For Czechs, shopping for used items has sometimes been taboo and whereas second-hand shops aren’t unusual, few individuals readily admit to procuring in them.
“Folks normally share their enjoyment of buying second-hand garments solely with a circle of household and shut buddies,” concluded a 2019 research on Czech procuring habits, authored by the analyst Marketa Rulikova.
“Not sporting model new (and brand-named) clothes additionally suggests, for a lot of Czechs, an incapacity to offer for the household, a too acquainted misery remembered from the socialist previous.”
However the financial influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, topped by spiralling inflation and power costs, has led to a second-hand procuring spree.
“We’ve by no means had such takings as in these previous few months,” says Monika van den Berg, of Second Czech Republic, an NGO that runs a number of second-hand, charity retailers throughout the nation.
Second-hand gross sales have elevated threefold nationwide since final yr, the Affiliation of Social Duty, an trade physique, informed native media earlier this month.
What’s modified? Some suppose it’s style. Czechs are more and more eco-conscious whereas shopping for second-hand usually means high quality.
“We expect that the increase is partly brought on by our supply,” says van den Berg. “We promote clothes of the highest quality and superb manufacturers because of the means we type donated clothes.”
“The client will get superb high quality clothes for a minimal value,” she stated. As a result of the clothes has been worn but remains to be in good nick, it’s an indication of fine materials.”
The obvious issue, although, is price.
Inflation has been hovering for the reason that flip of 2022. It was as much as 17.2 per cent in June, the best on document. Economists predict it may nonetheless climb greater.
On the similar time, power costs are additionally rising and there is a widespread sense that issues will get a lot worse as winter nears. As of June, Czechs have been as pessimistic as they’ve been for greater than a decade about the way forward for family consumption and saving, in keeping with the OECD’s client confidence index.
Naturally, extra shoppers have turned to second-hand items as they tighten family spending.
Clothes costs, as an illustration, are at the moment up by 19.9 per cent and footwear by 15.4 per cent in comparison with final yr, in keeping with the newest knowledge from the Czech Statistical Workplace.
“Folks within the Czech Republic have been more and more nervous about their monetary scenario, making an attempt to spare each haler,” stated Lukáš Kovanda, chief economist with Trinity Financial institution. “They restrict particularly spending on non-essential gadgets and garments, clothes or footwear are amongst them.”
“This pattern will likely be much more pronounced in coming months and quarters as the general financial scenario within the Czech Republic additional deteriorates, probably resulting in a substantial surge (within the) unemployment price subsequent yr,” he added.
However brick-and-mortar shops aren’t being overrun by low cost hunters.
As persons are tightening their belts, firms are additionally making it simpler to look on-line for second-hand bargains. Many thrift retailers now promote their wares on social media. Some have on-line shops. Conventional distributors of latest and branded clothes are additionally getting in on the second-hand market.
In April 2021, the Germany-based on-line retailer Zalando, which sells throughout Europe, launched its web site’s “pre-owned” class within the Czech Republic.
By including this part, “we are able to bridge the hole between the enjoyable of style procuring, freshness and self-expression, alongside extra sustainable style consumption and unmatched comfort,” a Zalando consultant informed Euronews in a press release.
Since they launched the “pre-owned” part of the location throughout Europe in 2020, the class has grown from 20,000 to greater than 400,000 gadgets, together with the Czech Republic, the place “prospects’ suggestions… has been very optimistic.”
Provide can be driving the second-hand increase.
In some circumstances, comparable to for charity retailers, items are donated. Now on-line platforms are more and more making it simpler for individuals to promote their used items to different patrons, profiting from the fast-growing e-commerce market within the Czech Republic, which noticed a 14 p.c soar final yr to be value round €9.1 billion, in keeping with Heureka Group, one in all Europe’s largest value comparability web sites.
In 2019, Czech entrepreneurs launched Knihobot, an e-commerce platform that enables individuals to purchase and promote used books. In 2020 it boasted earnings of round €700,0000 crowns; final yr it was as much as greater than €3 million. Based on media studies, it goals for €12 million this yr.
Economists name this “re-commerce”. Inflation and rising family prices aren’t simply creating extra cut price hunters; they’re additionally pushing extra individuals to promote their very own items.
Vinted, a Lithuania-based on-line market for getting, promoting and exchanging items, has round a million registered members utilizing the Czech platform, which might be round a tenth of the nation’s inhabitants.
“Platforms like Vinted is usually a good place for individuals to mitigate the influence of inflation on their very own pocket by promoting issues they not want, and we all know persons are motivated by the monetary advantages of second-hand, in addition to the environmental facets,” says Lilly Berns, Vinted’s PR supervisor for Germany, and Southern and Japanese Europe.
There’s nonetheless room for growth within the “re-commerce” sector.
Vinted, as an illustration, not too long ago related prospects within the Czech Republic and Poland, which means individuals in each nations can now purchase and promote their second-hand items to one another.
It additionally added pet care and leisure classes, “giving individuals extra probabilities to promote and purchase preloved life-style gadgets,” stated their PR supervisor.
“In comparison with the first-hand market, the second-hand style sector nonetheless has enormous potential to develop, and we consider in its optimistic growth pushed by increasingly individuals across the globe selecting pre-loved each day,” she added.
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