Secondhand gifts are going mainstream this holiday season

For most of history, giving used gifts during the holidays was considered impolite and cheap. However, holiday-season secondhand shopping is becoming more mainstream. ThredUp, the world's largest online thrift store, experienced a surge in holiday sales between 2023 and 2025, growing 37% compared to 22% during the rest of the year.

A survey of over 2,000 U.S. adults revealed that 62% of Americans plan to buy at least one secondhand item during the holidays, and 55% prefer unique, hard-to-find pieces in excellent condition over mass-produced new items. This embrace of secondhand gifts comes as many Americans struggle financially due to inflation, with 38% of respondents saying they didn't buy something for themselves last year.

Many shoppers plan to rely on secondhand items to stretch their budgets, with 78% of millennials and 70% of Gen Z expecting to purchase at least one secondhand gift this season. The resale industry has worked hard to change its image, moving away from terms like "used" and "thrifted" to "vintage," "resale," and "preowned." Brands like Patagonia, Hanna Andersson, and Eileen Fisher now have their own resale sites, and ThredUp has invested in AI tools to help shoppers find similar items or describe what they're looking for in natural language.

While the resale industry benefits from this trend, the broader sustainability movement faces challenges. Sustainable brands struggled to offer good value and taste at a premium, and some argue that brands should focus on offering better prices and more sustainable products to reduce overconsumption.