On a 18 June deadline, the Florida Times-Union reports on the recent push for second-hand shopping by financially-strained consumers:
Amelia Espinales | June 18, 2026
According to a 2025 resale report from Thredup, an online thrift shop, the global secondhand apparel market is expected to hit $367 billion by 2029 and is growing 2.7 times faster than the overall global apparel market. According to the report, government policies around tariffs and trade are expected to provide a healthy tailwind to secondhand apparel with 62% of consumers saying they are concerned that new government policies around tariffs and trade will make apparel more expensive and 59% of consumers said if new government policies surrounding tariffs and trade make apparel more expensive, they will seek more affordable options, such as secondhand goods.
With the recent surges of prices due to rising tariffs and inflation, communities are turning to the secondhand clothing market. According to a 2025 study report from the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA), more than 98% of clothing sold in the United States is imported, making the fashion industry specifically more vulnerable to tariff increases.
As the cost of a new wardrobe rises, some shoppers are turning to resellers and thrift stores as a cheaper alternative to save money dealing with rising retail prices. Florida alone is witnessing an influx of retail shoppers turning to secondhand shopping. According to statistics provided by Starto.io, in Florida, households with incomes less than $25,000 make up 36.5% of customers that thrift. Younger shoppers are also starting to dominate the thrifting scene, with 40.4% of 18–24-year-olds making up these shoppers rushing to secondhand stores in Florida.