Sustainability in commerce is an important topic that covers so many areas that retailers and brands cannot ignore for many reasons. Resale is not a new concept, but it is quickly becoming a favorite among younger consumers and brands are adopting resale as a retail model at record speed.
The inaugural Brand Resale Index: Defining the Resale Experience is the first report of its kind to evaluate leading practice adoption across 40 brands in four industry verticals: fashion/apparel, outdoor, footwear, and luxury. The benchmarking study evaluates brands on 147 criteria across brand positioning, commerce, and trade-in experiences, with a general consideration of how the resale business model potentially contributes to environmental sustainability benefits.
Launched In partnership with Trove, a leading recommerce platform, the Brand Resale Index, takes a deep dive into how brands are executing resale commerce through brand executive interviews, consumer surveys, mystery shopping, and third-party data.
The global Resale market is $100 billion today, growing 5X the rate of retail, and expected to represent 23% of all retail in 2030.
Here are some high-level findings:
- To brands, recommerce is what ecommerce was two decades ago: it’s a retail model that satisfies the increasing expectations for greater value, experience, and sustainability.
- Many brands are starting to understand the value in owning the resale experience and keeping control out of the hands of third-party sellers. It’s also a channel to reach new customers, drive loyalty with existing customers, and elevate their brand through deeper storytelling.
- Successful resale programs do drive profit - unlocking revenue channels without being dependent on new manufacturing.
One surprising aspect… not all resale programs actually support sustainability efforts.
- To achieve a truly circular model the program needs to have the potential to shift from new product revenue (revenue from selling new items) to existing product revenue (revenue from selling or servicing existing items over a longer product life).
- Risky for brands who want to tout sustainability if their resale programs are based mainly on new product purchase incentives.
- Brands also need to have the ability to scale their system – the more items being put back into circulation, the better the program.
The industry is at an important place, likely precarious. Many brands entered resale in the past year but not all are positioned to grow and scale. There is work to be done for all brands to move forward and thereby create more circular models.
Do you have a resale program? Contact us to see how you stack up.
Thinking of launching a resale program? Learn how to get started.
