ThredUp's 2026 secondhand resale report, released this week, shows that policy pressure is turning resale into a compliance tool for brands, but most apparel retailers lack the infrastructure to respond at scale.

The report is based on GlobalData's assessment of the secondhand market, combined with ThredUp's internal customer and brand performance data. The survey shows that 66% of retailers surveyed see resale as "a solution to regulatory compliance," and 36% view it as a tool to reduce financial liability and compliance costs in the short term. Although the report calls resale one of the "most viable paths" for brands to reduce waste and improve circularity, only 16% of companies say they can scale resale operations immediately. 38% of respondents cite logistics and operational gaps as the main obstacle, while 32% agree that the resale-as-a-service (RaaS) model can bypass these obstacles and accelerate readiness.

Lacking a resale business is increasingly seen as a competitive disadvantage. 58% of retailers say not offering resale will create a "permanent structural disadvantage," and 32% believe resale is critical to staying competitive, especially for brands targeting younger consumers. The survey found that 60% of Gen Z and millennial consumers trust brands that offer resale more; 47% of consumers say they are more likely to make a first purchase if new items come with trade-in credit. ThredUp Chief Sustainability Officer Alon Rotem said: "Trade-in programs are no longer a brand 'perk'—they are the new baseline. Resale has officially shifted from a sustainability experiment to a primary customer acquisition channel and a tool for long-term relevance."

The report also draws on a survey of 3,268 U.S. adults conducted in January–February 2026. The global secondhand market grew about 13% year over year in 2025, accounting for roughly 10% of global apparel consumption. Consumers increasingly treat secondhand as a first choice: 48% browse resale platforms before buying new items, and 58% of Gen Z and 55% of millennials prioritize secondhand goods. Economic pressure is also driving this trend, with 72% of consumers saying rising prices affect their apparel spending and 27% planning to increase secondhand purchases to offset price hikes.

In addition, resale value influences new purchases. 60% of consumers say they consider an item's resale value when buying new, up 13 percentage points from last year; 39% say they might not buy certain new items without high resale value. Sellers are also monetizing their closets, with 57% of sellers earning income by reselling clothing, rising to 61% among Gen Z.

On brand performance, the top five brands by order volume were J.Crew, Zara, Ann Taylor Loft, Old Navy, and Gap; recovering brands included Lilly Pulitzer, Everlane, Michael Kors, Lands' End, and J.Jill.

The report also looks at AI in secondhand shopping. 63% of young people are open to agentic shopping, and 51% use AI tools such as visual search. Meanwhile, 69% of shoppers are willing to let AI monitor across platforms around the clock to find specific items, 59% might use AI agents to negotiate prices automatically, and 66% of sellers would be happy to let AI manage a "digital closet," identifying items to sell based on market demand. ThredUp Chief Product and Technology Officer Dan DeMeyere said: "Agentic technology is fundamentally reshaping e-commerce, shifting consumers from browsing and filtering to AI-driven discovery, negotiation, and building trust in the secondhand market."

The report's data reflects secondhand resale's shift from the margins to the mainstream, but retailers' gaps in infrastructure and readiness are both a challenge and an opportunity.

Source: Brands See Resale as a Policy Solution, But Struggle to Integrate It Into Their Business · Originally published 2026-08-26