From Rags To Riches — ThredUp Stock Surges 340% As Secondhand Goes Mainstream

Thrift is having a Wall Street moment, and budget-conscious shoppers are fueling the gold rush. As economic pressures linger, Americans are flocking to secondhand stores, creating an unprecedented “golden age.” This shopping shift has propelled resale platforms like ThredUpTDUP

to staggering heights, with an eye-popping 346.8% YTD surge.

• “We are at the tipping point where that remaining stigma is … going to go away,” said an AccentureACN
  global lead — as peers like eBayEBAY
  , The RealRealREAL
  , and MercadoLibreMELI
  pop 33%, 24.7%, and 50% from last year, respectively.
• “It’s not just old ladies anymore,” said a resale director, as customer bases swell — with one year bringing 95% more signups for ThredUp, 44% more sales for Wardrobe, and an explosion of neighborhood Facebook groups.

Perfect storm for preloved: Punishing tariffs, persistent inflation, and evaporating fast-fashion bargains have created massive tailwinds for secondhand marketplaces. The growth seems unstoppable, with up to 59% of consumers planning to thrift more if prices rise, and retail executives viewing resale as a tariff-resistant supply chain. Paradoxically, the industry could become a victim of its success, because if everyone starts thrifting, tomorrow’s hand-me-downs might not yield anything worth buying.