Downloads of thredUP’s app from January to July 2019 were up 71 per cent from the same period in 2018. This is an online resale store based in the US. The company re-sells clothes at up to 90 per cent off retail prices and takes a cut of each sale. The company currently has five distribution centers and plans to open a sixth by the end of this year or beginning of next year. By year’s end, thredUP will have processed 100 million used items. The ten year old thredUP is in active conversations with dozens of retailers about how they can help them tap into a $24 billion apparel resale market. The company has received funding which it will use to expand its platform to offer resale clothing services to retailers.
Consumers download the thredUP app or go onto the resale site and then ship their used apparel, handbags, shoes and jewelry items from more than 35,000 brands. Company employees receive the items, process them, make sure they’re in good condition, price them algorithmically, photograph them and ship them out to shoppers when sold.
It’s expected that online resale will grow as much as ten to 15 times faster than fast fashion stores, department stores or traditional off-price chains.
