What fashion brands can learn from sneakerheads about gaining value from resale

The disconnect lies in where the value is actually accumulating. While the resale market expands dramatically, the lion’s share of growth seems to be captured by third-party platforms like Vinted, Depop and ThredUp rather than by the brands whose products are being resold. This is demonstrated by the overall slowing growth in brand circularity uptake, as shown by the most recent Kearney Circular Fashion Index (CFX) report.² 

What explains this disparity? Some would say the answer lies in the network effects and lower operational costs that these platforms benefit from, while brands running their own resale programs face the challenge of building infrastructure, managing logistics and competing on price with established marketplaces. The result is that brands are witnessing their products gain extended lifecycles outside of their owned ecosystems, meaning they benefit from none of the financial rewards or customer loyalty benefits. 

Moreover, this fragmentation means brands are losing visibility into their products’ second lives. This will become increasingly problematic as legislation such as the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) come into force over the next few years – requiring more complete oversight of product lifetime journeys. ‘Losing’ products outside your brand’s ecosystem also means missing out on insights that could inform more circular design decisions. 

The upshot is that when brands fail to set up or outsource their own circular infrastructure, they forfeit a wealth of circular value. And as platforms like the multibillion-dollar Vinted steadily expand their reach, they are taking up more and more oxygen in the circularity space. Brands that want to ensure circularity remains more than just a way for customers to save money on clothes shopping need to act decisively. 

Why resale? Understanding customer motivations 

To start competing with the giants of resale, you first need to understand what makes them successful. On the surface level, value is paramount. That is, value in the sense of cash saved. It will come as no surprise, in inflation- and tariff-impacted economies, that one of the key reasons shoppers turn to second-hand fashion marketplaces is to save money.^{3 4} This is borne out in research conducted by BCG in collaboration with high-end resale platform Vestiaire Collective. Their study of 7,800 resale shoppers showed that the top ‘driver to buy’ second-hand was, indeed, the affordability and value this delivers.⁵ Further supporting the ‘value first’ argument is the insight that the top barrier to buying second-hand is that consumers did not consider the prices to be sufficiently low. 

This might sound like bad news for branded resale, which – while products are almost always sold for less than retail price – may struggle to keep up with the deeper discounts offered by peer-to-peer resellers. However, a look further down the list of reasons to buy resale should inspire more confidence. The next three top reasons were ‘Variety of choice and uniqueness’ (55%) and ‘Fun, thrill of the hunt’ (49%). In many ways, these are the areas where branded resale is positioned to secure a competitive advantage. But pure-play platforms have long realised that they cannot position on value alone. 

Indeed, brands entering the resale space are coming to terms with a new reality: faced with an increasingly crowded market, the circular consumer is demanding more and more from the resale experience. This has led to a wave of platform premiumisation, with a sharp focus on elevating the customer experience at every level. In a gradually maturing fashion circularity space,⁶ it’s no longer enough to simply have a circular offer – it has to stand out. In this regard, it can be helpful to look to one area of fashion that made resale ‘cool’ long before circular models were as widespread as they are today: sneakers. 

What sneakers can teach us about successful resale 

Before online fashion resale became mainstream, it can be claimed that the pioneers in this space were sneaker collectors and resellers. In the early days, exchanges of rare Nikes or Reeboks would take place in person or on online forums. However, from the mid-2010s, the online resale experience became much more sophisticated. Secondary sneaker markets are one of the most salient proof points that the resale model can offer even greater returns than the primary market, if done right. Two leaders in this space are GOAT and StockX, two still hugely popular companies that successfully capitalised on sneakermania by taking two very different approaches to the online resale model. 

StockX is a unique marketplace focusing on unworn, deadstock sneakers and other high-value collectables. Intriguingly, the company uses a competitive bidding model, whereby real-time bids from buyers and asks from sellers are used to determine the final sale price.^{7 8 9} The site also displays historical price data to enable buyers to make informed decisions. This ‘stock market-like’ dynamic simultaneously reinforces the value of the products on the platform and creates a uniquely engaging customer experience, building excitement and making buyers feel like connoisseurs. While this model may only work with high-ticket items, it does demonstrate the value of ‘gamification’ in the resale process, as well as the importance of tailoring the shopping process to your audience. 

