Over the past year, there have been an increase in people wanting to sell their clothing in online second hand clothing outlets across Aotearoa.
The surge began with the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 and has continued to grow as individuals continue to bear the brunt of the high cost of living.
Many stores have focused solely on being website, which has been a significant factor in their success, versus having physical store locations.
Hayley is the owner of The Investing Rack, a second-hand retailer that runs through Instagram and its website. She claimed that there has been a significant rise in clothing sales.
Because the store was online only, they could sell clothes through consignment, so they did n’t have to organize the sale of the clothes themselves.
“I think people are realizing that these beautiful items sitting in closets are worn and may sell them for a little extra money on the side,” she said.
She said she was based in Christchurch and that starting up her business without having to pay to hire or rent space for an actual business has been a great way she has been able to save money.
Instead, she focused on Instagram, where young women between the ages of 25 and 45 were the key target audience.
“We’re so fortunate to be able to conduct our business entirely online. It just takes that large cost of having to pay for a contract in a busy city because that’s a big, huge expense for company”, she said.
She said her market has now grown onshore, due to the stores online and social media appearance.
“They don’t have to leave their house if they don’t want to and it’s not weather dependent. Because when I started I had a little container place in Tauranga and it was so weather dependent, like if it was raining, no one would come and I wasn’t online at that point,” she said.
“If Tauranga was silent, I was silent, and now you can sell online, and I also sell to Australia,” I said.
Again, a austerity clothing store with a warehouse and website sales, primarily through Instagram, is led by Wendy Quach, the CEO.
&Again, an net shipment and thrift shop that offers a contemporary thrifting experience, is the creation of Wendy Quach. Photo: Supplied
People were willing to change their traditional clothes to better charges, according to Quach.
Although Designer Wardrobe is a more well-established site with a base in New Zealand, it is also growing in popularity.
It is an online marketplace where people can post classified ads for pre-owned items, buy them, and purchase other people’s used items.
According to Chief Executive Aidan Bartlett, there had been a 20% increase in the number of listings added to the website during the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year.
He claimed that Designer Wardrobe’s sales increased by 15% over the same time.
“Right now, there is a cost of living crisis, and Designer Wardrobe’s typical 60 % off retail sales are typically for our customers’ favorites. It really is only wise shopping”, he said.
He claimed that more Kiwis were looking to purchase and buy used clothing to help them save money while also reducing waste and carbon emissions.
When you look at the number of bathrooms of water in a pair of jeans, it seems ridiculous.
“There’s a lot more knowledge, only awareness around the effects of it and choosing preloved is a way to help minimize that, especially when you buy anything, it’s already been made.”
Quality clothing was in clothing, he said, while the number of fast-fashion items on the list was declining.
For every 1000 products sold, Shein’s items made up less than three pieces.
“It’s only a small portion of Designer Wardrobe, but again, it’s about how long an item is last. That’s basically why we allow those hyper fast clothing brands get listed,” he said.
Designer Wardrobe’s customer base has even doubled, reaching one in ten in 2024 from one in every 20 women in New Zealand using their software and software.
It had a full of 325, 000 people.