If it's a gift, a new product is better, of course. I could go to a discount mart, but when I look at gasoline and grocery prices, I end up heading to a secondhand store.
Kali Wenzel, a full-time homemaker living in Olympia, Washington, said she has been buying gifts for her 3- and 5-year-old children at secondhand stores for years. This year's Christmas gifts for her children are a toy set featuring popular animated characters and a toy car. She bought each for $5 (about 7,200 won). She also plans to give used items as gifts to 12 acquaintances, including friends and family.
As high inflation increases the household's financial burden, a culture of buying secondhand goods as Christmas gifts is spreading. As more consumers pick up used jewelry, toys, and home appliances, secondhand retailers' performance is also gaining momentum.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 23rd (local time), more U.S. consumers are preparing secondhand goods as gifts for the Christmas season. It is seen as reflecting an intent to cut expenditure even at the risk of disappointing recipients.
Goodwill stores, which sell donated goods for $15 or less, have recently seen a surge in inquiries about household items across the board, including plates and serving dishes, bottle openers, and wine decorations. Kathy Bousquet, who runs the Troy, New York, location, said, "Customers talk about tariffs a lot," adding, "They don't have the luxury of waiting for shipping, and they're less able to afford the price of new products."
Perceptions around gifting secondhand items are, in fact, changing. The so-called "treasure-hunt" shopping experience of finding rare items is viewed positively, and resistance to secondhand shopping has eased as the environmental value of recycling discarded goods is rated highly.
In a survey of about 1,800 U.S. consumers by eBay, 82% of respondents said they are more likely to buy secondhand gifts this year than last year. In a separate survey of 8,200 people by the National Retail Federation (NRF), nearly half among respondents said they could buy used goods this holiday season to cut expenses.
Still, they said efforts should be made to dispel any "icky" feeling before giving the gifts. Elizabeth Looney, a content creator based in New York state, said, "When I give secondhand items, I explain in detail how I cleaned and maintained them," adding, "It's important to make clear that I personally wiped and prepped them meticulously."
Meanwhile, secondhand distributors are enjoying a tailwind as transaction volume rises. Savers Value Village, the largest operator of secondhand stores in the United States, and resale platform ThredUp say they are feeling a surge in demand during the year-end shopping season and are working to spruce up stores and improve their image.
Michael Maher, chief financial officer (CFO) of Savers Value Village, said, "U.S. sales rose 10.5% year over year in the third quarter," adding, "The upward trend continued even in October, when sales typically slow, and sales of gift categories—especially toys, game consoles, books, and electronics—outpaced the overall average."