Teens today have two defining attributes, experts say: they are financially savvy and entrepreneurially minded.
This has given rise to new secondhand shopping marketplaces where people can buy and sell clothing, accessories, and shoes, among other things.
These are some of the most popular shopping apps that teens are using right now:
Online thrift store ThredUp offers a hassle-free way to sell unwanted clothing and accessories online.
Sellers are sent a “clean-out bag,” which they send back to ThredUp to decide what can be sold and what will be recycled. The seller is either paid up front or on consignment.
Teens are not only selling on ThredUp, however — they’re also increasingly shopping for clothing here. According to a recent report from ThredUp, this mode of shopping is likely to take off in 2019, with one in three Gen Z shoppers buying secondhand.
Gen Z is sneaker-obsessed. According to Piper Jaffray’s spring 2019 “Taking Stock with Teens” survey, 31% of male and 22% of female teens surveyed considered themselves “sneakerheads.”
These teens are not only buying sneakers but also using resale platforms to sell their own pairs. Goat, the world’s largest marketplace for high-end sneakers, is one of their platforms of choice.
“Whether you’re looking to buy rare sneakers, discover new ones, or make money by listing sneakers you already own, GOAT is your destination,” it says on its website.
Goat has amassed nearly $200 million in funding. It launched in 2015.
Depop is a social marketplace and app where users can buy and sell an array of items.
It’s been described as a mix between eBay and Instagram, and because of the ease at which you can set up shop, list new items, and engage with your community, it’s achieved explosive success with the younger generation. Since launching in 2011, it has grown to have over 13 million customers in 147 countries; 90% of these users are under the age of 26.
Rachel Swidenbank, vice president of marketplace at Depop, told Business Insider that some sellers can pull in as much as $300,000 a year on the app and have been able to buy houses and cars before they’ve even reached college age.
Read more: How to make money selling clothes on Depop
Poshmark offers a similar experience to Depop — sellers can create stores to sell their own creations or secondhand items via their smartphone. Since there is no overhead aside from acquiring the inventory, it’s easy for cash-strapped teens to participate.
Since Poshmark launched in 2011, it has grown to have a community of more than five million sellers.
Last May, the company announced that it had paid out $1 billion to its community of sellers so far, some of whom reported pulling in as much as $1 million in sales on the app.
Read more: Poshmark, the popular app that helps users sell unwanted clothing, is reportedly planning an IPO. Here are top sellers’ secrets to making thousands of dollars with the service.
StockX is an online marketplace for buying and selling sneakers, streetwear, watches, and designer handbags.
Founded in 2015, it is a self-described “stock market of things,” and acts as a secure middleman between the seller and buyer. All items are shipped to StockX and checked before being sent out to the buyer.
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