Tugba Sabanoglu
Research lead covering Non-food CG & Retail
Second-hand luxury goods market worldwide - statistics & facts
The luxury goods industry runs on inspiring a distinct sense of quality, tradition, and exclusivity, and the shopping experience has an integral part in communicating this. Conventionally, physical stores that connect luxury consumers with brand experience, offering a high degree of personalization through clienteling, have been the main sales channel for this end, and the industry’s transition into digital and online selling spaces has come later than the mainstream fashion industry. But the luxury consumer is changing. They are getting younger with more affinity to shop, get inspired, and share online. They pay more attention to social and environmental matters, all of which in turn inform their shopping habits.
The trend in resale and second-hand is one of the more recent responses from the industry to the changing face of luxury. While it is still less than five percent of the overall market, according to Statista estimates, second-hand luxury has the potential to become more relevant in the future, growing at a rate of three percent from 2022 onwards.
Consumer interest in second-hand luxury goods is satiated by a number of specialized online platforms that let users buy and sell personal luxury goods online. Vestiaire Collective is one of such platforms. The online second-hand luxury platform attracts customers who are motivated by a wish to reduce their environmental impact by shopping second-hand. One of the investors of Vestiaire Collective includes the luxury giant The Kering Group, which owns the luxury Maisons Gucci, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, among others.
The trend in resale and second-hand is one of the more recent responses from the industry to the changing face of luxury. While it is still less than five percent of the overall market, according to Statista estimates, second-hand luxury has the potential to become more relevant in the future, growing at a rate of three percent from 2022 onwards.
Markets, segments, and platforms with the highest potential
In 2022, the market revenue for second-hand luxury goods was estimated to be just over seven billion U.S. dollars worldwide, and is projected to double the size by 2028, reaching a value of 15.4 billion U.S. dollars. In North America, which boasts the largest luxury goods market by revenue, the value of the second-hand luxury goods market amounted to 1.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. The most lucrative market for second-hand luxury was the luxury watches segment, followed by luxury leather. Second-hand goods for luxury leather were estimated to have a revenue of 1.85 billion U.S. dollars, a figure that is projected to reach upward of 4.3 billion U.S. dollars by 2028.Consumer interest in second-hand luxury goods is satiated by a number of specialized online platforms that let users buy and sell personal luxury goods online. Vestiaire Collective is one of such platforms. The online second-hand luxury platform attracts customers who are motivated by a wish to reduce their environmental impact by shopping second-hand. One of the investors of Vestiaire Collective includes the luxury giant The Kering Group, which owns the luxury Maisons Gucci, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, among others.
