Clothes & electronics
Second hand is trendy, but the large mass is new goods
Does a new sweater have to be really brand new? No, some consumers find and order a second -hand sweater. That is trendy. But the lion’s share is new.
Anyone who buys clothes or books on the Internet is increasingly deciding on second-hand articles. In online trading, sales with such products in Germany last year were estimated to be 9.9 billion euros and thus 7.2 percent higher than 2023, according to a market analysis of the German trade association (HDE) presented in Berlin on Monday. When trading online with new goods, the plus was only 3.8 percent. However, sales with 88.8 billion euros were much higher, compared to the second hand, there is more of a niche.
Since 2019, the revenues in online sales of second-hand articles have almost doubled, at that time it was 5.7 billion euros. It is all about clothing and books, but also about electronics, furnishings, garden tools and toys.
“The second-hand area is becoming increasingly important for textiles,” says HDE expert Stephan Tromp. Many citizens wanted to spend less money and therefore opted for the cheaper goods. “This is a rapidly growing market that is certainly also due to the fact that one or the other in terms of purchasing power may not be able to buy the product again, but very much like to acquire one or the other piece at lower prices.”
Second hand only intermediate step to the circular economy
Environmentalists are more likely to react behavior. “The trend towards second hand is good news – every product that is used and not new is active climate protection,” says Viola Wohlgemuth from the non -governmental organization Fashion Revolution. However, the second-hand market share is still small and more new goods are being thrown onto the market from year to year, which means that the climate protection goals are unavailable.
Large dealers now also offer second-hand goods, but this is more of a fig leaf, complains about Wohlgemuth. “More and more new goods are being positioned on the websites and second-hand goods appear as a green accessory for the sustainability rate.”
Wohngemuth sees Second Hand anyway only as a step towards better use of resources. “Real circular economy would be extensive and cheap borrowing or repairs, you have to become the new normally in everyday life and only the exception.” It is still very far away from that.
If you go on vacation, you should not have to buy a good camera, but also be able to borrow cheaply. “Because if you come from vacation, the expensive camera is usually just around in the corner anyway.” When camping or skiing, consumers should also rely on rental products, such as tents, skis or thick winter clothes. “I don’t attract the expensive trekking pants that I use while hiking in the mountains – so I can borrow them better in good quality and cheaper.”
Wohlgemuth calls for legal measures so that dealers are obliged to build up professional repairs and rental models as part of the EU circulatory management strategy and also offer them online.
Some dealers give online sales
The trade association also published its forecast for conventional online business, i.e. that with new goods. As a result, online trading will bring four percent more sales this year than in 2024, which is a somewhat more optimistic assumption than before. One reason for this is that more and more food and drugstore are being ordered online. “Online growth accelerates again,” emphasizes HDE representative Tromp.
In the digital age, online sales play an increasingly important role in trade. According to the association, 60 percent of stationary retailers also sold goods over the Internet last year. Curiously, this value dropped in the past two years: in 2022 it was 44 percent and 2023 41 percent.
So a trend away from the Internet and towards inpatient sale? HDE specialist Tromp did not want to understand these figures, after all, the 1,000 largest inpatient trading companies working in Germany all rely on online sales. The dealers who do not do this are usually small shops and individual locations. “The effort is too great for them, in parallel to a stationary business also over one [Internet-]To act marketplace, “says Tromp.” We’re talking about the little ones of the little ones. “
As an association, the opportunities of internet marketplaces are also emphasized for small retailers. But every entrepreneur and every entrepreneur must weigh whether effort and benefits are in an appropriate relationship. In the past decade, the proportion of inpatient dealers who also had online business was significantly lower than at the moment. In 2014 it was only 34 percent.
dpa
Source: Stern
