Consumer behavior shift: 88 percent check Vinted before new fashion purchases

Market share indicates 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 major signals. In 2025, 88 percent of the platform's members reported checking Vinted before considering the purchase of a new item.

This finding calls for a complete reassessment of the market. The issue is no longer simply the growth of second-hand fashion or the increase in the volume of pre-loved products. The main takeaway from this indicator is that the purchasing journey in the fashion industry is undergoing a structural change.

The recommerce platform is no longer just a digital car boot sale. It has transformed into a product discovery engine; a real-time value comparator; 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 large majority of fashion brands continue to view the secondary market exclusively through the lens of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), relegating it to a peripheral or even defensive issue. This interpretation is incorrect. Since the secondary market directly influences price perception, brand desirability, new customer acquisition, client loyalty, and the residual value of products, it becomes a strategic layer of a brand's business model. Brands that neglect to manage their secondary market are gradually losing control of their own value.

When perceived value is built outside traditional channels

Consumer behaviour towards their wardrobes reflects this shift from a linear model to a circular one. Clothes are no longer seen as pure sunk costs but as assets capable of retaining a resale value.

• Resale anticipation: 41 percent of users consider the resale potential of a garment even before buying a new item in a traditional retail setting.

• Item care: 56 percent of members state they take better care of their personal belongings to keep them in good condition for future buyers.

• Financial gains: This focus on durability translates into significant financial flows, as 10.8 billion euros were returned directly to sellers via the platform in 2025.

This reinvested financial capital directly influences national consumption choices. Secondary pricing is now establishing itself as a macroeconomic factor in its own right. Approximately half of sellers choose to reinvest their sales revenue into new second-hand purchases on the platform, thereby keeping products in circulation within an internal circular economy. In this context, digital marketplaces are dictating new rules regarding price authority. A brand's perceived value is no longer built solely within its original distribution network. It is now negotiated daily on second-hand platforms, which validate or invalidate a label's long-term desirability.

A lever for purchasing power amid economic pressures

Beyond style considerations, second-hand fashion is emerging as a concrete response to household budgetary pressures. The platform's report suggests that users saved a total of 21.6 billion euros on their adult fashion purchases compared to what they would have spent on new items at original prices. This performance is equivalent to paying on average 72 percent less than the initial price.

Even with a cautious approach that includes sales and promotions from traditional retail, the real savings for members would still amount to 11.6 billion euros. These financial decisions cater to various budgetary situations, as detailed by members in the platform's surveys.

For households facing restrictions, these savings move from the realm of non-essentials to funding daily necessities. Indeed, 31 percent of buyers use the money saved through second-hand shopping to cover routine household expenses, such as food or energy bills. This figure rises to 43 percent among members who report experiencing significant financial difficulties. Furthermore, 60 percent of users believe this consumption model helps them manage the daily effects of inflation on their budget more effectively.

Measuring carbon avoidance at the heart of the transition

The environmental argument for circular consumption is based on the principle of replacing a new purchase with an existing product, thereby limiting the demand on industrial resources. The central element of this demonstration is the platform's replacement rate, which stands at 76 percent. This figure indicates that more than three-quarters of transactions on the app effectively cancelled out the purchase of a new garment.

In terms of carbon accounting, the platform reports having avoided net emissions of 1,607 kilotonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2025. To put this impact into perspective, the report states that this volume is theoretically equivalent to 164,000 car journeys around the Earth, a distance of 6,589,823,090 kilometres.

To structure this modelling, the analysis uses an assessment methodology compliant with the principles of the ISO 14067 standard, developed in collaboration with industry expert Impact Institute. The calculations include emissions avoided at the industrial production level but systematically deduct the negative impacts generated by the platform's own activities.

Each transaction generates an average of 1.22 kg of CO₂ equivalent, which includes packaging manufacturing, data centre energy consumption, and carrier logistics. Delivery flows account for the largest share of this technical footprint, amounting to 94 percent of the total emissions generated by the activity in 2025.

From a niche sector to the new consumption norm

The evolution of behaviour now extends beyond the historical scope of clothing. Interest in circular consumption is spreading to new product categories, from home goods to technological items. Operational data indicates that 36 percent of members who purchased fashion items in the previous financial year expanded their purchases to other product types in 2025. For 17 percent of them, this was their first transaction outside the fashion sector.

This transition is occurring in a tense industry context, as the global textile industry remains responsible for 2 to 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and faces major challenges in managing production waste. Easier access to resale platforms is helping to change consumer perception, transforming items once considered disposable into goods with lasting economic value.

The most underestimated risk for traditional brands lies in this change of habit. The user no longer seeks a second-hand alternative after looking at new items. They now start their search on the secondary market and only turn to traditional retail if the product cannot be found second-hand. Shaken by these new behaviours, the retail sector must integrate circularity not as an eco-responsible option, but as an essential condition for its future profitability.

Barometer of a cultural shift

The evolution of behaviour now extends beyond the historical scope of clothing. Interest in circular consumption is spreading to new product categories, from home goods to technological items. Operational data indicates that 36 percent of members who purchased fashion items in the previous financial year expanded their transactions to other product types in 2025.

Ultimately, this data stands out as the true daily barometer of the transformation in our consumption patterns. The fact that 88 percent of consumers check Vinted before even considering buying a new product shows that second-hand is no longer just a backup economic alternative or a conscious choice. It has become the sole entry point and the first instinct in the purchasing process. For traditional brands, this figure serves as a clear warning, as those who refuse to manage their secondary market on these platforms will inevitably lose control of their own value and price authority.