What is the real market size of the resale market?
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In our resale market deck, you will find everything you need to understand the market
The global resale market is now worth over half a trillion dollars, fueled by shifting consumer habits and a growing preference for secondhand goods.
From thrift stores to refurbished smartphones, resale is growing twice as fast as traditional retail and shows no sign of slowing down.
Whether you are an investor, a founder, or simply curious, this is a market worth understanding deeply.
And if you want to better understand this new industry, you can download our pitch covering the resale market.
Insights
- Only 10% of the global resale market is digitized today, leaving a massive greenfield opportunity for tech-enabled secondhand platforms to capture informal transactions worth hundreds of billions.
- Vinted posted a profit of over 76 million euros in 2024, proving that peer-to-peer fashion resale can reach profitability at scale, unlike many of its competitors.
- Refurbished electronics is the fastest-growing resale category, with 320 million smartphones resold globally in 2024, and unit economics that outperform fashion resale.
- 93% of Americans bought at least one secondhand item in the past year, making resale shopping a mainstream consumer behavior rather than a niche activity.
- Asia-Pacific is growing at over 15% annually and is on track to become the largest resale region by 2030, driven by China, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia.
- AI-powered authentication is cutting per-item verification costs from $150 to around $8, creating a potential moat for platforms that invest in this technology early.
- 163 apparel brands now offer their own resale programs, up 31.5% since 2022, signaling that brand-owned secondhand channels are becoming a standard retail strategy.
- Depop eliminated seller commissions entirely in mid-2024, a sign that competitive pressure in fashion resale is forcing platforms to find completely new ways to make money.
- About 50% of younger shoppers say they buy secondhand items specifically to create social media content, making resale a cultural trend as much as an economic one.
How do we define the resale market?
We define the resale market as all sales of products that come back into the market after already being bought once by a consumer.
We include peer-to-peer secondhand sales, consignment and vintage shops, charity and thrift stores, brand or retailer pre-owned programs, and refurbished or open-box goods that were previously owned or used.
We exclude sales of brand-new overstock in outlets or off-price channels, purely B2B liquidation of new inventory, and non-ownership models such as rental, subscriptions, and sharing platforms.
We also use this definition when we make and update our pitch covering everything there is to know about the resale market
In our resale market deck, we will give you useful market maps and grids
What is the size of the resale market in 2026?
What results can we find on the internet?
As you probably know already, many firms regularly publish (sometimes conflicting) estimates of the resale market size, using different definitions, scopes, and years.
We have consolidated their results here. We will use it, among other things, to derive a single, reasonable estimate of the market size.
| Source | Market Size (USD) | Year | Scope and Comparison to Our Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximize Market Research | $523.29B | 2024 | Covers all secondhand products globally, including furniture, clothing, and electronics. Broader scope that aligns closely with our definition. |
| Transparency Market Research | $186.0B | 2024 | Covers all secondhand products globally. More conservative estimate and narrower in practice than our definition. |
| ThredUp / GlobalData | $227B | 2024 | Covers global secondhand apparel only. Narrower than our definition, which includes all product categories. |
| BCG / Vestiaire Collective | $210-220B | 2025 | Focuses on fashion and luxury resale only. Narrower than our definition, missing electronics, furniture, and other categories. |
| Future Market Insights | $48.32B | 2025 | Covers secondhand apparel with a more conservative methodology. Much narrower and more conservative than our definition. |
| IMARC Group | $37.2B | 2024 | Covers only secondhand luxury goods like watches and handbags. Much narrower, representing just one segment of our definition. |
| Technavio | $77B | 2025 | Covers the secondhand clothing market specifically. Narrower than our definition, which includes all product types. |
| Grand View Research | $34.01B | 2024 | Covers secondhand furniture only. Much narrower, representing just the furniture segment of our definition. |
| Market Research Future | $107.58B | 2025 | Covers secondhand apparel globally. Narrower than our definition, focused on clothing only. |
| Mordor Intelligence | $65.20B | 2025 | Covers used and refurbished smartphones only. Much narrower, representing one electronics sub-segment of our definition. |
| Capital One Shopping | $256B | 2025 | Covers global secondhand apparel. Narrower than our definition since it excludes electronics, furniture, and other categories. |
| OfferUp / GlobalData | $306.5B by 2030 | 2025 | Covers the U.S. recommerce market only. Narrower geographically, but the U.S. alone reaching $306B by 2030 supports a large global figure. |
What can we conclude, then?
