FIXING UP CONSUMERS’ CLOSETS
Clothing brands are coming for what’s in your closet, and they’re turning to third-party platforms for help. The secondhand clothing market is projected to reach 5.4 times its current size in the next five years, according to thredUP’s latest Resale Report. Market research firm Cowen predicts it’ll hit 14% of the total apparel market by 2024, which is double its current share. Brands are capitalizing on this by adding resale channels to their business models, taking back consumers’ used items in exchange for discounts or store credit and selling them again (usually with the help of a third-party platform) as secondhand items. The resale explosion is largely driven by convenience. Third-party platforms like thredUP, The RealReal and Poshmark give consumers access to what’s essentially an enormous online thrift store. Instead of the traditional…