Preloved fashion and homewares have shifted from charity shops and jumble sales to leading UK style and shopping trends. Online retail growth has normalized secondhand buying, with Vinted playing a major role in expanding beyond clothes into items such as smartphones, books, and rugs. The UK is a leading and fast-growing market for Vinted internationally, competing with France for top position. Over the past five to 10 years, Britons have adopted secondhand purchasing more widely, supporting platforms including Vinted, eBay, Depop, and Facebook Marketplace. Preloved items now account for about a tenth of global fashion sales, and further growth is expected as shoppers seek value amid squeezed budgets.
"Once the preserve of jumble sales and charity shops, preloved fashion and homewares are now leading style and shopping trends in the UK. After the rapid growth of online retail, Britain is now witnessing the normalisation of secondhand, according to Adam Jay, the chief executive of Vinted's main marketplace arm, a key driver of the trend in recent years."
"The UK is at the forefront of an international revolution, jostling for position with France to be Vinted's biggest market, and is also one of its fastest growing markets, as the online marketplace moves beyond just selling clothes and into everything from smartphones and books to rugs. "I see a deep and sustained change in how people buy and how people think about things that they own," says Jay, who has been in the job since 2022."
"He says in the last five to 10 years Britons have embraced secondhand buying to a far greater degree, boosting not only Vinted but eBay, the subject of a recent $55.5bn (41bn) takeover bid and the UK startup Depop, Facebook Marketplace as well as numerous other smaller rivals. Preloved items now make up about a tenth of global fashion sales and Jay believes there is much further to go."
"Together with the cut-price marketplaces Shein and Temu, Vinted has shaken up the UK retail scene, putting pressure on established online sellers including Asos and Boohoo, the budget high street chain Primark and even retailers such as John Lewis, Currys and Argos. While Vinted's green-tinged ambition to make secondhand the first choice may seem a world away from Shein, which sells cheap stuff direct from factories based mostly in China, Jay says both are benefiting from shoppers' hunt for value as their spare cash is squeezed by rising energy and food costs."
Read at www.theguardian.com
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