With the global resale market set to reach $250B by 2027, it’s clear that secondhand is stepping into the spotlight as a powerful market force. And, it’s not just domestic: The EU/UK resale fashion market is growing 11X faster than traditional retail, with nearly half of EU Gen Zer’s prioritizing used items above new. 

Resale is clearly a major opportunity for brands to tap into new revenue, build customer loyalty, and build a stronger sustainability profile – especially for those in booming markets like fashion, outdoor gear, home, appliances, and travel. 

Curious how resale can fuel your brand’s growth? Let’s look at five ways that it can make a difference for your business.

1. Unlock a New Revenue Stream 

With the resale market set to hit $77 billion by 2025, offering a secondhand option is a strategic way to turn excess inventory into a revenue-generating channel. Whether it’s non-new return inventory or factory seconds, resale lets you sell (or re-sell) these products without compromising on brand value. Companies using Trove, for example, saw higher GMV using our active pricing algorithm, showing that a well-designed and scalable strategy can enhance the value of your program even further. 

Rather than relying on steep discounts or letting products gather dust in distribution centers, a dedicated resale program keeps your inventory moving, cuts down on waste, and transforms what could have been a loss into a new, sustainable revenue stream.

Take Arc’teryx’s ReGEAR initiative – it breathes new life into products through trade-ins and repairs, helping the brand reach new customers at a lower price point. Since 2019, they’ve turned over 100,000 items of pre-owned gear into profitable inventory, proving that resale can be both environmentally and financially rewarding.

Pre-loved items can add to your bottom line in surprising ways. Learn more about how to integrate into your business. 

2. Keep inventory moving, profitably.

Excess inventory, past-season items, and returns can be a burden on your business. Instead of warehousing or discounting unsold products, you can move them through a dedicated resale channel, protecting your brand’s full-price positioning and generating further value. Trove brands typically see over 20% higher gross margin recovery on resale compared to standard liquidation, proving that there’s a smarter way to handle excess supply.

Trove brands use our Recommerce WMS (ReWMS)  to get clear visibility into inventory as it flows into the distruibution center, making it easier to efficiently plan space and staffing, track incoming shipments and uncover trends in supply volumes and transit times. It helps keep every product under your brand’s control, so customers still have a great experience and your reputation stays intact.

Inventory challenges? Explore how to handle excess or return inventory more effectively. 

3. Build Customer Loyalty Beyond the First Sale

Resale goes beyond one-time sales – it keeps customers engaged over time. A trade-in program invites them to “upgrade” their gear when they’re ready, while repairs and refurbished items show that you’re all about giving products (and relationships) a longer life. 

Carhartt’s Reworked program, for example, engages with customers and boosts LTV with instantly shoppable gift cards available in stores and through mail-in trade-in. Brands using Trove’s solutions have seen a 2-6x lift in gift card redemption compared to baseline. By integrating trade-ins and rewards like store credit, Carhartt created a positive feedback loop with customers that keeps them active long after the initial purchase.

Secondhand opportunities turn your brand into something more than just a place to buy. You create a community where customers can interact and find ongoing value. And the data shows it works—35% of customers who buy used items come back for more.

Ready to strengthen customer loyalty? Learn how resale builds long-term engagement.

4. Win New Customers and Keep Them Coming Back

Resale is a powerful way to attract new customer segments, especially value-driven Millennials and Gen Z, who prioritize sustainability, affordability, and conscious consumption. By offering a secondhand option, you’re opening the door to a whole new audience that might not otherwise engage with your brand. In fact, according to Trove’s annual report, 40-60% of resale customers are brand new to the business, and 10% of new-to-brand customers go on to purchase new items within just six months.

Frye’s resale program also saw strong engagement with lapsed customers –  it reactivated 23% of sellers after more than a year of inactivity. This brings customers into an ongoing cycle, rather than making a one-time purchase and dis-engaging. 

Ultimately, secondhand drives lifetime value (LTV) by giving your customers more reasons to keep coming back, whether it’s through trade-in credits for their used items, special promotions on future purchases, or exclusive access to limited-edition, upcycled products. 

Hear more on how Frye expanded its customer base and increased LTV.

5. Reduce Waste and Build a Sustainable Brand

Resale is at the heart of the circular economy – a system focused on keeping products in use through reusing, repairing, and recycling instead of throwing them away. And the impact is huge: it reduces waste, cuts emissions, and keeps products out of landfills. According to Trove’s and Worldly’s 2023 Decarbonization Report, resale stands to lower annual carbon emissions 15-16% by 2040.

Cotopaxi is a great example of what this looks like in action. By partnering with Trove to launch their Mas Vida recommerce platform and expanding their Guarantee for Good repair program, they kept 9.9k lbs of materials out of landfills and saved 1.2k gallons of water in just two months. 

And here’s the best part: resale isn’t just good for the planet, it’s good for business, too. Trove’s report shows that with an 80% displacement rate (percent of the time that used item replaces a new one), outdoor brands could see a 130% boost in revenue while cutting emissions by 20%. It’s proof that sustainability and profitability can go hand in hand.

Looking to improve your sustainability profile? Learn more about the circular economy in Trove’s Decarbonization Report.

Empower your Team with the Right Technology Solutions

Resale doesn’t have to be complicated—with advanced technology, it can seamlessly fit into your business. Trove simplifies the entire process, from managing inventory to engaging customers, so you can launch and scale with ease. As consumers increasingly prioritize sustainability, resale presents an incredible opportunity to grow your brand while meeting customer expectations.

Ready to see the impact resale can have on your business? Connect with us today, and we’ll help you design a program that can go live in less than 4 weeks.