Thrifting gains popularity as KC shoppers look to save money

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If you want a cute dress or some home goods, chances are, you’re looking to buy secondhand, according to a new report by online retailer threadUP.

According to the report, the resale market is the fastest growing apparel market in the U.S. Globally, the resale market is expected to grow 127% by 2026.

“Thrifting used to be like, ‘Oh no you’re going thrifting,’ but now you get to find like really cool finds,” said teenager Jacqueline Morgan, who was shopping at the Goodwill store in Liberty Tuesday afternoon.

Sixty-two percent of Gen Z and Millennial shoppers surveyed said they look for an item secondhand before purchasing it new.

The biggest motivating factor for buying used, though, is saving money.

“Shoppers come through often because they know that they can find great deals at a reasonable price, at a fraction of what they would pay at a traditional retail store,” said Keisha Gracius, Director of Retail Operations at Goodwill of Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas.

Finding one of a kind items is also something that customers search for and sometimes they’re willing to pay big bucks for something that nobody else has.

Patrick Klima owns WyCo Vintage. They sell vintage t-shirts and apparel starting at $40 and going into the thousands for really unique items.

“There’s an actual Woodstock security jacket. This is an original jacket that the security personnel at Woodstock would have been wearing,” he said.

Klima started off selling vintage tees online in 2008 and has since expanded his online and brick and mortar business, with two shops on Broadway.

He said more and more people seem to be buying vintage online.

“We do a drop every single week, where it started out like maybe like 40 shirts a week but now we add 75 to 100 shirts every week Friday at 10 a.m.,” he said.     

Klima, who never wears new t-shirts, prefers to resell his vintage clothes when he’s done with them.

“You can get your value out of wearing something,” he said. “When you’re done with it, you sell it. Then you go buy something new or buy something used.”  

He isn’t alone. Two out of three customers in the survey believe that their individual consumption habits have a big impact on the planet.

Last year, secondhand purchases displaced nearly one billion new clothing purchases.