GOAT (standing for ‘Greatest of All Time’) is another leader that emerged in the 2010s, reselling new and used sneakers, clothing and accessories. GOAT has leaned more heavily into the cultural aspect of sneakermania and has, in many ways, become something of a brand in its own right. It has achieved this by prioritising a heavily curated shopping experience and staying tuned in to the cultural zeitgeist – even publishing a biannual glossy magazine and regular interviews with trending icons on its website. This cultural cachet gives everything on the platform an aura of undeniable streetwear cool. ^{10 11} In the past, it has also activated its fan community with AR scavenger hunts, and its large social media presence is a testament to the power of its trust and expertise. 

These two highly divergent approaches to resale demonstrate that success comes from knowing where to play in the customer value equation – whether it’s more on the ‘finding the best deal’ side (StockX) or more on the ‘fun, thrill of the hunt’ side. While it’s important to note that sneakers are quite unique in their ability to gain value post-purchase, there are still many lessons that fashion resale can take from experiences in this category.  

Three learnings for successful fashion resale 

The sneaker resale ecosystem demonstrates that second-hand markets can generate substantial value when structured thoughtfully. Indeed, the current leading fashion resale platforms appear to be adapting the principles that work well in the sneaker-verse, while tailoring their approach to their audience’s needs. Here’s an overview of what brands looking to implement or upgrade their existing resale models should take away. 

Tailor the purchase experience to your audience 

A key question for brands exploring the finer points of resale is where your offering experience sits on the spectrum between transaction-focused efficiency and culturally embedded discovery. In some cases, the answer is ‘both’. For TheRealReal, a San Francisco-based luxury resale site, data-driven insights enable detailed differentiation between shoppers who are looking for a specific product and those who are looking for a discovery experience. ¹² Similarly, Vestiaire Collective balances robust AI-enhanced search functionality and filtering for shoppers hunting down particular items with curated editorial features and expert selections for those open to serendipitous finds.¹³ 

While a value-centric positioning will undoubtedly hit with many segments, sites like Poshmark, Depop and Vinted have helped the market evolve from ‘more is more’ free-for-all into more considered and curated territory. The emphasis here is on streamlined and premiumised experiences that enable customers to truly enjoy the ‘thrill of the hunt’.  For example, fast-growing fashion resale platform Depop (owned by Etsy) credits its recent revenue growth to improvements in its recommendation algorithm, and the same could be said of multimillion-dollar ThredUp’s recent performance boost in the past year.^{14 15 16} 

Beyond AI-driven optimisation, another way platforms are enhancing engagement and retention is by putting the human front and centre. Through features such as human curation (e.g. Vestiaire Collective’s expert-curated capsules¹⁷ and celebrity closet clear outs¹⁸) and live events (e.g. Poshmark’s real-time virtual shopping events, known as ‘Posh Parties’¹⁹), people can connect with brands they love and discover unique perspectives. By combining the digital and the human touch, the new resale market reflects consumer desire for both personalisation and inspiration when shopping in second-hand markets. It's clear that looking beyond value alone is essential to capture growing demand for resale. 

For brands, this means thinking carefully about what your customers value most. Are they looking for a streamlined way to find specific items? Or are they more interested in serendipitous discovery? Do they want expert curation, or do they prefer to explore independently? Your resale experience should reflect these preferences closely. 

Prioritise authentication and quality control

Both StockX and GOAT have built their reputations on rigorous authentication processes. StockX verifies every item at dedicated centres before shipping, while GOAT employs trained specialists to check both authenticity and condition. This commitment to verification prevents counterfeits and establishes the platforms as trusted authorities. 

For brands, authentication serves multiple strategic purposes. It protects brand equity by ensuring only genuine items carry your name into secondary markets. It creates a competitive advantage over peer-to-peer platforms where authentication may be inconsistent or absent. In addition, improved traceability can be an important lever in meeting regulatory requirements around product lifecycle tracking as legislation like the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) comes into force. 

