Gucci, logo bags and fanny packs win out in The RealReal’s midyear luxury resale report

By

Robin Driver

Published
Aug 22, 2018

Online luxury consignment service The RealReal has released its midyear 2018 State of Luxury Resale report, revealing a range of trends on the platform, including top-searched brands, popular products and fluctuations in resale value.
 

Among female users of the platform, search volume for Gucci topped the rankings for the first time, knocking Chanel into third place, while Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin and Hermès retained their positions in second, fourth and fifth place, respectively.
 
Gucci also led the pack in terms of sales growth, having seen a 62% increase in year-over-year sales on the platform among women of all age groups. Hermès, which came in second place overall with growth of 40%, was also the fastest growing brand among millennials, experiencing a 71% rise with this age group.

The five most popular brands being consigned and bought by women on the platform were identified as Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Christian Louboutin.

In terms of specific products, logo bags were singled out by the report for their surge in popularity. The resale value of Dior saddle bags, for example, has shot up 84%, while bags featuring the Gucci Web and the Fendi Zucca have seen their value on the platform increase by 51% and 32%, respectively.
 
The report also highlighted a number of trends in the consignment resale value of different brands, pointing out that while Golden Goose and Ulla Johnson were on the up among female users, seeing rises in value of 33% and 15%, brands such as Tory Burch and Johanna Ortiz had seen their value drop by 34% and 27%, respectively. Gucci saw noteworthy rises in resale value with both women (12%) and men (21%), while Vetements fared less well, seeing its value drop 22% with women and 20% with men.
 
Among male users of the platform, Rolex topped the rankings of brands bought by those aged 18-34, followed by Gucci and Louis Vuitton.  Among the same millennial men, Gucci was the most consigned brand, with Louis Vuitton and Hermès taking the second and third spots.
 
Perhaps one of the more surprising trends identified by the report is the explosion in popularity of the men’s fanny pack, which has experienced a 614% increase in searches, while Hawaiian shirts have also shown an impressive 84% rise.
 
As for products in the competitive men’s sneakers segment, Yeezy x Adidas Low-Tops proved to be the most popular shoes from coast to coast, topping the sales charts in New York and Boston, as well as LA and San Francisco. Notable exceptions include Washington DC and Houston, where Christian Louboutin High-Tops took first place, as well as Dallas and Philadelphia, where Gucci won out.
 
Explaining the utility of the report in a release, Rati Levesque, chief merchant at The RealReal, said, “Luxury resale has grown exponentially, and is more mainstream than ever. Both the industry and the public look to the resale market to identify macro and micro trends and to determine what consumers want right now.”

“With over 8 million items sold, our data speaks directly to these trends and we're excited to reveal key insights in this report,” he concluded.
 
The RealReal’s State of Luxury Resale: Midyear 2018 report is available to consult on the platform’s website.