The apparel-only estimates from ThredUp and Capital One cluster around $227-256 billion, but apparel is only about 45% of the resale market, and when you add refurbished electronics ($65-85 billion for smartphones alone), furniture ($34 billion), luxury goods ($37 billion), and other categories, the total is significantly larger, which is why Maximize Market Research's all-category estimate of $523 billion in 2024 makes sense as a starting point.
Applying reasonable growth to that 2024 baseline, we arrive at a first estimate of roughly $550-580 billion for the global resale market in 2026, but this is our first estimate and we will refine it further below.
In our resale market deck, we have collected signals proving this market is hot right now
What if we try to make our own estimate?
We don't have to rely only on external analyses to estimate market size.
We will try to build a first-principles, bottom-up calculation, then run a few sanity checks to see whether we can reliably estimate the size of the resale market.
Useful data about the resale market
Here is some useful and reliable data we have collected, they will help us estimate the size of the resale market:
- 93% of Americans bought at least one secondhand item in the past year (OfferUp)
- eBay enabled $75 billion in gross merchandise volume in 2024, with 40% in pre-loved goods (eBay)
- 35% of all consumers now buy pre-loved goods monthly or more often (Homepage News)
- Goodwill Industries generates $6-7 billion in annual retail revenue across 3,300 stores (Retail Brew)
- 320 million refurbished smartphones were sold globally in 2024 (Market Growth Reports)
- The U.S. secondhand apparel market grew 14% in 2024, five times faster than retail clothing (ThredUp)
- Vinted generated 813 million euros in revenue in 2024, up 36% year over year (Vinted)
- 68% of Gen Z and 55% of Millennials purchased secondhand apparel in 2024 (Treet)
- 28% of wardrobes are now secondhand, rising to 32% in the United States (AIM Group)
- There are over 25,000 resale shops in the United States alone (Capital One Shopping)
- Asia-Pacific's secondhand market is growing at 15.57% annually, the fastest rate globally (Future Market Insights)
- 81% of consumers cite saving money as their top reason for shopping secondhand (eBay)
Method and calculation to get the size of the resale market
Let's start with the United States, where we have the most data.
About 242 million American adults bought secondhand in 2025. Among them, 35% buy monthly and the rest buy a few times a year.
If monthly buyers make 12 purchases at around $28 each, that is about $28.6 billion. If occasional buyers average 4 purchases a year at $28, that adds $17.6 billion.
Adding Goodwill's $6-7 billion, other thrift nonprofits, and online platforms like ThredUp and Poshmark, the U.S. secondhand apparel market reaches about $55 billion. This matches ThredUp's own estimate almost exactly.
The United States represents roughly 30% of global secondhand apparel spending. That puts global apparel resale at around $185-250 billion, depending on how you weight Europe's higher per-capita rates.
Now let's add the other categories. Refurbished smartphones alone account for 320 million units at roughly $200 each, or $64 billion. Adding computers, tablets, and gaming consoles brings electronics to $85-90 billion.
Secondhand furniture adds about $38-40 billion globally. Luxury goods resale contributes around $42 billion. Other categories like books, sporting goods, and toys add another $100 billion or more.
Adding it all up, our bottom-up estimate for the global resale market in 2026 lands at $520-570 billion.
Sanity checks
Let's verify this estimate makes sense (we always double-check everything, as you will see in our pitch deck covering the resale market).
If the resale market is worth $550 billion and there are 5.5 billion adults worldwide, that is about $100 per adult per year. In developed markets, the figure would be $200-300. That feels right, given that emerging markets participate less.
Resalable product categories (apparel, electronics, furniture) represent roughly $10 trillion in global retail. A 5% secondhand penetration rate would mean $500 billion, which aligns well with our estimate.
Major online resale platforms combine for roughly $65 billion in gross merchandise volume. Online represents only 25-30% of the total resale market. If $65 billion is 25%, the total would be $260 billion, but this excludes electronics sold through carriers and retailers, plus all offline thrift. Adding those gets us back to $500 billion and above.
