Poised for Explosive Growth: Apparel and Footwear Resale Platforms Must Overcome Low Loyalty Rates

Originally published on Customerland.net on June 3rd, 2025

Resale platforms like Vinted, Depop, and eBay that offer second-hand apparel and footwear appear poised to benefit from the increasing global economic uncertainty.  The global apparel resale market was expected to grow at 2.4x the rate of the apparel industry on the whole according to Circular Fashion Federation and KPMG, but with looming trade wars and fluctuating tariffs, the apparel resale industry is poised for explosive growth far beyond earlier projections.  How individual resale platforms overcome exceptionally low buyer and seller loyalty will play a major role in how they capitalize on this growth period.

European Apparel and Footwear Resale

New research from FarSight Research & Advisory highlights an extremely low level of resale platform loyalty in European markets.  This research showed that Vinted had the most loyal luxury apparel and footwear buyers with “only” 82% of their buyers making luxury goods purchases on other resale platforms.  Resale luxury goods buyers reported buying luxury apparel and footwear from an average of 3.7 resale platforms of the six we asked about.  Although some resale platforms may focus on certain product categories or just luxury goods in general, consumers appear ready to buy and sell luxury goods on a variety of resale platforms regardless of a resale platform’s focus.

While the buyers and sellers of resale platforms included in this new research (Depop, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Kleinanzeigen, Vestiaire Collective, and Vinted) may not have shown much loyalty, their on-platform behavior and market penetration rates differed significantly by platform.  In the European markets surveyed, Vinted and eBay performed the best overall with the highest percentage of respondents having bought on those platforms, and having both bought and sold on those platforms.  Conversely, Depop and Vestiaire Collective struggled with the lowest percentage of respondents reporting having purchased on those platforms, and less than 10% of their platform users said they both bought and sold on those platforms.

For more on this new research, On-Demand Brand: European Luxury Apparel & Footwear, Building Engaging & Profitable Digital ID & Connected Products Programs click here.

US Apparel & Footwear Resale

Past research conducted with United States based consumers for general apparel and footwear indicated similarly low loyalty levels with 78% of resale buyers reporting having bought apparel and/or footwear on multiple resale platforms.  The resale platform included in the US-based research included Depop, Poshmark, The RealReal, ThredUp, and Vestiaire Collective.  The table below shows the U.S. cross-platform buying rates for resale platform buyers.

For more on general U.S. apparel and footwear resale buying and selling behaviors, click here (free download).

It really shouldn’t come as a surprise that shoppers who are either looking for deals or may not be able to afford new luxury goods items will demonstrate limited loyalty, but this does not mean resale platforms should not work to address this business challenge.  Reported market penetration levels, buying versus selling rates, and the average number of other platforms used for buying and selling demonstrated individual resale platform strategies and tactics do influence buyer and seller behaviors.  As resale growth is poised to accelerate, the resale platforms that best adjust to these changing market conditions and find new ways to appeal to buyers and sellers will be in a strong position to capture new customers, revenue, and market share.

To download our latest research:  On-Demand Brand: European Luxury Apparel & Footwear, Building Engaging & Profitable Digital ID & Connected Products Programs, click here.

To search all FarSight Digital ID and Connected Products research, including free downloads, click here.