Pre-loved beats social media for UK fashion shoppers - report

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
May 3, 2023

We know the rapid growth of sustainability-focused and cost-conscious consumers is driving a pre-loved fashion revolution, and also that social media shopping is a key channel these days. But did you know UK shoppers now make more fashion purchases on secondhand platforms than on some social media platforms?

 

That's according to a survey of 1,000 UK shoppers from data-driven platform True Fit.

More precisely, 20% of UK consumers purchases fashion on pre-loved platforms compared to 10% on Facebook and 11% on Instagram. 

The poll showed that 33% of Gen Zers shop fashion on pre-loved platforms, 25% choose to buy clothing from vintage stores and a further 30% will head to charity stores. That’s a big combined vote of confidence in secondhand/vintage/thrift shopping. This compares to 19% of the same demographic who make fashion purchases on Facebook and 27% who use Instagram.

And what do consumers expect from fashion retailers? Offering budget lines that are still sustainably created was the top with 34% of UK shoppers who felt retailers could help them consume in a more sustainable manner. This was followed by clearly stating sustainable credentials on clothing labels (28%) and offering repair services (27%).

Meanwhile, 58% of UK consumers would consider swapping fast for slow fashion in the future to be more environmentally-conscious in their buying choices, rising to 67% of Gen Z and 61% of Millennials.

Sarah Curran, Global CMO at True Fit, said: “Driven by sustainability, affordability and exclusivity, secondhand is fast becoming first choice for many consumers who seek to consume fashion in a more mindful way. 

“This provides retailers with a tangible opportunity to acquire new cohorts or audiences who might experience their brand first in a pre-loved format, having not considered the brand previously.  The challenge then lies in bringing them back to the brand again to explore current collections or encourage repeat-custom within the retailer’s existing portfolio or product catalogue.”

She added: “We’re also seeing the green imperative now evolving the services consumers expect from retailers, with repair and rental indexing highly amid these new expectations, as well as the trend towards the ‘slow fashion’ movement gathering pace.”