THE REALREAL REVEALS LUXURY RESALE’S BEST-SELLING BRANDS

The RealReal – the world’s largest online marketplace for authenticated, consigned luxury goods – has released its annual Resale Report. Based on sales and demand data from millions of shoppers and millions of items sold, the report offers a definitive look at the shopping shifts and rising trends in luxury resale.

Nearly all of The RealReal’s customers also regularly shop department stores, but as they grow increasingly motivated by sustainability, shoppers are turning to luxury resale as a replacement for fast fashion. More than 80 percent of The RealReal’s customers cite sustainability as an important reason for shopping the site, and 32 percent of customers have left fast fashion behind in favor of shopping luxury resale.

Gucci and Louis Vuitton remain the most in-demand brands within luxury resale and have expanded their lead more than 225 percent over No. 3 brand Chanel. Gucci’s dominance shows no signs of slowing – demand for the brand is up 78 percent and it’s No. 1 with both men and women.

“Gucci and Louis Vuitton have been at the forefront of embracing culture changes and adapting to the shifting demographic of luxury buyers,” said Rati Levesque, COO and head of merchandising for The RealReal. “We’re seeing that pay off with increasingly strong demand for both brands in luxury resale that has distanced them significantly from the other top brands.”

Gucci also leads the charge at blurring the lines between luxury and streetwear. Shoppers purchasing both streetwear and luxury brands is up 56 percent, and streetwear buyers are most likely to buy Gucci out of all luxury brands. Overall, streetwear is surging, up 281 percent, driven largely by millennials, Gen X, and women.

“As streetwear demand rises, it’s having a ripple effect across all of men’s fashion,” commented Dominik Halas, menswear and archival expert at The RealReal. “Luxury brands are embracing collaborations and new creative heads to broaden their appeal. It’s paying off in strong luxury demand among streetwear buyers, particularly with Virgil Abloh’s artistic direction for Louis Vuitton and Alessandro Michele’s bold collection for Gucci.”

“Streetwear’s approach of limiting supply has always caused surges of demand in the secondary market, but we’ve seen a big uptick over the past year,” added Sean Conway, sneaker and streetwear expert at The RealReal. “Gender neutrality and statement-making pieces are really striking a chord with millennials, but we’ve also seen growth among women and Gen X contributing to the current streetwear demand spike.”

For further insights into the state of luxury resale, view The RealReal’s Luxury Resale Report.