Pacsun launches resale program with ThredUp
Pacsun is enabling its customers to both buy and sell pre-owned apparel items.
The specialty teen apparel/footwear/accessories retailer is partnering with online fashion retail platform ThredUp Inc. to roll out "Pre-Loved Pac.” This “360-resale” program allows Pacsun customers to exchanged used clothing for Pacsun credit, as well as and shop pre-owned directly through the Pacsun website.
Pacsun is leveraging the ThredUp Resale-as-a-Service (RaaS) hosted technology and logistics platform that supports circular fashion retailing to build a white-labeled resale channel. The channel includes a digital shop, cleanout program, and cash-out offerings for participating customers.
ThredUp Clean Out Kits, now available on Pacsun.com, can be filled with womens' and kids' apparel, shoes and accessories from any brand and are shipped to ThredUp for free using a prepaid shipping label. The customer gets paid for their re-sellable items in the form of a Pacsun gift card.
Additionally, any ThredUp seller can now turn ThredUp credit into Pacsun credit, with a value that is 10 percent higher than the cash payment option. Pre-owned Pacsun brands are now available for purchase on Pacsun.com.
ThredUp initially introduced 360-resale operations on its hosted RaaS platform in July 2021, with the J. Crew Group’s Madewell specialty denim brand. “Madewell Forever" launched with over 3,000 pre-owned women's jeans, and new styles are added hourly as available. The assortment is curated by Madewell and is stocked through ThredUp’s inventory, as well as denim that is collected at Madewell retail locations.
ThredUp has also partnered with a number of other retailers on resale programs in recent years, including Walmart, J.C. Penney, and Abercrombie & Fitch.
Online resale booms among all generations
The preference for shopping secondary markets has surged across all generations – not just Gen Z -in a matter of two years, according to a report by First Insight and the Baker Retailing Center at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
During the past two years, baby boomers’ use of resale has grown by 56%, Gen X’s has increased by 35% and millennials’ has risen by 33%. Gen Z’s is up 44%. The data also found that the most popular sustainable retail models are third-party and brand-operated resale and recommerce. Sixty-five percent of total respondents preferred these options over rentals, subscription boxes, peer-to-peer marketplaces, and clothing swaps, according to the study.
"At Pacsun, we are committed to digital innovation and delivering services that our customers will love and use. Our community already embraced sustainable fashion, and we wanted to incorporate that into our brand experience," said Mimi Ruiz, VP of e-commerce at Pacsun. "When we learned about ThredUp’s RaaS offering, we thought it would be a great fit. By leveraging ThredUp’s proprietary technology, we were able to get our resale program up and running quickly, bringing value to our customers while also reducing our carbon footprint."
"Pacsun understands its customers on a deeper level than most brands I've worked with. Incorporating resale into its business made sense for multiple reasons but mostly, because it delivers a service that its customers are already tapping into," said James Reinhart, CEO of thredUP. "With Pacsun's Gen Z customer-base, resale is not only an ideal fit for the company's demographic but it is also an untapped growth channel for the business."
Based in Los Angeles, Pacsun operates 300 retail stores across the U.S., as well as online. Founded in 2009, ThredUp has processed over 100 million unique secondhand items from 35,000 brands across 100 categories.