Facebook Market faces competition from Ikea, Zara and others

Ikea, Shein, Zara and H&M are global retail brands that have been criticized for years for their focus on cheap, trendy products, often made from unsustainable materials.

Fast fashion, in particular, has been linked to climate change, labor abuses and economic instability, which is why these brands seem to be taking a second look at their “disposable” goods.

In fact, all of these brands encourage their customers to participate in the second-hand economy and make it easier for them to do so by creating their own peer-to-peer marketplaces similar to the Meta platform. (THE TARGET) Facebook Marketplace, eBay (EBAY) and Craigslist.

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Customers can shop online through H&M’s ‘Preloved’ or Zara’s ‘Pre-Owned’, which allows customers to buy, sell repairs or donate. Ikea’s ‘as is online’ allows people to view and reserve gently used products online.

Fashion-focused second-hand businesses, which are not limited to single brands, have become popular in recent years. Think publicly traded markets like The RealReal (REAL) ThredUP (TDUP) and Poshmark (POS) which sell everything from luxury handbags from Louis Vuitton to outdoor products like Patagonia parkas to name a few. However, the online shopping experience at these businesses has some complications for consumers, according to a new report.

Related: H&M is the latest victim of an alarming shift in consumer behavior

Many potential consumers wonder what they see online

A September 2024 survey from Morning Consult took a closer look at what motivates people to buy second-hand – or not. Thirty-eight percent of the 2,024 U.S. adults surveyed said they don’t buy second-hand because they’re not confident they’ll receive items in the condition promised. Another 31% said they didn’t shop second-hand because of “frustrations with the return process”, if there is one at all. Another 27% said they were not confident they would receive the items.

The report suggests that online retailers need to combat the bad reputation that some online sellers may or may not have earned in order to continue to grow their customer base.

And there are certainly opportunities to capture more customers. According to ThredUp’s 2024 Resale Report, the second-hand clothing market will reach $350 billion by 2028. This is three times the growth of the global clothing market.

Read more about secondhand trade:

• H&M is making a change that will excite its environmentally conscious customers
• Are you cleaning out your closet? These are the non-luxury brands that sell for most
• Goodwill makes a surprisingly modern move

Overconsumption has many economic effects

A 2015 study found that the production and use of household goods and services were responsible for 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Obviously, one way to reduce this number is to produce and consume less.

Some online influencers have even tried to encourage their followers to shop second-hand and consume less, even though many of them make money (and a lot of them do) by selling products to their followers.

The “under-consumption” trend has been all over social media for the past few months. Take this post from Jess Cliftonn, who says she finds new hobbies to replace her need to shop.

@jess.cliftonn

What freed me from the loop of overconsumption was finding hobbies and creative outlets to replace my need to buy. Whatever you think you need right now, you probably don’t. Remember, we have everything we need right now to be happy right now 🫶 #underconsumption #deinfluencing #deinfluencer #consciousconsumer #simpleliving #slowliving #underconsumptioncore #granolagirl #sustainable

♬ I Don’t Know Why – Norah Jones

Also on TikTok, Sophie Hinn writes “all her furniture is thrifted, donated, repurposed or passed down.”

@sophie_hinn

I could make a series out of this 😂 #underconsume

♬ I Don’t Know Why – Norah Jones

“Buying second-hand when you’ve decided you need to buy something is in line with the low-consumption ethos,” said Claire Tassin, retail and e-commerce analyst for Morning Consult. “Conceptually, it’s great. To be more sustainable, people should shop their wardrobes and try to remodel what they have before buying something new for them.”

However, Tassin believes the second-hand economy is strong.

“The second-hand economy has been pretty stable for some time. I think the next phase of growth, especially for pre-owned digital, is building trust with new pre-owned buyers. The challenge of returns is a barrier for shoppers – people have been spoiled with freebies. shipping returns and generous policies when buying new, but the same policies don’t make sense for second-hand,” added Tassin.

Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks