ThredUp Resale Report 2026: What It Means for Resale Store Owners

ThredUp released its annual ThreadUp Resale Report in April 2026, and the numbers confirm what most resale operators already feel on the floor: demand is accelerating, supply is the bottleneck, and the stores that invest in infrastructure now will define the next era of secondhand.

We pulled out the data points that matter most for resale store owners, and what they mean in practice.

How Big Is the Resale Market in 2026?

The global secondhand apparel market grew 13% year-over-year in 2025, reaching an estimated $257 billion. It now represents roughly 10% of all global apparel spend.

By 2030, that number is projected to reach $393 billion, growing at a ~9% CAGR, more than 2x faster than the overall apparel market.

In the U.S. specifically:

- The secondhand apparel market grew 13% in 2025, nearly 4x faster than broader retail clothing (3.6%)
- U.S. resale (the curated, higher-value segment) grew 19%
- Online resale is expected to nearly double by 2030, reaching $48.3 billion
- Gen Z will drive 40% of incremental growth, followed by Millennials at 31%

The market is no longer emerging. It is scaling.

Consumers Are Shifting to Secondhand First

59% of U.S. consumers shopped secondhand apparel in 2025, up 7 percentage points in just three years. Cost pressure is a significant driver: 72% say rising prices directly impact their apparel spending, and 27% plan to increase secondhand purchasing specifically to offset further price increases.

More telling is where secondhand sits in the shopping journey:

- 41% look to secondhand first when seeking value
- 46% browse resale before buying new
- 34% of consumers' clothing budget is now earmarked for secondhand over the next year

Among younger shoppers, the shift is even more pronounced. 58% of Gen Z and 55% of Millennials prioritize secondhand over new. 62% of Gen Z shopped secondhand in 2025, and their behavior is shifting from high-volume "hauls" to deliberate "holy grail" hunting, targeting specific brands and pieces.

For store owners, this means your customer base is growing. But so are their expectations around curation, brand selection, and speed.

The Resale Flywheel Is Real

One of the most significant findings in this year's report is the emergence of what ThredUp calls the "resale flywheel", a cycle where resale value influences purchasing decisions at every stage.

- 60% of customers say resale value is a key factor when buying new apparel (+13% Y/Y)
- 39% would buy new apparel specifically because it has a high resale value
- 49% of younger generations have already reduced purchases of low-quality apparel because it cannot be resold
- 57% of shoppers now resell items for income, more than 2x from last year

Consumers are starting to treat their closets like asset portfolios. 52% of Gen Z and Millennials attempt to resell more than half their wardrobes.

For resale stores, this creates a compounding supply advantage. As consumers buy with resale in mind, the quality of what enters your intake pipeline improves. Higher-quality supply means better margins and faster sell-through.

Supply Friction, Not Demand, Is Holding Resale Back

The report is clear on this point: demand for secondhand is established. The constraint is supply, specifically, the operational friction that prevents inventory from getting listed, priced, and sold.

- 36% of consumers say they would resell more frequently if payouts were faster
- 33% of people who say "nothing" would motivate them to resell still admit that an AI-automated listing process would change their mind
- 23% would accept a lower payout in exchange for speed and convenience

On the seller side, convenience now beats maximizing price. Sellers want liquidity, not auctions.

For store operators, this is the core opportunity. The stores and platforms that reduce listing time, automate pricing, and speed up payouts will capture disproportionate supply. Every hour shaved off your intake-to-listing process is inventory your competitor never sees.

AI Is Changing How Consumers Buy and Sell Secondhand

The ThredUp data on AI adoption in resale is striking:

- 48% of Gen Z already use AI shopping tools
- 51% use AI specifically for resale, visual search, fit tools, price comparison
- 63% of Gen Z say they are comfortable with agentic buying (AI that shops on their behalf)
- 6 in 10 shoppers would use AI to negotiate secondhand deals
- 69% are ready to delegate 24/7 monitoring across resale platforms to find specific items
- 81% of current AI users report a significantly improved resale shopping experience

On the supply side, 66% of consumers are comfortable letting AI manage their "digital closet", identifying what to sell based on market demand.

AI is moving from a nice-to-have to an expectation, particularly among the demographics driving resale growth. Stores that use AI for pricing, listing, and seller communication will operate at a fundamentally different cost structure than those doing it manually.

