Cost of living pressure sees secondhand retailers thrive

Marino Harker-Smith has been an op shopper for a long time, mostly for environmental reasons.

But recently, as cost-of-living pressure has increased, she has been reluctant to buy things new when she could find them cheaper secondhand.

"Even like phones and tablets, I prefer to buy refurbished models as it is a lot cheaper. This year I am buying most of my children's gifts second hand with the exception of maybe one or two clothing items that they are particular about style-wise. I am also planning to do a fully secondhand and handmade advent for them."

She said as a single parent, renting in Wairoa and working part-time, she had to make savings where she could.

Many other people in her area were shopping secondhand or trying to get things free, she said.

"A lot of people here buy off Shein and Temu and I'm starting to see a lot of those items in the op shops which does make it harder to find a bargain. There is still a stigma for secondhand clothing especially but I think for furniture and household items, definitely more people are looking at secondhand."

Data from Dot Loves Data shows a trend around the country.

In October 2022, there was $15.7 million spent at secondhand retailers. Last month, it was $19.7m, an increase of 25.5 percent, ahead of general inflation of about 15 percent. In recent years, general spending volumes have declined in real terms.

ANZ's most recent card data showed a 16.2 percent increase, year-on-year, in spending in secondhand shops in October, the biggest increase of anything in the durables category.

Retail consultant Chris Wilkinson said there were a few things driving the increase in secondhand shopping.

"Cost of living pressures have been steadily building over the past five years and shoppers have been increasingly gravitating toward charity stores, with clothing and homeware being the most popular categories.

"At the same time, changes in government funding and with greater demand on their services, charities have been ramping up their retail channels. We have been involved with a number of well-known charities as they grow their store networks, build better operational systems and deploy e-commerce which has been another way that these organisations have grown market share. Today, the larger charities are very efficient retailers maximise value from donations through curating their ranges and having good store and online experiences."

The Salvation Army said it had experienced a significant increase in sales.

But not all secondhand shopping is being done in the op shops and charity shops you might think of. There are an increasing number of secondhand sellers operating mostly online and via boutiques, who provide limited, curated collections of secondhand items they have discovered.

"Younger consumers particularly follow the pre-loved and vintage themes, because they can get differentiated clothing that's affordable and good value," Wikinson said.

"This includes clothing and accessories. Pre-loved is increasingly their first choice and that's driven by peer influences and social media content that celebrate 'finds' and style trends. Brands like Preloved Charlies have a cult following and generate lines around the block when they have a new delivery 'drop'. What their audience buys are not limited to tops and pants but also vintage bags and ball gowns - with these purchases driven by differentiation."

Some retailers are also offering pre-loved and secondhand options for their own products. Fashion label Ruby, for example, operates Ruby says Recycle.

"A few years back Glassons jumped on the bandwagon and ran some seasons with vintage products among their new ranges," Wilkinson said.

"Overseas, this has been a popular theme as brands with enduringly durable products have got into mending and reselling their products."

Jacob Faull, co-founder of Nature Baby, said its Worn Again campaign had been a success. It gave customers 20 percent of the value of any secondhand items they brought back.

"We take that product and we put it in select stores as secondhand.

"But we're collecting it because we will be opening a pre-loved store specifically for Nature Baby where you can shop all pre-loved for baby, trying to build a model that's great for people to shop but also making it financially viable so we can do more of it and create a secondary tier of businesd for us and shopping for parents."

Mikaela Venimore, director of online secondhand retailer Preloved Charlies, said secondhand shopping had changed.

"Twenty years ago, secondhand was seen as something for the poor, as something that was for those that didn't have enough to buy new, where I think now with fast fashion giants like Shein, Temu, even look at H&M and Zara, it's a bit of a revolt against that and the impacts that can have on society or from everyone wearing the same thing, and the environmental impact."

She said, while items on her site and others could sell for $100 or more, buying secondhand could still be cheap.

"It is quite an easy misconception that all secondhands are getting more expensive … we are actually a service more than we are an op shop.

"I encourage people to go op shopping as well, but not everyone has the time or they want something more specific, so that's where the curated thrift stores come in, but they often compare us to op shops that are like really cheap … it is frustrating at times when people don't understand, but I think that's just not understanding quite how it works."

Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said even the charity shops were having to think more like retailers.

"They have really upped their game in terms of how they present the store, how they curate everything, where they present things, what price points they do it at, so that it's really easy for customers to find goods because they know that it's a growing market.

"Then we've got a number of stores that specifically focus on selling second-hand goods, they call themselves vintage stores and recycling stores. So it could be like Frip, which is in Victoria Street, and they import second-hand goods from France. So they have a very European flavour to their store.

"And they really lean into the idea that a lot of young people are very conscious about fast fashion and the need to look after the environment. And you can get multiple items from a second-hand or a charity store for what you could get at a a store where you're buying things new. So there is definitely a growing trend and those stores have really had to focus on how they bring that retail aspect to the store … 20 years ago the stores were very difficult to navigate, whereas now they're much more curated and easy to find stock. And we've seen double-digit growth in that space over the last couple of years in terms of how those stores themselves are growing."

Another shopper, Ashlee Sturme, said she was choosing to buy secondhand for environmental and health reasons.

"I want high quality, natural fibre clothing because that is better for me, and its better value and better for the environment to buy it secondhand.

"Don't we have like six generations worth of clothing on the planet right now? Seeing those massive mountains of discarded clothing makes me mad. And frankly, wrapping myself in plastic and chemicals no longer appeals. I want natural. I also like fashion. So secondhand is the compromise. I also sell all my clothing secondhand. I use Recycle Style now who do consignment and make it super easy.

"I also buy secondhand Lego, mostly started because my kids always want sets that are out of production, and they have no problem getting a secondhand Lego set for Christmas either. I also pick up books secondhand when I can, although I have slowed down because I can never remember what I have."

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