There is something even more valuable coming from The RealReal’s website than its slashed-price Gucci wares and pre-owned Chanel bags: Data on consumer preferences. With resale market serving to identify macro and micro trends and to determine what consumers want right now, The RealReal is uniquely positioned – with its database of 8 million items sold-to-date in mind – to shed light on what consumers are searching for and buying.
With that in mind, the San Francisco-based consignment site has released its bi-annual State of Luxury Resale report, spotlighting “marketplace trends, best-selling brands and emerging designers in luxury resale.”
According to The RealReal’s report, the most in-demand brand on its platform is Gucci, which beat out rivals Chanel and Louis Vuitton for the top spot for the first time. The Italian design brand – which has experienced a surge in demand under the direction of creative/CEO duo of Alessandro Michele and Marco Bizzarri – saw sales grow on The RealReal’s site by 62 percent among all age groups in the first half of the year; it also saw a boost in terms of search volume for its wares.
In terms of millennials, in particular, searches for Gucci-specific products grew by 48 percent, a figure topped only by Hermès, which is the fastest-growing brand among millennials on The RealReal’s platform. The Paris-based luxury stalwart saw a 71 percent increase among shoppers ages 18 to 34. As for millennial men, in particular, Rolex is the top brand purchased in the first 6 months of 2018, followed by Gucci and Louis Vuitton.
In addition to Gucci and Hermès, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Christian Louboutin round out the top five most popular brands that women are buying and consigning.
As a whole, logo-covered bags are increasing in resale value for women, with Dior’s Saddle bag growing by 89 percent in terms of its resale value. Gucci’s vintage-inspired bag grew by 51 percent, Fendi-logoed bags grew by 32 percent, and Louis Vuitton’s classic monogrammed backpacks grew by 26 percent.
For men, searches for fanny packs surged by a whopping 614 percent and searches for Hawaiian shirts increased by 84 percent.
And not be to ignored, The RealReal’s report spoke specifically to sneakers. According to WWD, “When it comes to kicks, one brand that rules the U.S. is Yeezy, according to The RealReal survey. But not all parts of the country opted for Kanye West‘s footwear. Boston, New York, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco voted for Yeezy x Adidas low-tops; Philadelphia favored Gucci low-tops; Dallas, Gucci high-tops, and Houston, Christian Louboutin high-tops.”