, furniture, and home goods are joining the resale revolution for the first time.
“2024 marked a huge shift in the branded resale market. Brands are seeing the business results of resale: executives are including resale in their annual planning, hiring teams against it, and setting big revenue targets for 2025. Within the broader market trend of resale spending outpacing traditional retail throughout 2024, we are expecting to see more investment and innovation in this category in the coming year,” said Emily Gittins, Archive’s co-founder and chief executive officer.
As we speak with our brand partners about the year ahead, we are more confident than ever that resale will soon become a crucial unit of any retail business. Here are Archive’s four 2025 predictions for the resale market:
- Resale will contribute a larger share to brands’ total revenue. Resale is moving out of the “test and learn” phase and into a more meaningful business segment for many companies. While resale remains one of the simplest ways for brands to shrink their carbon footprints, retailers now understand that these programs are also good for their bottom lines. Resale marketplaces allow retailers to attract new shoppers who are more likely to spend at a lower price point, create new ways for customers to engage with the brand, and add an element of novelty without requiring massive investment. At Christy Dawn, for example, pre-loved items that are part of Christy’s Closet, from the brand’s founder, have an almost 100% sell through within a week of being listed. As such, we expect resale to become a bigger percentage of overall brand revenue and anticipate that brands will set significant revenue and margin targets in 2025. Rather than a “nice to have,” resale will become its own business unit for brands in the years to come.
- Hiring for resale-specific roles will grow. As a result of resale bringing in more revenue, we expect brands will start building out resale-specific teams in 2025. We see parallels between resale today and the early stages of e-commerce in the 2000s; resale has now passed the early adopter phase, and brands are hiring as they recognize the potential to grow their business while also offering a more sustainable and regulation-friendly model.
- E-commerce websites will merge secondhand and new products. Resale websites are typically separate from brands’ mainline product offerings. When customers shop online, they historically had to navigate away from new, full price products to find the designated tab for secondhand. But recently, brands like Patagonia and Dr. Martens have been integrating the two rather than prioritizing mainline apparel and footwear. Dr. Martens, for example, directs customers from its mainline site to its resale platform, ReWair, when items are sold out, ensuring sales opportunities aren’t missed.
- Resale will expand beyond fashion and footwear. New categories of goods beyond fashion will get serious about resale in 2025. At Archive, we believe that any made-to-last consumer product with a loyal customer base is well-positioned for resale. We’re hearing from furniture, home goods and collectibles businesses who are looking to invest in resale marketplaces. While finding the right resale model can be tricky for retailers that sell cumbersome products like furniture, Archive offers flexible formats—including local peer-to-peer marketplaces that allow for in-person pick up—to simplify the process.
Are you looking to grow your revenue with resale in 2025? Contact us here.
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