Home Products Resale Market Soars 17%
OfferUp’s latest research showed that half of U.S. consumers shopped resale for home goods during the pandemic. And their spending on home decor and furniture resale items rose 17 percent during the year.
Authors of the OfferUp recommence report noted that these gains “are projected to continue to become a $23.6 billion market by 2025, making recommerce the fastest-growing channel for home-related items.” The report also revealed that about two-thirds of American homes “have home goods and furniture acquired through resale.”
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OfferUp, is a mobile marketplace with more than 56 million buyers and sellers using its app to buy and sell everything from apparel and jewelry to electronics and automobiles. This most recent report solely focused on furniture and home products, and was published in partnership with data analytics firm GlobalData.
The company said resale marketplaces “were the fastest-growing retail channel for home products and have become go-to destinations for hard-to-find items like desks, exercise equipment and electronics.” The research found that 35 percent of consumers bought home products last year using resale apps, “saving $400 on average compared to traditional retail costs. OfferUp said home products were the fastest-growing category across resale in 2020.
Nick Huzar, chief executive officer and cofounder of OfferUp, said the resale market “is an incredible barometer for identifying consumer demand. In 2020, one in five adults in America shopped on OfferUp. As our homes became the place for work, school and exercise, we saw demand increase exponentially for the items that make these things possible.
Huzar 2020 accelerated “the shift from retail to resale that we’ve seen coming for a long time. Americans have discovered that resale frequently is less expensive and better for the environment than traditional retail.”
The data showed that 48 percent of U.S. consumers “bought an item through resale last year, and while the resale market saw growth overall, interest decreased in previously popular categories.” The report noted that 2020 was “the worst year on record for the apparel resale market, with spending decreasing by 13 percent as interest in workwear and fashion declined.”
The company also shared other data that echoed reports from other research done in the past few months. This include that 11 percent of Americans “moved because of the pandemic, with more than 31 percent making the transition from the city to the suburbs in 2020.” The report found that 40 percent of respondents said they chose to “upsize their homes in their quest for more space, resulting in many having to buy new furniture.”
From here, the total resale market is poised for significant expansion. OfferUp said the total resale market, which includes secondhand cars and vehicles, “is expected to see continued growth and reach a combined $1.36 trillion in the next five years.”
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