ThredUp started as a marketplace for shoppers to sell used apparel to peers, but ThredUp sees Resale as a Service (RaaS) as the next frontier for business.
Speaking at the Sourcing at Magic trade show in Las Vegas this week, Tanya Brinich, senior director of client success at ThredUp, said RaaS is “essentially a white label for brands that can plug in and give their customers a resell experience. platform”. It becomes an incandescent space in the used market. Shoppers can purchase items directly through brand-managed “shops” that form a sales channel for second-hand clothing, shoes and accessories.
Over the last few years, ThredUp has partnered with Gap, Vera Bradley, Reformation, Farfetch, Michael Stars and Madewell to enhance the merchandising and fulfillment capabilities needed to collect and resell used clothing, footwear and more. A new take-back element allows consumers to trade-in pre-owned fashion through his ThredUp shop for preferred brands and earn credits that can be used towards future purchases.
Early adopter Madewell launched its own RaaS channel called Madewell Forever in 2019 to offer denim shoppers an alternative to the take-and-make-waste linear consumption model. “It was [a] .
Madewell launched its own denim take-back program in 2014, allowing consumers to bring their used jeans into brick-and-mortar stores to downcycle them into industrial materials such as insulation. But “we make really high quality products and we know you should have a second, third or fourth life, so we really saw an opportunity in reselling.” The decision to work with a third party was an easy one for the J.Crew Group-owned label. “This is not what we do,” she said of running the recommerce channel. ”
According to Brinich, brands across the board have expressed similar sentiments. “Her partners constantly tell us that they want more transparency and impact than the annual sustainability report,” she said. Selling second-hand goods via RaaS platforms generates “real-time information” about how branded goods are being reintegrated into the circular economy. ThredUp has seen a 300% growth in the brand’s reseller shops from 2020 to 2021, and “the number just keeps going up,” she added, adding that the platform is getting about six new stores each month. I pointed out that there is a new launch going on.
Additionally, she believes the popularity of resale is stimulating demand for quality merchandise and helping the industry move away from fast fashion. We think about its resale value,” and prioritize products whose value is “sustainable over the long term.” According to ThredUp’s latest resale report, her 40% of shoppers “put second-hand goods first” and he browses platforms like eBay, Poshmark and The RealReal before making a purchase. It can help brands like Madewell. “A young customer may invest a fortune in those $120 jeans of hers, knowing that they can later trade them in for something else or sell them,” she said. I was.
Madewell wants to optimize design and product development to reduce waste and use upcycled and preferred materials, but “reselling is the best thing we can do to extend the life of our products.” It’s a priority,” said Hershfield.
“People keep buying new things and we keep making them, so we need to ensure that those products are recycled and reused extensively,” she said.