ThredUp bets wedding guest outfits can drive secondhand growth
ThredUp hopes wedding guests will say yes to resale.
The platform is working to become a go-to destination for anyone looking for secondhand dresses, shoes and accessories for the summer wedding season. Not only does ThredUp’s website have a new landing page called “The Wedding Guest Shop,” but it has also rolled out a new AI tool called “Dress Code Decoder” that suggests outfits based on invitations’ dress codes, like “beach party.” In addition, ThredUp held its first wedding pop-up in New York City on May 30 and paired up with Jenna Lyons, the former president of J.Crew, on curated wedding looks.
Today, wedding-wear shopping goes beyond the big day itself, said Danielle Vermeer, ThredUp’s head of product. Guests are looking for outfits for various events along the way — like the bridal shower, the bachelorette trip, the rehearsal dinner and the welcome drinks — all while staying on a budget. As ThredUp offers peer-to-peer resale, it’s hoping its new suite of tools will help wedding guests choose secondhand over new, full-price options.
“We can see what customers are searching for, and especially this season, it’s really all about wedding and occasion wear,” Vermeer said. “Dresses are that top category right now. … This is really a full-funnel, 360 [degree] campaign to help get the word out around [the fact that], of the 4 million items on ThredUp’s site, … there is a dress for every occasion, every budget and every body.”
ThredUp relied on research to build its new wedding-wear offerings. In April, the platform surveyed some 1,400 U.S. adults who had attended a wedding within the last 18 months. Many agreed that dressing for a wedding can feel like a part-time job. More than half (58%) said wedding dress codes have become more niche compared to five years ago. Forty-two percent said they have reduced spending on dining and entertainment to afford wedding attire, and more than one in three said they feel pressure not to repeat wedding outfits.
With weddings, there’s “a whole ecosystem” around what to wear, Vermeer said. “[Guests] often feel like they need to have a new dress for every occasion — not just because of the pressure of social media, where you know you’re going to be in different photos or videos on Instagram [or] TikTok, but also because one dress code may be very different from another, so it’s not easy to just rinse, repeat, rewear [outfits],” she explained. “Even if you know you don’t have to have something new for each event, there’s social pressure … and aesthetic pressure.”
ThredUp’s “Dress Code Decoder,” then, is built to guide guests through what can be a “taxing” process, Vermeer said. It can be hard to tell, she explained, what “garden party” or “gothmaxxing” means, when it comes to color schemes and silhouettes. With “Dress Code Decoder,” ThredUp users can click on pre-populated, themed Pinterest boards to see similar styles available on ThredUp. They can also upload their own Pinterest boards to get matches on ThredUp.
“Dress Code Decoder” lives on ThredUp’s recently-launched landing page for weddings. Called “The Wedding Guest Shop,” the page also includes curated wedding looks from Lyons, as well as a spotlight on categories like shoes and handbags. A section called “From Screenshot to Secondhand” allows users to upload wedding outfit inspiration pictures and get matches back on ThredUp. ThredUp’s AI handles things on the back end, including tagging and labeling items appropriately.
Already, ThredUp’s new digital tools are paying off. According to the company, visitors to “The Wedding Guest Shop” are 3X more likely to convert, compared to the average site rate. Meanwhile, users on “Dress Code Decoder” convert at about 5X the site average. People are using the tools to “discover new brands, favorite items and purchase items,” Vermeer said.
ThredUp is also looking to appeal to shoppers wanting to try on looks in person. Its May 30 wedding boutique included a curated edit of secondhand looks, as well as a bouquet-building station and a display of mini cakes. Featured themes included “European escape” and “coastal prep.” ThredUp is open to holding more wedding boutiques in the future, Vermeer said.
In fact, shopping for wedding outfits today is becoming “increasingly hybrid,” Esther Lee, editorial director at The Knot Worldwide, told Modern Retail. “Online channels are dominating early-stage discovery and exploration,” she explained, with both couples and wedding parties using digital platforms to browse styles and coordinate looks. At the same time, she said, “Considerations such as fit, fabric and overall feel continue to drive in-person appointments.” “For brands, this underscores the need for a seamless omnichannel experience,” she added.
As ThredUp is a resale company, “The Wedding Guest Shop” also encourages users to wear items and then pass them on. ThredUp’s wedding survey in April found that 81% of Gen Z respondents reported wearing a wedding look only once. The average guest also reported spending $550–$820 on wedding outfits that end up sitting in their closets. Only 36% of respondents mentioned reselling the looks.
“The Wedding Guest Shop,” for this reason, has information on how to order Clean-Out kits from ThredUp, Vermeer said. The platform also recently launched a feature called My Resale Closet, in which users can see their past purchases from ThredUp. Each item is given a “hotness score, in a way, of what will be likely to resell quickly,” Vermeer said. That score is based on a combination of seasonality and current sales.