For the secondhand luxury fashion sector, business is booming with the market projected to surpass $95 billion in value over the next decade. To stay ahead of shifting consumer preferences, marketers need to get strategic about how they analyze this growing audience. Our new consumer insights report dives into what consumer conversations reveal about the luxury resale sector, complete with data-driven insights and takeaways aimed at helping marketers shape winning strategies.
Download Consumer Insights: Luxury Fashion Resale for our full analysis of this exciting industry. In the meantime, here are three critical insights from the report that marketers, brands, and retailers alike need to know.
(The data referenced includes mentions of relevant keywords, phrases, brand names, and hashtags across global social and digital media sources, as well as blogs, product reviews, podcasts, forums, and social media sources, including X, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Pinterest from February 1, 2024 to January 31, 2025.)
1. Sustainability is a top driver of pre-loved luxury shopping buzz.
In discussions of buying luxury fashion goods secondhand, social media users mention sustainability, climate change, reducing waste and related keywords more than other purchase drivers like saving money, making money, or collection.
Content mentioning the positive environmental impact of buying secondhand was especially engaging, highlighting just how much this feel-good aspect of resale shopping resonates with consumers. Prominent keywords like sustainable fashion, authentic, love, and better choice point to resale’s ability to help fashion-forward consumers indulge in their love of luxury and eco-conscious living at the same time.
Takeaway: Content highlighting environmental benefits like reduced waste is a significant driver of consumer interest in the luxury fashion market. In both the first- and secondhand luxury sector, emphasizing how goods support consumers’ eco-conscious aspirations is a powerful messaging and brand loyalty-building angle for marketers.
2. Starpower and expertise are making resale luxurious.
Some of the most engaging content in the global luxury fashion resale conversation counteracted the idea that secondhand can’t be glamorous. For example, partnerships with Balenciaga and Vogue, promoted by social posts featuring stars Joey King and Madelyn Cline respectively, helped propel eBay’s visibility and engagement with Gen-Z, luxury-first consumers.
Meanwhile, influencers with luxury goods expertise drive engagement by tapping into secondhand luxury audiences’ love of craftsmanship. The above organic Instagram post by a luxury handbag review influencer praised the team at Fashionphile for helping him authenticate a bag, generating about $39,200 in estimated media value according to our influencer marketing solution.
Takeaway: Strategic brand partnerships are reshaping how consumers perceive pre-loved luxury fashion goods. From aspirational positioning to in-depth educational content, marketers in the secondhand luxury world are building trust via entities with industry expertise. As economic forces put increased pressure on luxury retailers and brands, such content will be critical in the battle for consumer dollars.
3. Luxury bags generate excitement like no other fashion category
Globally, secondhand luxury content about bags performed better on social media than other categories like clothes, watches, and shoes. As everyday, functional items that can become part of the wearer’s signature look (or act as a highly visible status symbol), high-end, pre-loved bags are go-tos for secondhand luxury shoppers. Everything from educational content, like the influencer post previously mentioned, to Pinterest pins linking users to resale listings for in-demand styles drives engagement and reach among fashion lovers on the hunt for specific bags. When we break the conversation down by platform, Poshmark and Fashionphile emerge as leaders in luxury resale bag conversations on social media. Meanwhile, eBay, which had about 50% share of voice overall, was the most mentioned platform in discussions about luxury watch resale.
Takeaway: Luxury bags have wide appeal and visibility for secondhand luxury shoppers, appealing to both status- and budget-conscious audiences. Marketers can draw from the success of bags by tapping into the emotional connections driving engagement, translating them into messaging and positioning around other luxury items like shoes, watches, and clothes.
That’s just a taste of the insights included in Consumer Insights: Luxury Fashion Resale, created using our consumer intelligence and influencer marketing solutions. Download the report for our full analysis and start refining your approach to luxury, resale, and fashion retail audiences.
