CONSUMERS ARE UNLOCKING THE VALUE OF THEIR PAST PURCHASES.
Raise your hand if you have your eye on a savvy buy for spring. Keep it up if you also have a room, closet or drawer in your home where your less-loved belongings live untouched. Whether it’s the latest tablet, a hot new watch or a much bigger investment, we crave the new and exciting experience promised by the ‚Äònext’ leaving many of our possessions collecting dust. Recommerce is the solution.
These days, nearly every major phone service carrier has a buyback program and with Gazelle, Amazon, eBay Instant Sale and now Apple itself allowing customers to trade in used electronics for cash or an upgrade, there is little reason to keep gadgets you’re no longer using. But recommerce has more recently been taken to a whole new level with online exchange programs and the rise of the mobile marketplace.
These options offer smart and convenient ways to unlock the value of past purchases by trading in to trade up, or donating belongings to raise money for a cause. Cash strapped and price-conscious buyers can easily embrace creative solutions that give the perfect excuse to buy something new, guilt-free. Recommerce is not revolutionary— even mom’s garage sale was recommerece in its earliest form and many get a status fix from being shrewd, eco-chic¬†and charitable.
On the flip side, businesses that foster recommerce make grateful customers. These customers are likely to realize the value of past purchases and in turn, promote the product’s long-term value. Help buyers see that buying goods from you is an opportunity to invest in a higher quality premium brand that they can easily and lucratively (re)sell later.
Examples of this Trend
Schoola is an online retailer that sells gently worn school apparel and uniforms at low prices. People wanting to donate are sent pre-paid postage bags to fill with unwanted, brand-name kids apparel. Forty percent of the sale of each item is given back to the school from which it was donated, so when you shop at Schoola, you’re giving back too.¬†
Bib + Tuck is a recommerce platform via iOS app that allows users to sell designer and vintage clothes, shoes and accessories. Through the app, users add filters to product photos, follow closets, message other sellers and create personalized shopping feeds. Sellers and buyers trade using “bucks”, the site’s virtual currency, which can be exchanged for apparel or converted to cash.
Introduced in February, Heart Research UK launched a campaign encouraging people to raise money for the non-profit by selling gifts received from former lovers. Participants upload a photo of their item with #InstaHeartAuction. The items are also shown on an auction microsite and all proceeds benefit Heart Research UK.