Refurbished Items Could Help Consumers Fulfill Christmas Wishes

Price and item availability are among consumers’ biggest concerns this holiday, with inflation surging past 6% and supply chain bottlenecks leaving some shelves bare. To compensate, an increasing number of people are considering gifting used items, particularly those that have been refurbished by manufacturers.

Unlike other used options, refurbished items are often returned to the original manufacturer for testing and repair before being sold again, giving consumers more confidence that what they’re buying is legitimate. Many electronics brands and retailers, such as Apple, Best Buy and Newegg, offer refurbished merchandise, as does home furnishing retailer Ikea, which is facing a supply shortage that will likely last through the middle of next year.

Read more: Ikea Facing Long-Term Stock Shortage

Digital marketplace eBay also launched a Certified Refurbished program last year, offering inventory directly from top brands; and earlier this month, the company expanded the program to also include items from top-rated sellers “who are thoroughly vetted to meet rigorous performance standards.” Items sold through the eBay Refurbished program come in new packaging and are available in four conditions: Certified Refurbished, which includes like-new inventory directly from brands; Excellent, meaning the item is like new; Very Good, with minimal wear; and Good, with moderate wear.

“We’re heading into a different type of holiday shopping season, dominated by supply chain challenges and changing consumer behaviors,” Dawn Block, VP of hard goods and collectibles at eBay, said in a statement. “Amidst strong demand for like-new products, eBay Refurbished is making it even easier for shoppers to access hundreds of thousands of coveted items at substantially lower prices.”

After launching the Certified Refurbished program in October 2020, eBay saw a 170% surge in sales between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, though some of that may be attributable to an overall increase in digital holiday shopping. Last year, 83% of consumers did at least some of their gift shopping online compared to 50% who did some in stores.

Related: 2020 Holiday Shopping Retrospective Report: Milestones Made In A Year That Almost Wasn’t

This year, 87% of consumers say they will make at least some of their holiday purchases online, a sign that marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay may be in for further surges in demand — and eBay is likely hoping an expanded refurbished selection can give it an advantage.

See more: NEW DATA: Nearly 90% of US Consumers Plan Online Holiday Purchases in 2021 — 13% More Than in 2020

According to a Wakefield Research survey cited by eBay, 62% of consumers are considering buying refurbished electronics and 84% are open to receiving refurbished gifts. Nearly half of people have gifted a refurbished item in the past, up from 32% in 2020.

Surging Secondhand

Marcus Shen, chief operating officer of B-Stock, told PYMNTS in an interview that he’s seen a boom in reCommerce in recent months as retailers tried to move overstock out of supply chains and consumer demand for secondhand items skyrocketed because of supply chain disruptions and an increasing focus on social responsibility.

“That idea of buying what’s called ‘quality they can count on’ as opposed to stuff that might be ‘one-and-done’ is certainly a big change that we’re seeing in consumer behavior,” Shen said.

Additionally, the idea of buying secondhand no longer has as much of a stigma among consumers, Shen noted, “and so they can get good, quality goods, long-lasting merchandise, for less-than-retail prices.”

Related: Secondhand Market Presents ‘Big Opportunity’ for Retailers Ahead of Holidays

Indeed, secondhand marketplaces thredUP and The RealReal have publicly said they are immune from the supply chain bottlenecks plaguing other retailers, suggesting that those looking to gift a sweater to Dad may want to opt for a preowned option. In fact, thredUP executives say they have so much new inventory coming in, the company has been forced to limit the number of cleanup kits it distributes as processing times average 12 weeks.

Read more: Resale Marketplaces See ‘Compelling Opportunity’ as Others Struggle With Supply Chain

And Poshmark last month said it will begin allowing brands to sell directly on its platform, giving them access to the company’s suite of social merchandising tools and its 80 million users. In a conference call with analysts earlier this month, CEO Manish Chandra said some brands have a larger following on Poshmark than on social media channels, and 79% of buyers purchase from a brand for the first time on Poshmark.

“It’s an ecosystem where items can have multiple lives, exchange hands many times over through features like rePosh and continue to get resold,” Chandra said.