New OfferUp Study Reveals Resale Gifting is Gaining Momentum for the 2023 Holiday Season as Stigma Around Giving and Receiving Secondhand Gifts Decreases

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Nov 30, 2023, 09:00 ET

82% of shoppers are open to receiving secondhand holiday gifts in 2023—marking an 11% increase from 2022.
This increase in acceptance coincides with an overall decline in stigma around secondhand gifting, with 67% of shoppers saying the stigma has lessened.
Affordability remains a prime motivator behind secondhand holiday shopping, with the three primary reasons shoppers buy secondhand holiday gifts being to get a good deal (58%), to avoid higher retail prices (52%), and to help them stay within their budget (43%).
Additionally, 46% of shoppers note that retail prices for the gifts they want to purchase this year are notably higher than years prior.
OfferUp also announces the most popular secondhand gifts across cities in the United States.

SEATTLE, Nov. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new survey of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted by OfferUp, the largest mobile marketplace in the U.S. for local buyers and sellers, shoppers are further embracing secondhand holiday gifting entering the 2023 season following a period of widespread financial constraints and an overall decline in stigma around secondhand shopping. The 2023 OfferUp Recommerce Report: Holiday Special Release reveals that 75% of shoppers are open to giving secondhand holiday gifts in 2023, while 82% of shoppers are open to receiving secondhand holiday gifts, marking an 11% increase since 2022 and indicating more widespread societal acceptance ahead of the 2023 season.

82% of shoppers are open to receiving secondhand holiday gifts - an 11% increase since 2022.

Declining Stigma Surrounding Secondhand Gifting Drives Changes in Holiday Plans
As more shoppers turn to recommerce in their day-to-day lives, they're becoming more open to the idea of shopping secondhand around the holidays, as well, with OfferUp finding that 67% of shoppers believe the stigma around secondhand gifting has lessened. This aligns with the broader acceptance of recommerce, with 76% of shoppers noting the stigma around secondhand shopping as a whole has decreased, according to OfferUp's fifth-annual Recommerce Report, published in August 2023.

The primary reasons shoppers believe the stigma around secondhand holiday gifting has lessened include:

More affordable options compared to buying new items (52%)
Increased availability and variety of secondhand items (49%)
Positive experiences shared by friends or family members (48%)

As secondhand gifting continues to gain momentum in 2023, shoppers are turning to a wider range of resale gifting categories, with the top three including electronics (72%), sporting goods (68%), and home improvement items (66%)—while notably excluding apparel.

Financial Constraints Continue to Motivate Secondhand Gifting
This widespread decline in stigma can be linked to the affordability of secondhand as many shoppers continue to face financial constraints this year, leading to an increase in overall acceptance of gifting secondhand. According to OfferUp's findings, the top three motivators for purchasing secondhand holiday gifts this year include getting a good deal (58%), avoiding higher retail prices (52%), and helping shoppers stay within their budget (43%).

Inflation remains an ongoing concern for shoppers in 2023, with 94% noting that it is impacting their holiday budgets this year. The overall cost of living is also playing an important role in holiday budgeting (93%), as is the possibility of an economic recession (90%), and the mandatory return of student loan payments (54%)—albeit not as critical for the majority of shoppers.

Additional findings include:

46% of shoppers note that prices for the gifts they want to purchase this year are notably higher than years prior.
32% are encountering greater difficulties in finding holiday bargains this year.

As it becomes increasingly clear that a majority of these economic factors are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, 33% of shoppers have or plan to sell items on online resale platforms this year to better afford holiday gifts.

While the surge in secondhand gifting this holiday season is of great significance to shoppers at the present, it also signals a larger trend of not only acceptance, but reliance on recommerce. OfferUp's fifth-annual Recommerce Report found that 85% of shoppers bought and/or sold secondhand items in the past year, propelling the recommerce market's projection to $276B by 2028. To view the full data results, please visit the 2023 OfferUp Recommerce Report: Holiday Special Release here.

OfferUp's Most Popular Holiday Gifts of 2023
In addition to the 2023 OfferUp Recommerce Report: Holiday Special Release's insights into holiday shopping behaviors on a national level, OfferUp today released a list of the most popular secondhand holiday gifts across 50 U.S. cities. Users can discover the most searched holiday gifts in their area by visiting OfferUp's holiday website, and selecting their city in the drop-down menu. Through this new feature, OfferUp aims to offer a localized view of the recommerce market as shoppers gear up for the bustling holiday season.

Learn more about OfferUp at https://offerup.com/ and download the app in the App Store and Google Play Store.

Methodology
The OfferUp Recommerce Report includes research and data from retail analytics firm GlobalData. GlobalData uses consumer surveys, retailer tracking, official data, data sharing, store observation, and secondary sources to analyze, model, and calculate metrics, including market and channel size and market share. Third-party online market research company Pollfish conducted a June 2023 survey of 1,500 U.S. adults. Additional data sources include internal OfferUp community data and independent secondary research. The Holiday Special Release was fielded October 16, 2023, with a sample of 1,500 U.S. adults. The survey was conducted by online market research company Pollfish. To determine OfferUp's Most Popular Gifts of 2023, we analyzed internal data from OfferUp's community of millions of users to find which gift items were searched for most often this holiday season, and localized findings by major metro areas. The data analyzed was collected in November of 2023.

About OfferUp
OfferUp is dedicated to building the simplest and most trustworthy way for people to buy and sell in their communities. As the largest mobile marketplace for local buyers and sellers in the U.S., the company's iOS and Android apps have been in the top five most popular shopping apps lists for more than three years. The privately held company is based in Bellevue, WA and backed by top investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Warburg Pincus, GGV Capital, T Rowe Price, and Coatue Management. For more information, visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

SOURCE OfferUp