Can Depop make eBay cool again?

For eBay, acquiring Depop offers a direct line to younger consumers. About 90% of Depop’s 7 million active buyers are under 34, eBay’s CEO, Jamie Iannone, told investors during an earnings call. The platform facilitated roughly $1 billion in gross merchandise sales in 2025, including nearly 60% year-over-year growth in the U.S. The deal also bolsters eBay’s fashion category, which generates about $10 billion in annual gross merchandise volume, according to the company.

“Recommerce is one of the fastest-growing segments in global retail, led by Gen Z and millennial consumers who prioritize sustainability, individuality and value,” Iannone said on the call. “These consumers are accelerating the shift towards circular fashion through social-driven shopping behaviors.”

While eBay is a dominant player in online secondhand commerce — its latest recommerce report says used items represent over 40% of its total GMV — the company has struggled to meaningfully grow its core marketplace. Total active buyers remained relatively flat year over year, according to its most recent earnings report. The company is betting that acquiring Depop will inject new energy into its main marketplace.

Still, reinvigorating a 30-year-old marketplace past its heyday is no easy feat. The online secondhand industry has grown increasingly crowded, with newer upstarts like Whatnot, Poshmark and Trove vying for younger shoppers. Even under eBay’s umbrella, Depop’s cool factor may not automatically rub off on the parent company.

“Gen Z has helped create a coolness around Depop that feels a little bit aspirational, in a way that a chic secondhand store does,” said Casey Lewis, author of the Gen Z-focused Substack After School. “Whereas eBay maybe feels a bit more like Goodwill, or like an old-school antique mall.”

Gen Z drives online thrifting boom

Online thrifting is booming, fueled by inflation-weary shoppers and Gen-Z consumers. Resale companies in the space, including Depop, previously told Modern Retail they saw record user growth and sales spikes in 2025.

For eBay, the moment is both an opportunity and a reminder of its glory days. Founded in 1995 as AuctionWeb, eBay helped invent online resale at a time when buying goods online was still novel. It emerged from the dot-com era as one of the country’s dominant e-commerce players. Today, however, its share of U.S. online sales has fallen from more than 6% in 2019 to about 3% this year, according to eMarketer, as the landscape has become more competitive. 

EBay, for its part, has spent the past several years deepening its presence in fashion and resale. It introduced its Authenticity Guarantee in 2020, an inspection service for high-value items such as luxury handbags, sneakers and watches, in which independent experts verify products before they are shipped to buyers. In 2022, it launched the Circular Fashion Fund, an annual program that provides grants, mentorship and investment to startups and small businesses focused on circular fashion.

Demand for resale is expected to remain strong, and Depop could give eBay a way to sustain that momentum. Gen Z’s affinity for Depop is already influencing even younger consumers, according to Lewis. As part of her research, Lewis regularly speaks with teenagers in Gen Alpha about their shopping habits, and many bring up thrifting, often specifically through Depop.

“Most of the listings on Depop have a personalized touch of, ‘This is what [an item] looks like — not just on a mannequin, but on me,’” Lewis said. “And a lot of the descriptions are very personal. Like, ‘I wore this when my ex broke up with me, and now it’s time to send it to a new home.’”

That approach creates a sense of connection younger shoppers value, she said — an experience that can be harder to replicate on larger marketplaces.

“You simply don’t see that on eBay,” Lewis added. “EBay is so corporate at this point — it’s been around for so long — and it just feels impersonal.”

‘EBay‑fy Depop’

Still, Depop did little to accelerate Etsy’s sales growth, which some analysts say raises questions about whether it can deliver a stronger boost for eBay. Etsy, known for its marketplace of handmade and artisanal goods, said it was selling Depop to focus on its core marketplace. The company’s revenue in 2025 only grew 2.7% year over year. Its fourth-quarter net income fell 14.8% year over year to $110.7 million. 

“Anytime somebody is selling you something for less than what they bought it for, either they overpaid or it was a bad deal in the first place,” said Sucharita Kodali, a principal analyst at Forrester. “When you look at it objectively, there is a question of, ‘Was Depop even worth that to start with?'”

Others were more optimistic. 

Scott Devitt, a Wedbush equity research analyst who covers eBay and Etsy, called the deal “a classic win-win” for both parties. “Etsy can focus on its core and get paid for something the market was basically valuing at zero, and eBay can allow Depop to blossom by leveraging its existing business and customers in the category,” he said. 

To make the most of Depop’s built-in Gen-Z audience, eBay will need to strike the right balance between leveraging its scale and preserving what made the app popular in the first place, analysts say. EBay said it plans to continue to operate Depop as a separate brand.

“One of the things they have to be very careful of is not to eBay‑fy Depop,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail. “When something big acquires something smaller that’s quite innovative, you have to allow the brands a degree of separation to retain what makes them special.”