OfferUp Spring Cleaning Survey Finds One Third of Americans are Planning to Spend a Full Day or More Decluttering Their Homes

One Third Would Rather Wait in Line at the DMV Than Argue With Spouse About Cleaning

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Mar 13, 2019, 09:00 ET

SEATTLE, March 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- OfferUp, the largest mobile marketplace in the U.S. for local buying and selling, today released the results of its Spring Cleaning & Recommerce survey, which aims to better understand people's attitudes towards decluttering, buying and reselling items they own.

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 apps make selling an item as easy as snapping a picture from your smartphone.

As the first day of spring approaches and the Marie Kondo movement continues to inspire people to clean out things they no longer use, the OfferUp survey found that half of Americans plan to resell their gently used goods to support their income this year. The company, which polled 2,000 adults across the US, also found that:

66 percent of Americans would consider selling gently used items online in order to free up space in their home
43 percent of Americans plan to engage in more recommerce this year compared to 2018
45 percent of Americans say they are proud bargain shoppers that brag about deals they find to friends

There's almost a trillion dollars worth of unused items inside American households today^¹, and interest in recommerce is growing as more value-conscious millennials look to save money and find deals. Online marketplaces like OfferUp help people more easily sell the things they don't need and find things they want at a better value.

"For years, Americans have filled every empty space in their homes with too many items they don't use. Now, we're experiencing a cultural shift in interest towards ridding ourselves of items that no longer provide value to us," said Natalie Angelillo, vice president of community at OfferUp. "Decluttering makes people feel good and provides them the opportunity to make money by reselling to someone that'll make better use of their things."

The survey found 70 percent of Americans say they experience a feeling of accomplishment after tidying their home, while others become "de-stressed" (61 percent) and experience "relaxation" (54 percent).

"This year, so many people have taken interest in the life-changing KonMari method, asking themselves if the items they've been holding on to spark joy," said Caitlin Roberts, KonMari Method™ master consultant. "Frequently, my clients are surprised with the amount of things they've kept that no longer serve them. It gives people comfort when they resell their stuff through marketplaces like OfferUp, because they can give their things a new life and a new home. Tidying up allows people to re-discover and fall in love with their space again."

Additional survey findings include:

We hide our stuff in closets and garages. 62 percent of Americans say they have filled a closet with extra stuff they're not using, while "take up space in my garage" ranks second (41 percent).

Vast majority plan to spend at least an hour cleaning. This spring, 37 percent of Americans are planning to spend a full day or more decluttering; 24 percent are planning to spend one or two hours doing so.

Tidiness is important in our relationships. About one third of Americans (34 percent) say that their partner/roommate's tidiness is very important. And 32 percent of Americans say they would rather wait in line at the DMV while 25 percent would rather spend time with their in-laws than have an argument about decluttering.

We start cleaning the bedroom first. 48 percent of Americans say the bedroom is the first room they declutter.

Functional home offices and guest rooms are the goal. 29 percent say they would use a decluttered room or space in their home as an office, while 26 percent opted for a guest room.

Sometimes, we clean house because company is coming over. 43 percent of Americans declutter because visitors are coming over, and 40 percent say they declutter when moving to a new home/apartment.

We're embarrassed for friends with cluttered houses. When visiting a friend or relative's house that is very cluttered, 46 percent say they would suffer quietly and 28 percent say they would avoid going back.

One man's stuff is another man's treasure. Americans believe they can make the most money by selling electronics, cell phones, and computer equipment (24 percent), clothing and shoes (25 percent) and vehicles (25 percent).

To learn more about the Spring Cleaning & Recommerce Survey, please find the full report HERE.

OfferUp makes selling or finding an item easy and simple 44 million annual users spending more than 20 minutes a day on the app engaging in recommerce. With more than 75 million app downloads to date, OfferUp has been featured as a Top 5 Shopping app in the App Store and Google Play Store for more than three years.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted by Pollfish on behalf of OfferUp February 27, 2019 to February 28, 2019. 2,000 adults (18 years or older) in the United States participated. The margin of error is 2 percent, with no additional weighting done to the initial sample.

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 apps make selling an item as easy as snapping a picture from your smartphone. 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.

^¹ Fast Company, This App Will Help You Declutter Your Piles Of Unused Stuff

SOURCE OfferUp