ThredUp: Consumers increasing holiday spending on secondhand gifts
Secondhand shopping will help drive sales this holiday season as shoppers plan a sharp increase in the percentage of their budgets allocated to resale.
Consumers plan to allocate nearly 40% of their total holiday budgets to secondhand gifts, up from the 30% they typically spend on resale in their everyday shopping, according to online resale platform ThredUp's "2025 Holiday Report." And 66% of all respondents are open to giving secondhand gifts, a figure that jumps to 80% for millennial respondents.
[READ MORE: Study: Most shoppers willing to substitute, downgrade holiday gifts to save money]
Top Resale Categories
The top reasons respondents gave for turning to resale for their holiday shopping are saving money/better value (62%) and finding unique, one-of-a-kind items (56%). The top secondhand categories shoppers are considering buying as gifts this year are:
- Accessories (e.g., handbags, jewelry, scarves): 40%;
- Women's apparel (e.g., coats, knits, denim): 36%; and
- Vintage items (across apparel, accessories, and home): 31%.
Shoppers plan to fund gifts by selling items.
Close to half (47%) of respondents plan to or are considering selling their own items (e.g., apparel, electronics, luxury goods) to help pay for gifts. This trend is most common among younger generations. Surveyed millennial (70%) and Gen Z (57%) consumers are most likely to embrace this strategy.
ThredUp data released earlier this year indicates that resale in general is growing in popularity. According to the 13th annual "2025 Resale Report" from ThredUp, the global resale market is expected to reach $74 billion by 2029, close to doubling from its 2024 value and growing 9% annually on average.
In other findings, more than half of surveyed consumers (52%) are more likely to focus on getting more items for less money this year.
“While the macroeconomic picture remains unclear, consumers aren't stopping their holiday traditions — they're just getting more strategic on how they participate,” said James Reinhart, CEO and cofounder of ThredUp. “They're seeking the most value, and that path is increasingly through resale. This holiday season proves consumers are incredibly financially savvy. Close to half of all shoppers are turning old items into cash they can use for holiday gifts. This circular strategy is becoming a major part of how they fund their holiday spending.”
The 2025 ThredUp Holiday Report was conducted by GlobalData and surveyed 2,000 consumers.
ThredUp has become one of the world's largest online resale platforms for apparel, shoes, and accessories and has processed over 250 million unique secondhand items from 60,000 brands across 100 categories.