Digital product passports (DPPs) are set to transform authentication and circular commerce more broadly. While consumer awareness remains limited – around 65% of respondents in a recent BCG survey had never heard of DPPs – early adopters stand to gain a significant advantage in shaping both technological standards and consumer expectations. Authentication and verification are considered the most valuable DPP features by consumers, with 70% rating them as important when buying second-hand.²⁰ 

For brands, DPPs offer more than compliance. They create new customer touchpoints across the product lifecycle and can generate real-world insights from repair and ownership data. They can also improve the efficiency of resale models: Chloé’s partnership with Vestiaire Collective resulted in a reduction in resale time of over 60%. 

Integrate resale models into your core sales channels  

Perhaps the most important lesson from successful sneaker resale platforms is that they don’t treat second-hand products as an afterthought or separate business. By focusing on creating excitement around the products, either through gamified dynamics, curated content, limited-time ‘drops’ or community activations, they make resale incredibly desirable. The leading platforms understand that resale is an important aspect of participating in sneaker culture. 

This integration principle applies even more directly to brands operating their own resale channels. Resale should feel like a natural extension of your brand, not a disconnected initiative. In practice, this means: 

•  Strategic integration  

Your resale approach should serve a clear business objective. That might be to increase your sales, to improve customer loyalty, to comply with regulations or to strengthen your brand’s sustainability strategy. Whatever strategic angle you pursue will require a tailored approach. 

• Operational integration  

 If you want consumers to view your resale items as a legitimate part of your brand offering, they’ll expect the same fulfilment experience as if they were purchasing a brand-new product. That means your backend logistics and inventory management practices for pre-loved items need to be aligned with your existing systems for new products. If customers encounter a drop-off in the levels of customer experience when moving between new and renewed items, it risks creating a disjointed brand experience and devaluing both your resale offering and your brand. 

• Narrative integration 

Effective resale stories need to sound authentic and feel like a natural part of your brand. When platforms like Vestiaire Collective feature expert-curated capsules or when Poshmark builds community through virtual events, they’re weaving resale into a broader story about style, discovery and connection. Brands that are new to the resale game can harness their existing brand heritage and customer relationships to do this just as effectively. This doesn't mean suddenly treating resale as your primary business. But it does mean considering how secondhand resale practices fit into your customer journey, brand narrative, and operational infrastructure from the outset – and not as a bolt-on afterthought. 

 Building your resale strategy – step by step 

Successful resale programs share common strategic elements, but the most effective approaches begin with honest self-examination of your brand’s DNA. Your resale program should reflect your brand’s unique positioning because any attempts to adopt a generic model will ring hollow with customers who already understand – and are drawn to – your brand identity. Getting this right is the foundation of successful resale.  

The next step is perhaps the most crucial of all: defining clear objectives. Are you prioritising revenue generation? Customer acquisition? Or sustainability? Different objectives require fundamentally different approaches, and clarity here prevents the costly mistake of building infrastructure that doesn’t serve your actual goals. Be explicit about what success looks like – and ensure your chosen metrics align with your priorities.  

With clear objectives established, you can then choose your resale model. There is no single ‘correct’ way to approach resale. Models that have worked for fashion brands in recent years include trade-in and resale via owned channels, where brands offer customers credit towards new purchases, thereby driving loyalty and repeat business while also giving them control over the full customer experience within their own ecosystem; approved partnerships with resale channels, which create new revenue streams from used inventory and can generate valuable data about product longevity and customer preferences; and light-touch experimental methods including rental or repair, which provide the option of flexibly testing resale methods through modular formats such as in-store take-back campaigns or curated archive drops.²¹ 

Whichever model you choose, it’s important to remain agile. Experimental models are attractive for brands wishing to conduct live market research by testing the uptake of second-hand items with their existing customers before rolling it out to the market at large. But what links all the most successful approaches is that they tell a strong story about why resale is important to the brand and why it fits with its identity. Defining a clear strategy beforehand is therefore critical before embracing any type of circular model. 

The new battleground for customer retention 

With the resale boom showing no signs of slowing down, brands must recognise that the growth in demand for second-hand products is a battleground for customer loyalty. More competitive actors are encroaching on brands’ circular value every day: resale platforms capture a significant and growing share of the resale market, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes insert intermediaries into the value chain, and competitors use vintage reissues to tap into nostalgia and cultural cachet. The territory for resale value is contested, and the benefits often don’t flow to the product owners themselves.