Branded Resale Is Becoming Table Stakes

Retailers increasingly view resale as a strategic necessity, not an experiment:

- 58% of retailers agree that lacking a resale presence creates a permanent structural disadvantage
- 47% of consumers are more likely to make a first-time purchase if trade-in credit is offered
- 60% of Gen Z and Millennial shoppers say integrated resale features directly increase their trust in a brand
- 42% of retailers say the biggest risk of not scaling resale is losing Gen Z and Millennial market share

Yet execution lags intent. 52% of retailers say they are not equipped to rapidly scale resale under external pressure. Only 16% of organizations are ready to scale resale immediately.

This gap between strategy and capability is driving a growing market for third-party resale infrastructure. 32% of respondents are already turning to Resale-as-a-Service (RaaS) partners to bridge the gap.

Regulation Is Accelerating Adoption

Policy pressure is adding urgency. 66% of retailers view resale as a regulatory solution, and 36% see it as a tool to reduce financial liability and compliance fees in the short term.

But the readiness gap is severe: only 16% can act immediately, and 38% cite logistics and operational gaps as the primary barrier to scale.

Resale is emerging as one of the most actionable paths to regulatory compliance, but only for stores and brands with the infrastructure to execute.

What the Top Resale Brands Tell Us

ThredUp's internal data reveals which brands are winning on their platform:

Top 10 most-shopped brands by volume: J.Crew, Zara, Ann Taylor LOFT, Old Navy, Gap, Madewell, Banana Republic, Athleta, Lululemon, Ann Taylor.

Fastest-growing brands by YoY revenue: Lands' End (+34%), J.Jill (+32%), Everlane (+28%), Lilly Pulitzer (+25%), Zara (+25%), Lululemon (+25%), Michael Kors (+24%).

Highest revenue per item: Veronica Beard, Farm Rio, St. John, Johnny Was, Frye.

The pattern is clear. Mid-price "heritage" brands, the kind Gen X and Millennials bought new a decade ago, are surging on resale as Gen Z discovers them. Stores that stock these brands well and price them accurately are capturing the most value.

What This Means for Resale Operators

The ThredUp 2026 Resale Report paints a market that has moved past the "will secondhand work?" phase. The questions now are operational:

1. Can you capture supply fast enough? Sellers want speed and convenience over maximum price. Automated intake, AI-powered pricing, and fast payouts win supply.

2. Are you stocking what the market wants? The data on brand performance is specific and actionable. Heritage mid-price brands are having a resale moment.

3. Is your listing process keeping up? Every manual step in your workflow, photographing, writing descriptions, researching prices — is a bottleneck that AI can compress.

4. Are you ready for the branded resale wave? Retailers want resale capability but can't build it internally. Third-party infrastructure is the bridge.

The market will add $23.3 billion in incremental value in the U.S. alone between 2025 and 2030. The stores that capture it will be the ones that treat resale as an operations problem, not a demand problem.

You can do branded resale internally for a lower cost

Circular Resale powers multiple branded resale programs for brands that believe that resale will eventually become a larger part of their business. With low cost to get started, easy and quick onboarding, launching branded resale with Circular Resale was a nobrainer.

FAQ

How big is the resale market in 2026?

The global secondhand apparel market is projected at $289 billion in 2026, growing to $393 billion by 2030. The U.S. secondhand market is expected to reach $78.8 billion by 2030, with a 7.3% compound annual growth rate.

Is the resale market still growing?

Yes. The U.S. secondhand market grew 13% in 2025, nearly 4x faster than the broader retail clothing market at 3.6%. U.S. resale specifically grew 19%. The market is expected to maintain a ~9% global CAGR through 2030.

What percentage of consumers shop secondhand?

59% of U.S. consumers shopped secondhand apparel in 2025, up 7 percentage points from three years prior. Among Gen Z, the figure is 62%.

What are the most popular resale brands?

According to ThredUp's 2026 data, the most-shopped resale brands by volume are J.Crew, Zara, Ann Taylor LOFT, Old Navy, and Gap. The highest revenue per item goes to Veronica Beard, Farm Rio, St. John, Johnny Was, and Frye.

How is AI changing the resale market?

48% of Gen Z use AI shopping tools, and 51% use AI specifically for resale tasks like visual search and price comparison. On the supply side, 66% of consumers are comfortable letting AI manage their digital closet and recommend what to sell. 81% of current AI users report a significantly improved resale experience.

What is the resale flywheel?

The resale flywheel describes a cycle where consumers increasingly consider an item's future resale value when making purchases. 60% of shoppers now say resale value is a key factor when buying new apparel, and 49% of younger consumers have already reduced purchases of low-quality items because they cannot be resold.