64% of European consumers are considering shopping second-hand this holiday season due to high cost-of-living, according to new research from online classifieds group Adevinta.
The survey of 5,000 European consumers across Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain, shows that the cost of living crisis and climate concerns are the two main factors driving more considered purchasing this year.
50% of respondents said they are planning to spend less this Christmas due to the high cost of living with 64% considering buying second-hand products. The most cited reasons by consumers were the need to save money (47%) and a desire to shop more sustainably (37%).
Last year, 32% of European consumers turned to the second-hand market for their Christmas shopping needs. The most purchased items were home decorations (45%), gifts for friends or family (39%), and clothing for themselves (36%).
Paul Heimann, Head of Re-Commerce for Adevinta, and CEO of Kleinanzeigen, commented: “Second-hand marketplaces are playing an increasingly important role in helping consumers navigate today’s high cost of living, while at the same time allowing them to make more sustainable choices.
This data shows, some people are still in the ‘new is best’ mindset.
“But as this data shows, some people are still in the ‘new is best’ mindset, and so there’s a job to do in changing consumer perceptions to encourage a further shift towards more sustainable and cost-effective behaviour.”
Of the respondents considering buying second-hand this year, 25% reported that they like gifting retro or nostalgic items, while 24% stated they like sourcing items locally. 35% of respondents who did not buy second-hand items last year stated that they prefer to buy brand new and 40% stated that they don’t want to give used items as gifts.
66% of respondents stated that they have received a brand-new gift that they’ve had no use for or simply not liked. 30% said they had re-gifted unwanted items at a later date, 28% had kept items knowing they’d never have a use for them, and 23% had sold unwanted items online. Only 6% of respondents said that they had thrown unwanted items away.
Heimann continued: “Rather than holding onto unwanted gifts, re-commerce marketplaces allow consumers to give these items a second life and clear clutter, while also presenting an opportunity to generate some extra cash in the post-holiday period when budgets are tight.”
