thredUP’s Recommerce 100 Hits 100 Resale Shops

In March of 2022, we launched the Recommerce 100, a first-of-its-kind review of branded resale (also known as branded recommerce) programs. The first edition listed 41 brands with resale shops, and today we’re proud to announce that the number of brands and retailers that have launched branded resale programs has surpassed 100! In just a few short months, the Recommerce 100 is now a true index of the “Top 100” brands and retailers playing in the recommerce space. 

With “resale” and “recommerce” hitting the headlines almost daily, and consumers’ demand for sustainability skyrocketing, we can’t say we’re surprised. But we are thrilled! thredUP’s core purpose and mission are rooted in circularity, and we support every effort to secure a more sustainable future for fashion. 

Here are the top 5 insights since the launch of the Recommerce 100: 

1. We’ve identified 73 brands that have launched resale programs in 2022 for a grand total of 107 to-date. This is explosive growth over the 34 brands that had resale programs as of the end of 2021. Assuming this year’s lightning fast pace continues, we wouldn’t be surprised to see 140 or more brands with resale programs by the end of the year.

2. As of September, the top 10 brands by number of resale listings are Athleta (jumped to #1 this month!), Tea Collection, Lululemon Athletica, Tommy Hilfiger, Madewell, Eileen Fisher, Patagonia, REI, PacSun, and Kut from the Kloth.

3. Since April, growth in the number of reselling brands (~30%) is roughly in-line with growth in listings (~35%). This implies that –on average– individual resale shops aren’t growing over time. Why might this be the case? We’re not 100% sure why, but it could be because supply and demand are staying in step with each other, or it could be because some resale shops choose to keep their listing count at a certain threshold (implying inventory is held back), or it could be something else; we can’t be sure. 

4. “Managed resale” and “peer-to-peer” models are both growing. The managed model dominates when it comes to scale (14 out of the top 15 resale shops, 78% of listings), while peer-to-peer seems to be winning in terms of number of shops (79 out of the total 107). These peer-to-peer shops are tiny though! 56 of the 107 brands on the Recommerce 100 have fewer than one hundred resale listings.

5. Some resale shops include items that aren’t technically “resale,” but rather excess inventory or worn returns. While we applaud every effort to keep items out of landfills, we wonder if these items should be categorized under a different term, like “open box.” Circular, maybe? Resale, not so much. 

We’re proud to see so many brands and retailers standing behind their own secondhand product by launching branded resale programs. We look forward to the next six months as we hope to see more brands jump in (and jump in at meaningful scale) as we collectively work towards a more sustainable future for fashion.

“At the rate in which the fashion industry is producing clothing, it is crucial that resale becomes a key part of citizens’ lifestyles.” -Aja Barber, Author of Consumed: The Need For Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change & Consumerism

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Note on methodology: The Recommerce 100 compiles publicly available information to identify fashion brands selling their own pre-owned products online to US shoppers. See the full methodology here.