Second-hand clothing market is popular, and sustainable shopping concept becomes popular

According to a survey report on changes in consumer shopping behavior after the epidemic by resale platform ThredUp , consumers are more concerned about sustainability and quality when shopping than in the past. 51% of people said that they are more opposed to "ecological waste" than before.

Therefore, like many industries, the clothing rental industry has also been affected and its popularity has continued to rise. According to data from Coresight Research cited by The New York Times , the clothing rental market was worth $1.3 billion in 2019, fell to $1.1 billion in 2020, but rebounded slightly in 2021. According to analyst estimates, the clothing rental market could bring in nearly $7.5 billion in revenue by 2026.

Urban Outfitters Inc. is a multinational lifestyle retail company. Its American high-end women's clothing brand rental website Nuuly has also gained a lot of popularity recently.

Nuuly is considered one of the company's most important growth initiatives, with the platform's user base growing 55% between the second and third quarters and expected to reach 50,000 users in 2021.

On Nuuly , users can choose 6 pieces of clothing for $88, and an additional $18 will be charged for one more piece. The clothes selected by the customer will then be put in a durable, reusable bag and sent out. At the end of the month, customers need to send all the clothes back before they can go on to the next round of shopping.

Nuuly also offers discounts if users want to keep the items they bought, such as buying a brand new pair of Levi's jeans for $40 .

After using the platform, some "loyal fans" reflected that the biggest disadvantage of the platform is the lack of flexibility. If you don't like the goods after receiving them or find that the goods are not suitable, you can't exchange them. If you want to receive new goods, you must send back all the previous goods before you can make the next purchase. The advantage is that most of the goods received so far are brand new and still have labels, giving users a feeling of ordinary shopping.

Many users who have used Nuuly say that it is a low-risk way to provide some much-needed help to their wardrobe. For example, when attending a social event or party that requires a specific outfit, using Nuuly not only allows you to buy the corresponding products, but also returns them after use without wasting space and money.

Nuuly is not Urban 's only foray into the second-hand clothing market. In August last year , the company also launched a resale site called Nuuly Thrift. It can also be said that Urban 's ambitions in the rental and resale market are a symptom of a broader shift in the retail industry.

Aditya Vedantam, assistant professor at the University at Buffalo School of Management , said that now that consumers put quality and sustainability first, buying second-hand goods or renting clothing will become more normalized than before, and such peer-to-peer rentals will become popular in the future.  

Nuuly

Second-hand clothing