ThredUp Report Finds One-of-a-Kind Beats Brand New for Holiday Gifts, as 62% of Americans Plan to Buy Secondhand
Holiday items sold rose 37% from 2023 to 2025, outpacing the 22% increase in items sold for the full year.
Sentiment and the balance of points
Rhea-AI Sentiment reads the wording of the document, how positive or negative its language is on a 1 to 5 scale. The balance of points shown with the takes weighs what the document actually discloses, so the two can disagree, for example when a trial that missed its main goal is described in upbeat language.
Rhea-AI Summary
ThredUp (TDUP) released its 2026 Holiday Resale Report, finding that 62% of Americans plan to buy secondhand this season. The report found that 55% would prefer a one-of-a-kind, vintage or hard-to-find secondhand gift in excellent condition over a brand-new, mass-produced version. Also, 53% have sold or expect to sell items they own to help pay for the holidays.
ThredUp’s own holiday sales grew faster than its full-year sales over the past two seasons. Holiday items sold rose 37% from 2023 to 2025, compared with 22% for the full year.
How this balance works
Rhea-AI gives every point it takes from this document a weight. Minor counts 1, Moderate 3 and Major 9, so one Major point outweighs several Minor ones. The bar adds up the weights on each side, and when neither side holds more than 65% of the total the balance reads Mixed.
It reads the document as published, with the same rules for every company, and it does not look at what the market expected or at how the stock traded, so a point can be objectively good on a day the stock falls.
Rhea-AI Sentiment measures something else, the tone of the wording.
Positive
- Moderate pointHoliday items sold rose 37% from 2023 to 2025, versus 22% for the full year.
Negative
- None.
Key Figures
- Planning to buy secondhand
- 62%
- Americans planning to buy secondhand this season
- Preference for secondhand gifts
- 55%
- Americans who would rather receive a one-of-a-kind secondhand gift than a new mass-produced version
- Holiday gift budget for secondhand
- 37%
- Average share among those planning to buy secondhand
- Millennial gift budget for secondhand
- 45%
- Average share among millennials planning to buy secondhand
- Holiday items sold growth
- 37%
- Increase from 2023 to 2025
- Full-year items sold growth
- 22%
- Increase from 2023 to 2025; comparison with holiday items sold growth
- Sold or expect to sell items
- 53%
- Americans who have sold or expect to sell items to help pay for the holidays
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ThredUp (NASDAQ: TDUP, LTSE: TDUP), one of the largest online resale platforms for apparel, shoes, and accessories, today released its 2026 Holiday Resale Report. The report finds that
Beyond gifting, the report examines how Americans manage the demands of a busier holiday season. People expect more than twice as many social occasions this November and December as in a typical two-month period, and
“For years, a secondhand gift was the budget choice. Now it’s the thoughtful one,” said James Reinhart, ThredUp co-founder and CEO. “People want gifts that feel personal and one-of-a-kind, and secondhand is where they’re finding them.”
How secondhand fits into the holidays:
- More than a third of the gift budget goes secondhand: Those planning to buy secondhand expect to put
37% of their holiday gift budget toward secondhand items, on average, rising to45% among millennials. - Gifts for more people:
30% expect secondhand to help them buy gifts for more people, up from23% last year. - Uniqueness rivals savings: When receiving a secondhand gift, people value uniqueness nearly as much as savings, and millennials rank it first.
- A gift doesn’t have to be new to be loved:
84% would like a gift they already loved the same or more after learning it was secondhand. - Holiday sales grew faster than the full year: ThredUp’s holiday sales grew faster than its full-year sales over the past two seasons. Holiday items sold rose
37% from 2023 to 2025, compared with22% for the full year.
Closets can become holiday cash:
53% have sold or expect to sell items they own to help pay for the holidays, rising to66% of Gen Z and69% of millennials.- Heading into the holidays, handbags from brands like Tory Burch, Coach and Longchamp, and occasion and contemporary labels like DÔEN, Veronica Beard and Ulla Johnson, are among the top earners on ThredUp’s Direct Listing.
“The clothes you’re not wearing can help fund the gifts you’re giving,” said Danielle Vermeer, ThredUp head of product. “With Clean Out and Direct Listing, it’s easy to turn pieces you no longer wear into extra holiday cash. There’s something really fun about knowing that what’s sitting in your closet could become someone else’s next great find.”
View the 2026 Holiday Resale Report here.
About the 2026 Holiday Resale Report
ThredUp’s 2026 Holiday Resale Report combines consumer survey data from GlobalData, a third-party retail analytics firm, with ThredUp’s proprietary marketplace data. GlobalData conducted the survey for ThredUp from Sept. 4 to Sept. 18, 2026, among 2,123 U.S. adults, nationally representative by age, gender, location and income. Year-over-year survey comparisons are based on respondents’ recollection of the 2025 holiday season. Holiday sales figures compare ThredUp.com sales during the holiday season (Nov. 1 to Dec. 24) with full-year sales (Jan. 1 to Dec. 31), 2023 through 2025. Direct Listing figures are based on a sample of items sold by individual sellers through ThredUp’s Direct Listing from Oct. 20, 2025, to Oct. 20, 2026, and reflect average sale prices for brands and categories with at least 100 items sold.
About ThredUp
ThredUp is transforming resale with technology and a mission to inspire the world to think secondhand first, embracing the idea that the past is the future, and the future starts today. By making it easy to buy and sell secondhand, ThredUp has become one of the world's largest online resale platforms for apparel, shoes, and accessories. Sellers love ThredUp because we make it easy to clean out their closets and unlock value for themselves or for the charity of their choice, all while doing good for the planet. Buyers love shopping value, premium, and luxury brands all in one place, at up to
Contacts
Media Contact
Farrell Klein / Jamie Han
media@thredup.com
FAQ
AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
What did ThredUp’s 2026 Holiday Resale Report find about secondhand gifting?
62% of Americans plan to buy secondhand this season. The report also found that 55% would rather receive a one-of-a-kind, vintage or hard-to-find secondhand gift in excellent condition than a brand-new, mass-produced version.
How much do secondhand shoppers plan to spend on resale gifts in ThredUp’s holiday report?
People planning to buy secondhand expect to allocate 37% of their holiday gift budget to secondhand items on average, rising to 45% among millennials.