What's our final guess then?
Our estimate is that the global resale market is worth approximately $560 billion in 2026. This accounts for all secondhand product categories across both online and offline channels worldwide.
For context, that makes the resale market roughly comparable to the global cloud computing market, estimated at around $600-680 billion in 2026.
The resale market in 2026 is also about the same size as the entire global video game industry, valued at around $530-580 billion. It is larger than the global pet care market, estimated at $350-380 billion.
This size makes sense given that secondhand shopping is now mainstream. When 93% of Americans and similar shares in Europe and Asia buy used goods, a $560 billion global figure reflects real consumer behavior.
We are confident that the resale market sits in the $540-580 billion range for 2026. We use $560 billion as our central estimate going forward.
In our resale market deck, we provide the data and the context to understand it
Is the resale market mature, competitive, fragmented?
The maturity score of the resale market in 2026 is 55/100
Secondhand shopping has existed for centuries through thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales. But the online segment of the resale market is only about 15-20 years old and still growing at 10-15% per year.
Key infrastructure like AI authentication, reverse logistics, and brand resale programs are still in early development. The resale market is past its startup phase but far from reaching the plateau of a mature industry.
A score of 55 out of 100 reflects this transitional stage, where offline is well-established but digital resale still has enormous room to grow.
The competitiveness score of the resale market in 2026 is 75/100
Online resale platforms compete fiercely for buyers and sellers. Vinted, Depop, Poshmark, ThredUp, and dozens of others all target the same fashion-conscious secondhand shoppers.
Most platforms have struggled with profitability, even at scale. Vinted's recent profit is the exception, not the rule. Competitive pressure keeps margins thin and forces constant innovation.
The fragmentation score of the resale market in 2026 is 85/100
The resale market is extremely fragmented. No single company holds more than 5% of the global market, and the top 10 platforms combined likely represent less than 15% of total value.
There are over 25,000 resale shops in the U.S. alone, plus millions of individual sellers on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. Between 50% and 70% of all secondhand transactions happen informally between individuals.
A score of 85 reflects near-maximum fragmentation, driven by the local nature of thrift and the low barriers to entry for individual sellers.
How much bigger will the resale market be in 10 years?
What are the different forecasts for the growth rate of the resale market?
One more time, let's check what other market research firms have to say.
| Source | Annual Growth Rate | Until | Comment and Adjustments |
|---|---|---|---|
| ThredUp / GlobalData | 10% | 2029 | Covers global secondhand apparel, which is our largest segment. Directly applicable to the fashion portion. Slightly conservative for the overall resale market. |
| BCG / Vestiaire Collective | 10% | 2030 | Focuses on fashion and luxury resale. BCG notes resale grows three times faster than firsthand fashion. Useful for the fashion and luxury segments of our estimate. |
| Transparency Market Research | 17.2% | 2035 | Covers all secondhand products and aligns with our definition. This estimate is on the aggressive side. We would use 12-14% as a more conservative adjustment. |
| Maximize Market Research | 13.6% | 2032 | Covers all secondhand products globally. A good middle-ground estimate. Aligns well with our broad definition of the resale market. |
| Technavio | 14.9% | 2029 | Covers secondhand apparel only. May be slightly optimistic for apparel. We would use a lower figure for the blended all-category rate. |
| Future Market Insights | 11.1% | 2035 | Covers secondhand apparel with a long-term horizon. A reasonable and measured long-term growth estimate. Useful as a baseline for the apparel segment. |
| Market Research Future | 15.1% | 2035 | Covers secondhand apparel globally. On the higher end of estimates. We would discount slightly when blending with slower-growth categories. |
| IMARC Group | 8.5% | 2033 | Covers secondhand luxury goods only. Luxury is a slower-growth segment. This pulls down our blended estimate for the overall resale market. |
| Grand View Research | 7.7% | 2030 | Covers secondhand furniture only. Furniture grows slower than apparel. This also moderates our blended growth rate downward. |
| Mordor Intelligence | 6.93% | 2030 | Covers used and refurbished smartphones. A relatively mature sub-segment with slower growth. Pulls down our overall electronics estimate. |
| Persistence Market Research | 7.4% | 2032 | Covers refurbished phones specifically. Moderate and consistent with Mordor Intelligence's figure. Confirms electronics grows slower than apparel. |
What can we conclude about the growth rate of the resale market?
