Ebay says shoppers will favour pre-loved purchases over new on Black Friday

Ebay has teamed up with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) on data predicting what products consumers would be steering towards for this Black Friday as they look to save money amid the cost-of-living crisis.

New research by the duo suggested that UK shoppers could be looking to make pre-loved and refurbished purchases instead of new products for the upcoming discount shopping day, set for November 25.

In the report, Ebay found 52 percent of people said they would be shopping for secondhand or refurbished products during the festive season, with saving money as the top incentive for changing their shopping habits.

The marketplace predicted that consumers are intending to spend over 100 pounds less on average than last year on Black Friday, as a nation saving eight billion pounds per year.

Data also showed that these efforts could save 300,000 tonnes from landfill per year and reduce carbon emissions by at least 1.5 million tonnes.

To further drive this change, Ebay said it will only be promoting refurbished and pre-loved deals for this year’s Black Friday across all of its marketing content.

In a release, Murray Lambell, general manager of Ebay UK, said: “In its current form Black Friday is broken, but it’s not too late to make it relevant for today’s consumer.

“While it was first introduced to offer consumers big savings ahead of the festive period, it no longer delivers on that same promise of value. For shoppers it creates a frenzy, with a ‘buying for buying sake’ mentality.

“The cost of living and climate crisis presents new parameters as consumer shopping habits continue to change, as we’ve seen a sharp increase in purchases for pre-loved and refurbished.”