Stat: Online resale is booming in Britain

UK – Online resale is booming in Britain, with pre-owned shopping now worth £4.3bn ($5.8bn, €5bn) annually and is set to rise to £4.8bn ($6.4bn, €5.5bn) in 2025, according to a new study for Amazon by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). 

After surveying 10,000 people in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, CEBR found that two-thirds of UK consumers bought secondhand goods online last year, keeping 199m items in circulation and saving £5.6bn ($7.5bn, €6.4bn). 

Interestingly, 34–45% of the spend in categories such as tech, fashion and home appliances is on used products. Some 27% of online secondhand purchases in the UK are sales that wouldn’t have happened without the ‘used’ option being available. Secondhand includes refurbished, returned and ‘open-box’ items – not just traditionally ‘used’ ones.

Rising living costs (31%), greater availability (26%) and environmental concerns (25%) are driving the shift. Amazon’s secondhand sales in the UK and Europe hit £1.7bn ($2.2bn, €2bn) in 2024 through the company’s own offerings, including Amazon Renewed, and luxury partners such as Hardly Ever Worn It. 

However, the survey also found that concerns about the condition of items, lack of warranties and whether a seller can be trusted are barriers to the growth of this sector.

For more insights on pre-loved retail, read our Rebranding Resale report.