Re-Commerce in the U.S. 2017 report

Key Findings:

• Online purchases of used items are not quite as frequent as offline/local purchases
• Young buyers of used items purchase much more than older buyers, especially online
• Books, furniture and fashion are most often preferred used, electronics are rather purchased new
• Consumers pay more for a good condition, high quality and brands when shopping second hand
• Second-hand stores and the internet are the number one retail channels for used items
• Big online retailers like Amazon and Ebay also dominate the online second-hand market
• Young consumers tend to sell items they don’t use anymore more frequently than older people
• The prospect of earning money and creating space for new items motivates younger consumers to sell
• For most consumers professional brokers are only relevant as a purchase channel
• Motivation for selling used items to a professional broker differs a lot between age groups
• Frequent second-hand buyers are more critical towards new goods and environmentally conscious
• For older consumers, money is primarily important, younger consumers rather aim at saving resources