ThredUp’s 13th Resale Report Shows Online Resale Saw Accelerated Growth in 2024 and Is Expected to Reach $40 Billion by 2029

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 19, 2025--

ThredUp (Nasdaq: TDUP, LTSE: TDUP), one of the largest online resale platforms for apparel, shoes, and accessories, today released the results of its 2025 Resale Report. Conducted by third-party retail analytics firm GlobalData, the 13th annual study serves as the most comprehensive measure of the secondhand market globally and in the U.S., with forward looking projections through 2034. It also includes new insights about tariff and trade implications, how social commerce and AI are reshaping retail, and the government’s role in managing textile waste. The report’s findings are based on market sizing and growth estimates from GlobalData, a survey of 3,034 U.S. consumers over the age of 18, and a survey of 50 top U.S. fashion retailers and brands.

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“As consumers are increasingly thinking secondhand first, the retail industry is adopting powerful new pathways for resale. From the integration of social commerce and innovative AI applications to the establishment of trade organizations and interfacing with government, it’s clear why resale is seeing accelerated growth and has such a promising growth trajectory.”
– James Reinhart, CEO, ThredUp

“Resale continues to outpace the broader retail sector, with online resale in particular driving the sector’s growth. Shoppers are prioritizing quality as resale value becomes an increasingly important factor in purchasing decisions, and retailers are evolving their secondhand offerings to meet consumer demand with new avenues like social commerce, further driving adoption and preference for secondhand.”
– Neil Saunders, Managing Director, GlobalData

The top five trends from ThredUp’s 2025 Resale Report:
(all figures pertain to the U.S. unless otherwise noted)

In 2024, the U.S. secondhand apparel market saw its strongest growth since 2021. Online resale saw accelerated growth for the second consecutive year.

Tariffs are expected to provide a tailwind to the secondhand market as shoppers prioritize affordability and retailers seek stability.

Retailers view resale as a new revenue stream that helps them stay competitive and acquire new customers.

Retailers can unlock revenue by integrating social commerce and resale for omnichannel success.

AI is driving resale adoption by reducing thrift overwhelm and bridging the gap between shopping used and new.

To see the 2025 Resale Report, visit thredup.com/resale.

About the 2025 Resale Report

ThredUp’s annual Resale Report contains research and data from GlobalData, a third-party retail analytics firm. GlobalData’s assessment of the secondhand market is determined through consumer surveys, retailer tracking, official public data, data sharing, store observation, and secondary sources. These inputs are used by analysts to model and calculate market sizes, channel sizes, and market shares. Further, for the purpose of this report, GlobalData conducted a January-February 2025 survey of 3,034 American adults over 18, asking specific questions about their behaviors and preferences for secondhand. GlobalData also surveyed the top 50 U.S. fashion retailers and brands from January-February 2025 to gather their opinions on resale. In addition, ThredUp’s Resale Report also leverages data from internal ThredUp customer and brand performance data.

About ThredUp

ThredUp is transforming resale with technology and a mission to inspire the world to think secondhand first. By making it easy to buy and sell secondhand, ThredUp has become one of the world's largest online resale platforms for apparel, shoes and accessories. Sellers love ThredUp because we make it easy to clean out their closets and unlock value for themselves or for the charity of their choice while doing good for the planet. Buyers love shopping value, premium and luxury brands all in one place, at up to 90% off estimated retail price. Our proprietary operating platform is the foundation for our managed marketplace and consists of distributed processing infrastructure, proprietary software and systems and data science expertise. With ThredUp’s Resale-as-a-Service, some of the world's leading brands and retailers are leveraging our platform to deliver customizable, scalable resale experiences to their customers. ThredUp has processed over 172 million unique secondhand items from 55,000 brands across 100 categories. By extending the life cycle of clothing, ThredUp is changing the way consumers shop and ushering in a more sustainable future for the fashion industry.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts. The words "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "predict" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Except as required by law, ThredUp has no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations.

AI is driving resale adoption by bridging the gap between shopping secondhand and new.

Younger shoppers are turning to social platforms to buy secondhand apparel.

Brands across the apparel ecosystem are performing well in the resale market.

U.S. online resale saw accelerated growth in 2024 for the second consecutive year.

MARTIGNY, Switzerland (AP) — Switzerland will hold a memorial service Friday, part of a national day of mourning to honor the 40 people who were killed in an Alpine bar fire earlier this month during a New Year's celebration.

An additional 116 people were injured, many of them seriously, when the fire broke out less than two hours after midnight at the Le Constellation bar on Jan. 1.

Investigators have said they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fire in the resort town of Crans-Montana when they came too close to the ceiling. Authorities are looking into whether soundproofing material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar. Fire safety inspections hadn’t been carried out since 2019.

The severity of burns made it difficult to identify some victims, requiring families to supply authorities with DNA samples. Police have said many of the victims were in their teens to mid-20s.

Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the bar managers. The two are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire, according to the Valais region’s chief prosecutor.

As part of the national day of mourning, church bells across Switzerland will ring for five minutes, beginning at 2 p.m. local time Friday, and a minute of silence will be held.

The Rome prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the Crans-Montana fire, alleging manslaughter and arson, Italian media reported Thursday. An autopsy has been ordered for five of the six Italian victims and has been delegated to the prosecutors' offices in Milan, Bologna, and Genoa, where the bodies of the victims have been returned.

“What happened is not a disaster: It’s the result of too many people who didn’t do their job or who thought they were making easy money,” Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said at a press conference on Friday. “Those responsible must be identified and prosecuted.”

Meloni said the State Attorney General’s Office has contacted the Swiss Attorney General to follow the investigation and confirmed that the Rome Prosecutor’s Office has started a separate probe.

“The families have my word that they will not be left alone while they seek justice,” she added.

The Paris prosecutor’s office Monday announced that it was opening a probe to assist the Swiss investigation and make it easier for families of French victims to communicate with Swiss investigators. Nine French citizens were killed, the youngest of them aged 14, and 23 others were injured.

The owners of the "Le Constellation" bar in Crans-Montana, where the deadly fire happened on New Year's Day, Jacques und Jessica Moretti from France, center, arrive with their lawyers Patrick Michod, Yael Hayat and Nicola Meier, to be auditioned by the Valais public prosecutor's office in Sion, Switzerland, Friday, January 9, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

Plaques bearing flags representing Switzerland, Romania, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, France, and Turkey are placed along with flowers and candles to honor the victims of the fire at the "Le Constellation" bar and lounge, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP)

Mourners gather around flowers and candles to commemorate the victims of the "Le Constellation" bar and lounge's fire, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

FILE - A child watches as an adult places a candle outside the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner, File)