The growth estimates cluster into three groups. The conservative range (8-10%) comes from mature segments like luxury goods and smartphones. The moderate range (11-15%) covers general apparel. The aggressive range (17%+) applies to all-product estimates with optimistic assumptions.
We weight toward the moderate range because online resale (the fastest segment at 13% growth) still represents only 25-30% of the total resale market. Offline thrift, which makes up the majority by volume, grows at a slower 5-7%. Electronics and furniture add drag at 7-8%.
Our estimate is that the resale market will grow at an 11% annual rate (CAGR). At that pace, the resale market will be about 1.5 times its current size by 2030, reaching approximately $850 billion. By 2036, the resale market will be roughly 2.9 times larger, reaching around $1.6 trillion.
For comparison, global e-commerce grows at 15-19% and general retail at 5-6%. An 11% growth rate for the resale market sits comfortably between those two benchmarks, which makes sense for a market that blends digital and physical channels.
And if you're curious about what's happening in this (really interesting) market, we publish a quarterly update on the activity in the resale market here. We also have a monthly update here.
In our resale market deck, we dentify risks investors and builders need to be aware of
What is the projected CAGR for the resale market?
At New Market Pitch, we like it when the information is clear and easy to digest, as you will see in the pitch about the resale market. That's also why we have made this clear summary table.
| Year | Worst Case (6% annual growth rate) | Realistic (11% annual growth rate) | Best Case (15% annual growth rate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | $594B | $622B | $644B |
| 2028 | $629B | $690B | $741B |
| 2029 | $667B | $766B | $852B |
| 2030 | $707B | $850B | $980B |
| 2031 | $750B | $944B | $1.13T |
| 2032 | $795B | $1.05T | $1.30T |
| 2033 | $842B | $1.16T | $1.49T |
| 2034 | $893B | $1.29T | $1.71T |
| 2035 | $946B | $1.43T | $1.97T |
| 2036 | $1.00T | $1.59T | $2.27T |
What would it take for the resale market to be worth $2.3 trillion?
In our best-case scenario, the resale market reaches $2.3 trillion by 2036. That requires a sustained 15% annual growth rate for a full decade. Here is what would need to happen.
Online penetration of the resale market would need to roughly double. Today, only 25-30% of secondhand transactions happen online. By 2036, that share would need to reach 50-60%.
Emerging markets in Asia, Latin America, and Africa would need to accelerate dramatically. India, Southeast Asia, and Nigeria would need to reach 8-10% secondhand penetration of total retail.
Refurbished electronics would need to become the default consumer choice, not an alternative. Buying a certified pre-owned phone or laptop would need to feel as normal as buying a new one does today.
At least 500 major brands would need integrated resale programs, up from 163 today. Brand-owned secondhand channels would need to become a standard part of the retail experience, not a marketing experiment.
AI-powered authentication technology would need to virtually eliminate counterfeiting concerns. Right now, counterfeits worry 32% of secondhand buyers. That number would need to drop below 10% to unlock mass-market trust.
Governments worldwide would need to pass Right to Repair laws and textile waste penalties. The EU is already moving in this direction, but similar regulation in the U.S. and Asia would be needed to sustain 15% growth.
Finally, more than half of consumers would need to consider resale value when making new purchases. Today, only about 30% think this way. A cultural shift toward "circular thinking" would be required for the resale market to reach $2.3 trillion by 2036.
In our resale market deck, we answer all the common questions from investors and entrepreneurs
Where is the money in the resale market?
What are the categories and how much do they generate?
Apparel and fashion represent about 45% of the global resale market in 2026, or roughly $252 billion. This is by far the largest category, covering casual clothing, shoes, and accessories.
Refurbished electronics come second at 16%, worth approximately $90 billion. Smartphones alone account for about 70% of this segment.
Luxury goods (watches, handbags, jewelry) make up 8% of the resale market, or about $45 billion. This segment has the highest value per transaction.
Secondhand furniture accounts for 7%, worth roughly $39 billion. Books and media represent 5%, sporting goods 4%, and toys and games another 4%.
