The year of Thriftmas: Why secondhand gifts could finally go mainstream this holiday season

Oxnam, a 53-year-old Maryland-based investment firm executive, has been shopping secondhand for herself for many years. But she had never gifted someone a thrifted item until last Christmas. The Hermès scarf was such a hit that she now feels more comfortable including secondhand items in this year’s holiday shopping list. She’s among a growing number of shoppers who say pre-owned gifts no longer carry the stigma they once did and can even feel more thoughtful than buying something new off a store shelf.

What was once considered a faux pas is increasingly becoming a normalized part of holiday gift-giving. More consumers are turning to thrift stores, consignment shops and resale platforms for presents this season. They’re drawn by lower prices, unique finds and a growing comfort with pre-owned goods as tariffs and inflation push shoppers to rethink how — and where — they spend. Resale platforms say shoppers are not only buying used items for themselves, but are also increasingly confident giving them as gifts.

Resale platforms have long pointed to survey data suggesting shoppers are gradually warming to the idea of buying and receiving secondhand items as gifts. But this holiday season may mark a tipping point, as higher prices driven by tariffs and inflation, combined with better authentication tools and curated resale offerings, make pre-owned gifts feel not just acceptable, but savvy.

More than half of shoppers — nearly six in 10 — say they would consider buying a secondhand gift for someone else this year, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual holiday survey. Books and media tend to be the most popular secondhand gifts, followed by clothing, accessories and home decor.

Sucharita Kodali, a principal analyst at Forrester, attributed the rise in secondhand gifting to a general “upleveling of what’s available for resale,” she said. “There are a lot of high-quality brands that are available online for a good price and in good condition, and you can find that virtual path relatively easily.”

Oxnam said she’s more willing to gift secondhand items because it has become much easier to verify what she’s buying. Features like authentication guarantees, detailed condition notes and high-quality photos — and, in some cases, videos of items — have reduced the guesswork that once came with resale shopping. That added transparency has made secondhand purchases feel more reliable and gift-appropriate, rather than risky or uncertain.

“I got much more comfortable with live shopping because you could ask, ‘Show it to me — let me see the corner. Can you show me the inside?’” Oxnam said. “It was almost like being in a store and actually seeing it.”

Secondhand reseller Kristen Boelen, who sells vintage women’s apparel through her store Lunch Break Thrift on Whatnot, said she has noticed an uptick in gift-related purchases during the holiday season. Accessories and outerwear tend to be the most common gift items, she said, since buyers don’t have to worry as much about fit. During live shows, Boelen often learns an item is a gift through comments that pop up immediately after an auction closes, such as, “Thanks so much — my daughter’s going to love it.” She has also picked up on gifting through repeat customers, noticing when regular buyers suddenly purchase items outside their usual size range.

Some shoppers are also forgoing physical gifts in favor of gift cards to thrift and resale shops. Gift card purchases at ThredUp, for instance, are up nearly 60% year-over-year for November, the company told Modern Retail.

Fashionphile, a pre-owned-goods e-commerce company, said it’s also seeing strong gifting signals from categories like small leather goods and jewelry, where both purchase volume and search interest have grown. Sales for belts are up 44% from last year, while searches have more than doubled.

The RealReal is seeing a 32% increase in Gen-Z buyers compared to 2024, a company spokesperson told Modern Retail. Data shows Gen Z is significantly more likely to gift secondhand items. About 86% of Gen Z shoppers say they’re more likely to purchase a secondhand holiday gift this year compared to last year, according to an eBay spokesperson. The RealReal also said it’s seeing “strength in demand for high-value items,” including Gucci and Chanel handbags, Hermès scarves and Tiffany necklaces. As Modern Retail previously reported, used luxury goods, in particular, are seeing a boost from holiday shoppers.

Even the tech giant Meta is betting the stigma of gifting used goods has largely faded. Last week, Facebook Marketplace launched its first-ever holiday shop, an in-app storefront for holiday gifting featuring listings for used items across categories like fashion, electronics and collectibles. “Gen Z is driving the shift toward secondhand shopping, with one in four young adult daily active users in the U.S. and Canada visiting Marketplace every day,” the company said in a press release.

The resale industry has had a strong year so far, even ahead of the holiday shopping season. Secondhand shopping companies who previously spoke to Modern Retail are reporting record user growth and sales spikes as consumers hunt for duty-free bargains amid President Donald Trump’s trade war. The secondhand market is forecast to grow to $74 billion by 2029, according to an estimate by ThredUp. As such, resale businesses are prepping for what could be their biggest holiday season yet.

In November, The RealReal saw quarterly gross merchandise volume surge 20% from last year to $520 million — a record for the company. The RealReal raised its full-year GMV guidance to more than $2.1 billion. CEO Rati Levesque said on the earnings call that “rising acceptance of luxury resale is fueling the adoption of secondhand and holiday gifting.”

Similarly, ThredUp saw revenues swell in the third quarter to $82.2 million, up 34% year-over-year. October also represented the company’s best-ever month for new customer acquisition. CEO James Reinhart said the company expects price and value to be “of utmost importance this holiday season,” citing tariffs and the closure of the de minimis loophole as forces pushing shoppers toward secondhand apparel. However, he also warned that a weaker consumer could result in reduced overall holiday spending, even if resale gains share.

Indeed, President Donald Trump’s trade war, which has raised concerns about rising prices, is playing a part. Nearly half of consumers surveyed for NRF’s annual holiday report said they are buying secondhand gifts to save money, while 25% said they are looking for greater value. Tariffs have also pushed Oxnam to buy more secondhand gifts this year. She had been considering gifting a cashmere sweater until she learned that the vendor, which is based in the U.K., had stopped shipping products to the U.S. because of tariffs. “I realized, ‘Oh, I can’t get that. I’m going to have to shift gears,” she said.

While consumers are more comfortable with secondhand gifting thanks to the rising popularity of platforms like Whatnot, ThredUp and The RealReal, gifting still carries “a bit of a stigma,” Boelen said. Indeed, some penny-pinched consumers are turning to Reddit forums for advice on whether or not it’s gauche to gift a used item to loved ones during the holidays. One Redditor asked in the r/Frugal forum a few days ago: “Is it rude to buy people gifts from the thrift store for Christmas?” Many commentators said they thought pre-owned goods could be more thoughtful than brand-new gifts. But some said it depended on the gift in question. For example, “Clothes? Nope, I’m very picky about the clothes I thrift,” one user wrote. Another user said, “Most of my friends and family members would at the very least be a little weirded out by a gift that looked used.”

Normally, 26-year-old Kelly Reed wouldn’t give previously owned presents for the holidays. But money is tight this year — she’s still job-searching after graduating from a master’s program in May. She’s on the hunt for low-cost Christmas gifts, so she turned to Crossroads Trading in New York City, a chain store that buys and sells used clothes, for ideas. She’s also decluttering her own closet to sell on online marketplaces to fund holiday gifts. 

As she put it, “If I shop secondhand, I can buy more for less and not cut back on anything for anyone just because I don’t have a lot of money right now.”