Intensifying pressures on the household budget coming from the mounting cost of living and stagnant wages growth are helping to drive turnover in the second-hand economy, now valued at $43.5 billion.
Fuelling this buy, swap and sell binge is also the proliferation of e-commerce sites, traditional players such as eBay and Amazon, as well as new platforms springing up on social media, with more than 100 million used goods changing hands over the past 12 months.
Data collected by leading online trading site Gumtree, which was acquired by eBay’s classified group in May 2005, reveals that every Australian household is sitting on just more than $5400 worth of unwanted items spread over, on average, 25 unwanted or unused items under their own roof.
The spread of smartphones, the popularity of online shopping and online connectivity is helping fuel the buying and selling spree, but the steady rise in the cost of living for the average Australian household in an era of stagnant wages is also nudging shoppers into the second-hand economy.
In its latest report on the sector, Gumtree says Australians are recognising that buying second-hand items for the home can potentially free up money for use in other areas, including extra cash to combat increasing living costs, to service debt, to pay rent, to go towards a deposit for a house or to go on a holiday.
This is helping to normalise the idea of buying second-hand goods, rather than always reaching for the brand new item. Gumtree reports that 86 per cent of Australians say they prefer buying second-hand over brand new, with the main reasons being that they can save cash and reduce waste by recycling useful items.
“I think Australians are very good at being resourceful and are looking for the best value, and I think that we are seeing that there is a little bit of uncertainty going forward economically and thinking about how you can be more resourceful and that $5400 worth of items that you could potentially sell that are in your household sitting there collecting dust,’’ said Gumtree Australia local manager Martin Herbst. “Why not collect some dollars?’’
It’s something the highly resourceful Kerrigan family, in the hit Australian movie The Castle, knew very well. But while their second-hand bible, The Trading Post, stopped publishing its highly popular weekly newspaper in 2009 to move exclusively online, consumers are now flooded with online trading platforms.
“The second-hand economy is something that has been around for a long time and what has driven a lot of that is technology, that essentially enables accessibility, and then it’s a virtuous cycle that enables easy buying and selling between neighbours, and among communities,’’ said Mr Herbst.
“When you are getting cash in your pocket and you have the experience of actually being quite positive, you are going to tell more people about it and so that’s what we have been seeing over the past few years.’’
The average buyer estimates they’ve saved about $2000 by buying second hand, representing a saving of about $26.6 billion across Australia in the past 12 months.
According to the Gumtree report the most popular items sold online are housewares and furniture (24 per cent), clothing, shoes and accessories (20 per cent), electronic goods (18 per cent) and games and toys (16 per cent).
It’s Generation Y — those aged in their late-20s — who are most engaged in buying and selling online, with 69 per cent of Gen Y reporting they sold something online in the past year. More than three-quarters of new parents bought second-hand when having a baby.
Fuelling this buy, swap and sell binge is also the proliferation of e-commerce sites, traditional players such as eBay and Amazon, as well as new platforms springing up on social media, with more than 100 million used goods changing hands over the past 12 months.
Data collected by leading online trading site Gumtree, which was acquired by eBay’s classified group in May 2005, reveals that every Australian household is sitting on just more than $5400 worth of unwanted items spread over, on average, 25 unwanted or unused items under their own roof.
The spread of smartphones, the popularity of online shopping and online connectivity is helping fuel the buying and selling spree, but the steady rise in the cost of living for the average Australian household in an era of stagnant wages is also nudging shoppers into the second-hand economy.
In its latest report on the sector, Gumtree says Australians are recognising that buying second-hand items for the home can potentially free up money for use in other areas, including extra cash to combat increasing living costs, to service debt, to pay rent, to go towards a deposit for a house or to go on a holiday.
This is helping to normalise the idea of buying second-hand goods, rather than always reaching for the brand new item. Gumtree reports that 86 per cent of Australians say they prefer buying second-hand over brand new, with the main reasons being that they can save cash and reduce waste by recycling useful items.
“I think Australians are very good at being resourceful and are looking for the best value, and I think that we are seeing that there is a little bit of uncertainty going forward economically and thinking about how you can be more resourceful and that $5400 worth of items that you could potentially sell that are in your household sitting there collecting dust,’’ said Gumtree Australia local manager Martin Herbst. “Why not collect some dollars?’’
It’s something the highly resourceful Kerrigan family, in the hit Australian movie The Castle, knew very well. But while their second-hand bible, The Trading Post, stopped publishing its highly popular weekly newspaper in 2009 to move exclusively online, consumers are now flooded with online trading platforms.
“The second-hand economy is something that has been around for a long time and what has driven a lot of that is technology, that essentially enables accessibility, and then it’s a virtuous cycle that enables easy buying and selling between neighbours, and among communities,’’ said Mr Herbst.
“When you are getting cash in your pocket and you have the experience of actually being quite positive, you are going to tell more people about it and so that’s what we have been seeing over the past few years.’’
The average buyer estimates they’ve saved about $2000 by buying second hand, representing a saving of about $26.6 billion across Australia in the past 12 months.
According to the Gumtree report the most popular items sold online are housewares and furniture (24 per cent), clothing, shoes and accessories (20 per cent), electronic goods (18 per cent) and games and toys (16 per cent).
It’s Generation Y — those aged in their late-20s — who are most engaged in buying and selling online, with 69 per cent of Gen Y reporting they sold something online in the past year. More than three-quarters of new parents bought second-hand when having a baby.
Resource :http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/consumer-pressure-attracts-customers-to-gumtree/news-story/e8469ed7799f4b345d978af61c764481
