Market shares show who is winning today, but not necessarily what is fundamentally changing. The key figure from Vinted’s latest impact report stands out as one of these important signals. In 2025, 88 percent of the platform’s members said they checked Vinted before considering purchasing a new item.
This realization requires a complete reassessment of the market. It’s no longer just about the growth of second-hand fashion or the increase in the volume of used products. The main conclusion from this indicator is that the buying process in the fashion industry is changing structurally.
The Recommerce platform is no longer just a digital flea market. It has become a product search engine, a real-time price comparison and a primary entry point into the world of brands. For a growing number of consumers, it is their first contact with a brand.
Meanwhile, a vast majority of fashion brands continue to view the secondary market exclusively from a corporate social responsibility (CSR) perspective, classifying it as a secondary or even defensive issue. This interpretation is wrong. The secondary market directly influences price perception, brand desirability, new customer acquisition, customer loyalty and the residual value of products. Therefore, it becomes a strategic layer in a brand’s business model. Brands that fail to manage their secondary market begin to lose control of their own value.
When perceived value arises outside of traditional channels
Consumer behavior towards their wardrobe reflects this shift from a linear to a circular model. Clothing is no longer viewed as a mere cost factor, but as an asset that can retain resale value.
Anticipation of resale: 41 percent of users consider the resale potential of an item of clothing before purchasing a new item in traditional retail.
Item care: 56 percent of members say they take better care of their personal items to keep them in good condition for future buyers.
Financial Gain: This focus on longevity leads to significant financial flows. In 2025, 10.8 billion euros were paid back directly to sellers via the platform.
This reinvested financial capital directly influences national consumption decisions. Pricing on the secondary market is now establishing itself as a macroeconomic factor in its own right. About half of sellers choose to reinvest their sales proceeds into new second-hand purchases on the platform. This means that the products remain in circulation in an internal circular economy.
In this context, digital marketplaces dictate new rules for price sovereignty. The perceived value of a brand is no longer formed only within its original distribution network. It is now negotiated daily on second-hand platforms, which confirm or refute the long-term desirability of a label.
A lever for purchasing power in times of economic pressure
Beyond questions of style, second-hand fashion is becoming a concrete answer to household budget pressures. The platform’s report suggests that users saved a total of €21.6 billion on their adult fashion purchases. This compares to what they would have spent on new items at original prices. This performance corresponds to an average saving of 72 percent compared to the original price.
Even with a cautious analysis that includes sales and promotions from traditional retailers, the real savings for members would still be 11.6 billion euros. These financial decisions take different budget situations into account, as members explain in detail in the platform’s surveys.
For households with financial constraints, these savings shift from non-essential expenses to financing daily needs. 31 percent of shoppers use the money saved from second-hand purchases to cover ongoing household costs such as food or energy bills. This proportion rises to 43 percent for members who report significant financial difficulties. In addition, 60 percent of users believe that this consumption model helps them better manage the daily impact of inflation on their budget.
Measuring carbon avoidance at the heart of change
The environmental argument for circular consumption is based on the principle of replacing a new purchase with an existing product. This limits the demand for industrial resources. The central element of this proof is the platform’s replacement rate, which is 76 percent. This figure shows that more than three quarters of transactions on the app effectively prevented the purchase of a new item of clothing.
In its carbon footprint, the platform states that it avoided net emissions of 1,607 kilotons of CO₂ equivalent in 2025. To illustrate this impact, the report states that this volume is theoretically equivalent to 164,000 car trips around the world. That’s a distance of 6,589,823,090 kilometers.
To structure this modeling, the analysis uses an assessment methodology that complies with the principles of the ISO 14067 standard. It was developed in collaboration with industry expert Impact Institute. The calculations include the avoided emissions at the industrial production level. However, they systematically deduct the negative impacts caused by the platform’s own activities.
Each transaction generates an average of 1.22 kg of CO-2 equivalent. This includes packaging production, data center energy consumption and transport company logistics. At 94 percent, delivery flows make up the largest share of this technical footprint. These are the total emissions caused by the 2025 activity.
From the niche sector to the new consumer norm
The development of behavior now goes beyond the historical area of clothing. Interest in circular consumption is expanding into new product categories, from household goods to technical items. Operational data shows that 36 percent of members who purchased fashion items in the previous fiscal year expanded their purchases to other product types in 2025. For 17 percent of them, this was their first transaction outside of the fashion sector.
This change is taking place in a tense industry context. The global textile industry is still responsible for two to eight percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. It faces major challenges in dealing with production waste. Easier access to resale platforms is helping to change consumer perceptions. Items that were once considered disposable become goods with lasting economic value.
The most underestimated risk for traditional brands lies in this change in habits. Users no longer look for a second-hand alternative after looking at new items. They now start their search on the secondary market. Only if the product cannot be found there do they turn to traditional retail. Shaken by these new behaviors, retail must integrate the circular economy not as an environmentally conscious option, but as an essential condition for its future profitability.
Barometer of a cultural change
The development of behavior now goes beyond the historical area of clothing. Interest in circular consumption is expanding into new product categories, from household goods to technical items. Operational data shows that 36 percent of members who purchased fashion items in the previous fiscal year expanded their transactions to other product types in 2025.
Ultimately, this data proves to be the true daily barometer of changing consumer habits. The fact that 88 percent of consumers check Vinted before even considering purchasing a new product shows something. Secondhand is no longer just an economic alternative or a conscious decision. It has become the sole entry point and the first impulse in the buying process. For traditional brands, this number is a clear warning. Those who refuse to control their secondary market on these platforms will inevitably lose control of their own value and pricing sovereignty.
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