eBay’s fourth annual Recommerce Report

eBay’s fourth annual Recommerce Report has landed, in line with the marketplaces’ inaugural ‘Recommerce Day’ to help drive awareness and interest in recommerce. With this in mind I wanted to share some below data that may be useful for you to keep in mind or have to hand for upcoming stories. 

The global report has found that while almost three in five (59%) of global consumers bought pre-loved goods in the last year, more than 70% of consumers surveyed plan to buy pre-loved goods this year. Additionally, consumers aged 18-24 are most likely to have bought pre-loved goods in the last 12 months (65%).

The report has traditionally measured eBay seller and buyer insights and motivations around pre-loved shopping. This year, eBay provides a broader understanding of the importance of recommerce not only to the eBay community, but to assess the overall trends and sentiments around recommerce at a global consumer level.

Preloved and refurbished makes up 40% of eBay’s gross merchandise volume (GMV) globally and nearly half of consumers surveyed agree that shopping for pre-loved is ‘in’ for 2024. On eBay globally, the number of sold clothing, shoes and accessories with “thrifted” in the description increased by over 400% in March 2024 vs. March 2023.

Here in the UK, nearly half (47%) of pre-loved items purchased were apparel (clothes, shoes, accessories), with tech/electronics coming in second-place for pre-loved purchasing at 37%. 85% of UK respondents said they have purchased pre-owned goods in the past 12 months, outpacing the global trend.

Nearly half (45%) of people choose to buy pre-owned goods so it can save them money so they can prioritise other areas to splurge in and/or if they are looking for a specific item they cannot find in a new condition.

Over half (51%) said sustainability is very important to them when it comes to buying pre-owned goods. 94% overall said it was very important or somewhat important. Over three-quarters (76%) of respondents agree that sustainability is becoming more important to buyers every year

Over half (52%) of respondents agree that they have increased how much they buy online because of the pandemic and more than two-thirds (64%) of respondents said buying pre-owned goods had become more important to them in recent years. 81% of respondents agreed that buying pre-owned products had become more common in recent years.