Mercari American Snapshot Report Highlights Changes to American Life

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In addition to its immense human toll, the global coronavirus pandemic has required Americans to sharply pivot in their daily habits and needs.  Since the national state of emergency was declared March 13, those shifts have reverberated across the Mercari U.S. marketplace, with unprecedented levels of buying and selling activity. 

Record numbers of Americans have come to Mercari to buy practically everything they need from home.  And record numbers of Americans have sought to relieve strained budgets by selling valuable items which are no longer used.

Mercari's specific business model makes the data in this report unique in important ways:

• We are a nationwide marketplace; before the pandemic approximately 3.4 million Americans representing all states were monthly active Mercari users (that number has increased).
• On Mercari everything ships; we believe our "no meetups" model is a primary driver of our increased activity in recent weeks as Americans practice social distancing.
• Our sellers are individual Americans, not businesses, selling a very broad selection of used and new items including home goods, sports equipment, apparel, collectibles, designer goods and more.

Finding and Buying Needed Items

Since late March, Mercari's daily traffic has increased dramatically.  With non-essential retail stores disrupted, people went online to find items they need to pass the time and stay fit, which in turn disrupted supply and delivery times for Amazon and other large e-tailers.  At the same time, social distancing made people avoid in-person channels like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.  Mercari's "no meetups" platform was ideal for existing and new users, who came to Mercari seeking hard-to-find items with faster shipping windows.  Top sellers have been:

Families with children are a significant demographic within the Mercari community of sellers & buyers.  From user interactions and marketplace data, we are seeing buying spikes in categories consistent with the needs of families during social distancing.

A Wave in Selling from Home

There's been a correspondingly sharp increase in listing activity on Mercari as Americans moved quickly to soften the pandemic's economic impact at home.  Sellers have responded to record levels of demand from Mercari shoppers by listing name-brand items in popular categories.

In April 2020, the average Mercari US seller made $183 -- a 50% increase vs. April 2019.  March 2020 also saw a notable increase in sales per seller over the prior month.

Around the same time, Mercari surpassed $1 billion paid to sellers since our US launch in 2014.  "That's a billion dollars changing hands between individual Americans, since we are a domestic marketplace that prohibits corporate sellers," said John Lagerling, Mercari US CEO.

Leading listing categories mirror buying categories somewhat:

Geographic Concentrations

While buying and selling activity on Mercari has sharply increased nationwide during social distancing, certain metro areas stand out:

In It Together

While recent events signal permanent changes in many aspects of American life, this data suggests the Mercari community is adapting quickly to new realities together.  We're helping each other by selling valuable things we no longer use, and by buying from one another.  We're helping each other keep our kids occupied while sheltering in place.  We're supplementing each other's family budgets.

At the same time, more and more Mercari buyers and sellers tell us they want to support re-use as a principle.

"This is an unprecedented time of uncertainty for everyone, and people are struggling," said Lagerling.  "But we're proud to be useful during this time:  Mercari is helping people find the items they need, and to supplement their incomes by selling items they no longer use -- all from the safety and comfort of their homes."

About Mercari

Mercari is The Selling App. We make it super easy to sell (or buy) almost anything. We all have things we don't use, never used or simply outgrew. But that stuff still has value. Mercari gives you the power to simply sell it, ship it, and earn some cash for it. Fashion to toys. Sporting goods to electronics. All the brands you know and love.

Our mission is simple: to make selling easier than buying. And with more than 45 million downloads in the U.S. and 150,000 new listings every day, we're just getting started.

SOURCE Mercari, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.mercari.com