Mercari Study Shows Americans Considering Secondhand Amidst Supply Chain Issues this Holiday Season

Giving and receiving secondhand gifts is becoming more of a way of life

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Oct 18, 2021, 09:00 ET

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercari, the online marketplace that connects millions of people across the U.S. to shop and sell items no longer being used, today released findings from its Secondhand Holiday Report. The report was conducted in partnership with third-party retail analytics firm GlobalData and online market research company Zogby Analytics. Mercari's report revealed that this will be a "secondhand holiday" for many, as 77% of American adults polled expect to buy at least one secondhand item this holiday season. Collectively, this means $69.2 billion may be spent on previously owned items from October through December 2021, up 24% from last year.

This year, 72% of holiday consumers polled say they will shop resale to save money. Other top reasons include: finding deals on new or like-new items (36%), finding secondhand holiday shopping easy (32%) and sustainability concerns (22%). Supply chain issues were also cited as another factor encouraging consumers to turn to resale this holiday season.

"Sixty-two percent of Americans surveyed indicated they are worried about product availability this holiday season, which will drive some people from retail to resale," said John Lagerling, Mercari US CEO. "Our research suggests that 20 million people in the U.S. will shop secondhand as a way of avoiding supply chain issues and we estimate they will contribute $7 billion in resale revenues. Not only is this great news for the overall reuse ecosystem, but we are excited to see how many Americans are finding a new appreciation for secondhand gifting."

Key findings from Mercari's 2021 Secondhand Holiday Report reveal:

Secondhand is set to take-off this holiday season as consumers gear up to spend $69.2 billion on used items in the final quarter of the year. This is up by 24% from $55.9 billion last year.

The average consumer will spend $342 on secondhand items, up 17.2% from $292 last year.
The growth of secondhand compares very favorably to overall holiday spending which is set to rise by 13% to $301 billion.
77% of all adults polled say they are likely to buy at least one secondhand item over the holiday season. 38% will buy secondhand gifts, while 49% will buy something secondhand for themselves or their homes.10% of American secondhand consumers polled say they will shop resale this year because of supply chain issues in traditional retail channels. This projects to 20 million people, with a collective spend of $7 billion, turning to secondhand because of product shortages.
Half of consumers surveyed say that giving secondhand gifts is accepted by their peer group, and 56.8% of those planning to buy resale gifts say they will proudly share that the item was bought secondhand.
The holidays will also fuel the supply of products for the secondhand market as people will receive an average of 3.8 unwanted gifts which projects to 997 million (almost 1 billion) items that can potentially be resold.
Unwanted holiday gifts present a big opportunity for consumers to make money through resale. 36% of those who receive unwanted gifts are planning to resell them which indicates many households are not yet taking advantage of the resale market to make some extra cash.

According to our consumer survey, the most popular gifts secondhand holiday shoppers intend to give are:

Clothing (40%)
Toys and games (36%)
Home decor (35%)
Electronics (27%)
Handbags (27%)

According to our consumer survey, the most popular gifts secondhand holiday shoppers intend to buy for themselves are:

Clothing (43%)
Home decor (32%)
Electronics (28%)
Shoes (25%)
Handbags (23%)

"Although Americans give generously over the holidays, they will receive an average of 3.8 gifts that they don't really want," said Neil Saunders, Managing Director of GlobalData. "Across the whole country, this adds up to a whopping 997 million items that are not needed and are unlikely to be used. The vast majority of these things can be resold for reuse, which will then supply the reuse ecosystem."

Download the full Secondhand Holiday Report here.

About Mercari's 2021 Secondhand Holiday Report
The Secondhand Holiday Report is published by Mercari and looks at the U.S. reuse ecosystem over the holiday period. It was produced in association with GlobalData in October 2021.

Market sizing data is produced by GlobalData. 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. Consumer statistics are based on a September 2021 survey of 2,009 Americans ages 18-75 conducted by third-party online market research company Zogby Analytics for Mercari.

Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts. The words "will", "estimate", "intend", "project" 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, Mercari has no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements to conform to actual results or revised expectations.

About Mercari
Mercari is your marketplace. Our platform connects millions of people across the U.S. to shop and sell items no longer being used. Mercari is constantly innovating to make exchanges easier, from at-home authentication to improvements in online payments and shipping. Mercari has more than 50 million downloads in the U.S. and 350,000 new listings every day, empowering the next generation to transform the way they shop. Mercari can be downloaded on app stores or accessed online through www.mercari.com.

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SOURCE Mercari