If the reported growth of resale hasn’t motivated your brand’s executive team to consider resale, they may be a bit behind on current customer demands. Brands racing to the resale market need to consider how to use brand identity and reputation to their advantage. In the end, brands are competing with third-party marketplaces.  

Circular models require changes in customer habits and making the transition as easy as possible is the best way to ensure it happens. Solutions to the logistical problems of resale and how to motivate customers and sellers are key to implementing circular models, which could help with climate issues and increase profitability.

Use the following strategies to ensure your branded resale launch is a success.

Streamline the Trade-In Process

With an influx of climate-conscious customers, not only is there no longer a stigma around resale, there’s a demand for it. The secondhand fashion market is predicted to reach $67 billion by 2025. But for that to happen, businesses have to meet customers where they are.

Circular business models, such as resale, have a unique need for customer involvement in supply. Shopping for high-quality items at affordable prices is already an established behavior. The concept of trading-in items is a new customer behavior and is critical to running a successful resale program. That makes accommodating customers and creating the lowest resistance paths for trade-in integral and essential.

One way to streamline customer experience is redundancy. Providing options for trade-ins, including in-store and mail-in, increases the chances customers have an option that suits their needs. For example, in 2021, REI gave members an option to trade in their used gear online or in-store for credits. After the program was introduced, the brand reported a 36% increase in overall sales. 

Incentivize Customers to Trade-In

However streamlined the trade-in process is, it still requires some action from customers, which creates another key aspect of the chain: customer motivation. 

Trade-in credits, gift cards, VIP perks, and exclusive experiences are ways customers can be motivated to take part in the supply chain directly. Customers may also be motivated by positive brand association and sustainability. Creating branded content that informs customers on how recommerce promotes sustainability and inspires them to take part could be useful tools.

Trove has the technology, analytics, and operations to ensure logistics don’t bleed into the customer experience. That means customers will be more likely to continue to participate in trade-ins and have a positive association with their branded experience. Trove provides end-to-end recommerce solutions to optimize circular supply and help businesses meet customers where they are.

Learn from Early Adopters: 14 Brands with In-House Resale or Buyback Programs. 

Your Top Buyers Can Be Your Top Sellers

The demand for pre-loved items is high globally and in the US, but there aren’t nearly as many sellers. Around 44% of people in the US reported buying secondhand, which is a relatively large customer base. But only 24% of the population reported selling secondhand items.

While these numbers might cause concerns about the supply chain, there are solutions. For one, to successfully supply a branded resale channel, there just needs to be enough sellers to meet the supply demands of buyers.

If your brand doesn’t have a large enough group of sellers, there are opportunities for creating more sellers. Loyal customers could be the perfect target for seller recruitment. Create ways to entice customers that already interact with your business to start selling. This may be achieved through advertising, promotion, or even direct contact with email lists or social media. The most important part is to dispel the perceived difficulty of becoming a seller by implementing user experience and customer experience best practices in the selling process.

Maintain Messaging Around Sustainability

As discussions about climate change and sustainability became more mainstream and dire, customers began pressuring brands to implement sustainable practices. There are segments of your resale audience that hold sustainability as one of the main reasons they’re shopping secondhand.

Creating clear, easy-to-understanding messaging about how circular business models help decrease waste and promote supply sustainability could be a powerful marketing lever your brand can pull. This type of messaging attracts buyers and sellers motivated by sustainability.

The circular economy can be a complex topic to translate to customers. Ensure your content strategy is aimed at simplifying this topic while providing actionable next steps. For example, a clothing brand might want to focus on the extended lifespan of clothing items in a circular chain. Infographics, blog posts, and videos explaining circular business models are some ways to inform customers. We suggest distributing this content via owned channels like your socials and blog.

The Future Is Circular

The demand for pre-loved items and the need for sustainability are not going away any time soon. Utilizing circular business models like resale is an important consideration for executives worried about supply and brand sustainability. Learn more about these issues and how Trove works to solve them by scheduling a free demo today. 

Discover Why Branded Resale Should Be Your Growth Strategy.