Survey: Nearly one-third of consumers have thrifted in past year
Like resale as a whole, shopping at thrift stores is becoming more common for consumers.
Nearly 90% of American and Canadian consumers have engaged with a thrift store through shopping, donating or both, up from 83% in 2022, according to a survey from Savers Value Village, one of the largest operators of thrift stores in North America. Nearly one-in-three respondents have thrifted in the past year alone.
In other findings, in-person thrift store experiences continue to dominate. Secondhand shoppers reported spending 4.5 times more at brick-and-mortar thrift stores compared to online resale. Seventy-seven cents of every dollar they spend on pre-owned apparel is spent in-store.
Nearly four-in-10 consumers say that secondhand clothing makes up more than a quarter of their wardrobe. Nearly half of thrifters purchase secondhand clothing at least once per month.
More than 40% of Gen Z are thrifters, and nearly six-in-10 say more than a quarter of their wardrobe is secondhand. Among Gen Z respondents, 60% thrift monthly.
[READ MORE: Report: Resale market continues to grow as stigma decreases]
Contrary to popular belief, thrifting extends beyond apparel. Consumers say they shop many secondhand categories beyond apparel, with about eight-in-10 having bought at least one non-apparel category. Leading categories include books (46% of consumers), furniture (34%), home decor (33%), electronics (29%) and housewares/kitchenware (28%).
“Thrift, a once-niche retail segment, is having a major cultural moment,” said Savers Value Village CEO Mark Walsh. “It is incredibly encouraging to see shoppers of all ages, and particularly younger generations, embrace the secondhand economy. This is the kind of mentality that is going to start to truly make a difference in embedding a reuse mindset in our global culture.”
Additional findings from the Savers Value Village survey include the following:
• Six-in-10 respondents like owning unique, one-of-a-kind items. One-in-three say that secondhand clothing is more stylish than new clothing.
• Half of thrift shoppers say they started thrifting because of the potential treasure hunt. Eight-in-10 thrifters say they enjoy the treasure hunt of searching for items, and a large majority of thrifters (seven-in-10) say they have found a “treasure” while thrifting.
• Half of thrifters say they consider thrift shopping a social activity they like to do with others. Nearly nine-in-10 thrifters say they spend more than 30 minutes in a store when thrifting.
