Giving away used products is becoming increasingly unthinkable, especially among the youngest. Thus this study concluded Consumption of recycled products from Wallapop, according to which 51% of Spaniards are considering or have considered reusing gifts this Christmas. In line with that, although less optimistic, are the results of a survey conducted by Milanuncios. According to this data, 29.5% of consumers have purchased or are considering buying reusable Christmas gifts.

“The main driver is economic savings, but also the ease with which technology makes selling used goods possible,” said Franc Carreras, a professor of Marketing at Esade’s business school. The expert added that there is also an “environmental awareness point, but that’s not the main argument, it’s a positive consequence”. In the Milanuncios survey, in 61% of cases the main reason was economic savings, followed by responsible and sustainable consumption motivation (53%).

Scope

29.5% of Spaniards have bought or are considering buying a used gift, according to a study by Milanuncios

There is also a change in habits. “Used goods have always been more logical than more expensive items, such as cars, but now also among cheaper products, the most surprising case is clothing, with sizing becoming increasingly difficult,” said Carreras. The number of customers at the secondhand clothing store Humana Fundación Pueblo para Pueblo has increased by 25% in the first 10 months of 2022 compared to the same period the previous year, while sales have grown by 9%.

Fashion giants like Inditex are also joining the bandwagon: after testing it in the UK, the company has announced that by 2023 it will expand its used fashion business with Zara to other markets. A study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the Vestiaire Collective predicts second-hand clothing will account for 27% of the fashion consumed by the world’s average shopper by 2023.

According to Blanca Piédrola, president of the Spanish Second-Hand Association (Aesema) and director of Cash Converters Spain, “the most successful used product categories today are telephones and electronics, but also anything related to hobbies, such as music or sports.

Trend

“There is a marathon of companies seeking sustainability with used goods”

Piédrola is clear that this is “a Christmas where more used goods will be consumed, because we are starting to integrate it as something normal when you didn’t even consider it before.” However, Piédrola cautions that there is still prejudice to be broken when buying or giving gifts used and achieving sales levels in northern European countries, “fully integrated”. Carreras agreed, who believed that there was still “a long way to go”.

Big brands have already started down this path. “There is a marathon of companies seeking sustainability by following the growing trend of used goods,” said president Aesema. Piédrola gives Decathlon, which buys old sports equipment and sells it, and Ikea, which has a service that buys used furniture then resells, as examples. One of the oldest companies is H&M, which has been collecting used clothing in its stores for nearly a decade, either for reuse if they are in good condition or for reuse or recycling if they are no longer of use.