Not for the recession only: Thrift stores continue to ride a wave of popularity

Not for the recession only: Thrift stores continue to ride a wave of popularity
Sep 16, 2016 • By Tricia Drevets • 1 Comment • 171 Views

What started as a reaction to the financial woes of the Great Recession has turned into a way of life for many shoppers.  While traditional department stores continue to fight slumping – Macy’s announced in August that it is closing 100 stores, for instance -- thrift stores continue to gain ground.

From late 2007 through 2015, sales at thrift shops and consignment stores increased by about 50 percent. During the same period, revenues at discount department stores fell by 50 percent and sales at traditional department stores dropped 25 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Statistics from America’s Research Group, a consumer research organization, show that about 17 percent of Americans shop at a thrift store each year. To put that percentage in perspective, 21 percent shop in major department stores, 19 percent shop in apparel stores and 11 percent shop in factory outlet malls each year.

Once thought to be mostly for poor people, “thrifting,” as the practice of shopping in thrift stores has come to be called,” has crossed socio-economic borders. Today’s resale customers include teens looking for unique fashion items, young couples furnishing their apartment, parents seeking kids’ clothing and toys and many others who just like to hunt for bargains.

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New trends are for resale shops to cluster together in a community to make it easier for shoppers to hit several stores at once. This strategy has been successful for antique shops and factory outlet stores for decades.

Thrifts stores also are working on enhancing the look of their stores with a wider range of merchandise, more attractive displays, better lighting and wider aisles.

Stressing their shabby-chic image, resale shops have been successful in luring millennial shoppers, who, having grown up during the Recession, tend to shy away from paying full retail prices.

"Millennials are a larger, growing group, and they like the more boutique-y, trendy type of stores," said Karen Means, chief development for Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and New Jersey, said in an interview with Crain’s New York. “[Some are without] disposable income, making a Goodwill boutique a great place for them to shop.”

To further appeal to urban Millennials, Means notes that Goodwill in New York collaborates with Uber to arrange donation pick-ups.

Online consignment sites, such as Real-Real and Tradesy, and brick and mortar consignment stores, such as Buffalo Exchange and Beacon’s Closet that cater to current fashion also are popular with Millennials.

In addition to saving money, thrift store shopping appeals to customers because of its “green” element. California attorney Charity Kenyon said in an interview with Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, that purchasing clothing from a thrift store helps her "feel as though I'm contributing less to environmental impacts. It's 100% recycling."

What is the difference between resale, consignment and not-for-profit stores -- or charity shops as they are called in the United Kingdom?

Here are some distinctions made by NARTS

A consignment shop pays the owners of its merchandise a percentage when and if the items are sold. Policies vary from store to store, but most consignment shops pay owners 40 to 60 percent of the selling price.
A not-for-profit shop, or charity shop, is operated by a charitable organization for the purpose of raising money to fund its charitable causes. These stores often obtain their goods through donations, but some also operate on a consignment basis.
A resale shop sells items purchased or donated from individual owners.  A consignment or charity shop can be considered a resale shop, but NARTS stresses that stores that consign their inventory should be called consignment stores.
Although the term “thrifting” is associated with American thrift store shopping, second-hand stores are popular in many countries throughout the world.

According to Great Britain’s Charity Retail Association, for example, Britain has more than 10,000 charity shops, an increase of 10 percent since 2011.

Capitalizing on the 80 percent tax relief they receive from the British government, charity shops have found their way to popular shopping districts. The British Heart Foundation, the country’s largest charity retailer, has more than 750 locations, and in 2013, the Foundation stores’ revenues had doubled since 2007.

Buying used clothing and other items is nothing new. Whether it is in the form of a yard sale find or a sibling’s hand-me-down, people have worn second-hand clothing for hundreds of years. What has changed is that now shopping for used clothing is more acceptable – and is even embraced ---among all social spheres.

A survey by Ask Your Target Market found that saving money was the main reason 78 percent of respondents shopped at thrift stores. However, there are other reasons:

45 percent said they appreciated the variety of items
27 percent said thrift store shopping is fun experience
23 percent commented on the unique styles they find at second-hand stores.
5 percent mentioned other reasons, including helping out charities with their purchases.
Other findings were that women are slightly more likely than men to shop at thrift stores, and those respondents under 35 were in the survey age group most likely to shop at thrift stores on a frequent basis and to have never gone thrift store shopping.

In addition to shopping for bargains at establishments such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, Value Village and St. Vincent de Paul, respondents also said they frequent garage sales, flea markets and online sites such as eBay.

Will resale store sales begin to slump in an improving economy? NARTS says not necessarily. "A slumping economy may draw people in, but once they visit a resale shop for the first time they are pleasantly surprised with the high quality of merchandise and are forever hooked on a new way of smart spending," according to Kitty Boyce, NARTS past president and owner of Remarkable Resale in Rochester, Ill.