Automotive parts and other categories like musical instruments and tools make up the remaining 11%, worth about $62 billion combined.
Finally, in order to understand where is the money, you can check our ranking of the most funded startups in the resale market as well as our list of the most valued startups.
How will it evolve?
Apparel's share of the resale market will gradually decline from 45% in 2026 to 43% by 2030 and 40% by 2036. The category is maturing while others catch up in growth rates.
Electronics is the fastest-rising segment, expected to grow from 16% to 18% by 2030 and 20% by 2036. Refurbished devices are becoming mainstream, especially in price-sensitive markets.
Luxury goods will also gain share, moving from 8% to 9% by 2030 and 10% by 2036. Authentication technology is making buyers more confident in high-value secondhand purchases. Books and media, meanwhile, will shrink from 5% to 3% as digital formats continue to replace physical copies.
Where to spend your energy as an investor or a builder in the resale market then?
For investors, refurbished electronics infrastructure offers the best risk-to-reward ratio. Companies like Back Market have proven the model works, and regional players in Asia and Latin America are still up for grabs.
Resale-as-a-service (RaaS) companies that help brands launch their own secondhand programs are another strong bet. ThredUp already powers over 50 brand programs, and demand is growing fast as more retailers want in.
For builders, vertical specialization is the clearest path to scale. GOAT and StockX proved it with sneakers, Chrono24 with watches, and Back Market with electronics. Whoever picks the right niche and solves trust wins.
The biggest untapped opportunity is digitizing the informal resale market. Between 50% and 70% of secondhand transactions still happen off-platform. Mobile-first tools that capture these sales will unlock enormous value.
And if you're curious about where investors are putting their money right now, we publish a quarterly update on the fundraising activity in the resale market here. We also analyze long-term funding trends in the resale market here.
In our resale market deck, we track adoption trends and shifts in consumer behavior
What is the geographical revenue breakdown for the resale market?
Asia: 32% in 2026, 36% by 2030, 40% by 2036
Asia is already the largest resale region and growing fastest at over 15% per year. China dominates luxury resale demand, Japan has a deeply rooted thrift culture through platforms like Mercari, and India's growing middle class is rapidly adopting secondhand shopping.
Southeast Asia is an emerging hotspot, with smartphone resale growing at 20% annually. By 2036, Asia will account for 40% of the global resale market, driven by sheer population size and rising digital adoption.
United States: 28% in 2026, 25% by 2030, 22% by 2036
The U.S. is the largest single-country resale market, with Americans spending heavily at Goodwill's 3,300 stores and online platforms like Poshmark and ThredUp. About 50% of American secondhand shopping still happens in brick-and-mortar stores.
The U.S. share will decline from 28% to 22% by 2036, not because the market shrinks, but because Asia and other regions are growing faster.
Europe: 25% in 2026, 24% by 2030, 22% by 2036
Europe is the most digitally advanced resale region, with 61% of German consumers preferring to buy secondhand online. Vinted has become the dominant fashion resale platform across the continent.
Strong sustainability regulation, including the EU's textile waste policies, will continue to support growth. Europe's share dips slightly to 22% by 2036 as Asia outpaces it in absolute growth.
Central and South America: 6% in 2026, 6% by 2030, 7% by 2036
Brazil leads the Latin American resale market, with MercadoLibre increasingly facilitating secondhand transactions. A growing middle class seeking value is the main demand driver.
The region's share will grow modestly to 7% by 2036 as digital infrastructure improves and more consumers gain access to online resale platforms.
Africa: 4% in 2026, 5% by 2030, 6% by 2036
Africa has a strong traditional culture of secondhand goods, especially in clothing. The continent is a mobile-first market, which creates opportunities for resale platforms designed around smartphones.
Infrastructure challenges remain, but growth from a low base is rapid. Africa's share of the resale market will reach 6% by 2036 as urbanization and connectivity improve.
Oceania: 5% in 2026, 4% by 2030, 3% by 2036
Australia and New Zealand have mature resale cultures, but the region's small population limits its global share. Secondhand shopping is already well-established across both online and offline channels.
Oceania's share will gradually decline to 3% by 2036 as faster-growing regions in Asia and Africa gain prominence in the global resale market.
In our resale market deck, we have designed useful charts to give you full market clarity
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