With the launch of pre-loved luxury goods on Amazon, we need to talk about how the luxury re sale market is growing, expanding and becoming one of the biggest business opportunities of 2023.
Where does the surge come from? – Gen Z and Millennials have a thing for nostalgia and this is nothing else. while the origin might be purely nostalgic, the economic factor reduces to 2 reasons, vintage pieces tend to be rare, whether it was a limited edition or not, they aren’t easy to come by, so there’s desire and scarcity, making the prices grow.
Younger consumers lean more towards the re-sale market since it falls more in line with important values, like sustainability but with Amazon entering the game, that is soon to change. With the sometimes outrageous prices (looking at you Chanel) , another important factor in this market is affordability, while buying a designer item is always an investment, the prices can be very reasonable, specially at thrift shops and smaller re-sellers, buying pre-loved helps with the evolution of a circular economy.
In the past years we’ve seen an exponential growth in luxury resale platforms, one of the pioneers being The Real Real, where verifying the authenticity of the products was the main selling point at the time of the launch. Because turning to Ebay and praying you bought a real bag , wasn’t really working. Nowadays every resale platform has that feature. The re sale market saw a big change when Farfetch came in the game, with a different approach , mixing the style of traditional retailers like Nordstrom with a pre loved category, they quickly grew to be one of the leaders in this space. Their social media approach and influencer campaigns have made a huge impact, but they aren’t the only ones using social media to grow quick, smaller sellers have a big opportunity on TikTok, many sourcing companies have already risen to fame within the app.
So what does this mean? – in short , 2 things:
1.- Re-selling luxury goods is a big business category and it’s predicted to go huge this year. We know this market has a more conscious approach to capitalism, making it very appealing but with this grow, things can change.
Brands have to think if they will join this market or let the current companies run it, we can start to see partnerships between the haute couture houses and the leading platforms.. We shall see in the future how well it goes for Amazon.
2.- Now costumers have so many trustworthy options , not only choosing from a website that authenticates vs one that doesn’t. now the options go beyond, you can source your dream bag, pay with credit cards, pay in monthly installments, wait for big sales or even influencer discount codes, cross check prices and stocks. The possibilities are endless in a sea filled with all types of luxury goods, from pre loved to vintage.
*Photo by Break Archive
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