The Rise of Secondhand E-Commerce: How Resale Platforms Like Depop and Poshmark Are Shaping Online Retail

In the last ten years, secondhand shopping has gone from a niche activity to a major force in online retail. Once mostly found at garage sales and local thrift stores, the resale market has exploded online, giving rise to platforms like Depop, Poshmark, Mercari, and more. What began as a niche corner of the internet has become a full-blown economic and cultural movement, and it's having a big impact on how online shopping works across the board.

I’ve been fascinated by how these platforms have tapped into not just a growing interest in sustainability, but also a massive opportunity in peer-to-peer (P2P) commerce. It's a space where Gen Z, in particular, has made its mark—flipping thrift finds into full-fledged side hustles, and in some cases, entire businesses. According to thredUP’s 2024 Resale Report, nearly 45% of Gen Z shoppers prefer buying secondhand apparel in online, more than any other age group, highlighting how much this generation is shaping the secondhand economy. But beyond the buzz around vintage fashion and sustainable style, secondhand e-commerce is quietly teaching the entire digital retail space a few lessons.

Platform Power: Building Trust in P2P Commerce

One of the biggest hurdles in P2P commerce is trust. Buyers need to feel confident that what they’re buying is authentic, fairly priced, and will arrive as expected. Platforms like Poshmark and Depop have tackled this by building in layers of community validation—ratings, reviews, and direct messaging—as well as seller verification tools and buyer protections.

These platforms have evolved into their own ecosystems. Depop, for instance, blends marketplace functionality with social media behavior. Users follow sellers, like items, and even comment on listings in ways that mirror Instagram. This fusion of community and commerce creates a kind of loyalty and ongoing engagement that traditional e-commerce brands should take note of.

Design and UX Tailored to Discovery

What’s fascinating is how these platforms prioritize discovery over traditional catalog-style shopping. You don’t go to Depop just to search—you go to browse, to be inspired, to stumble onto something you didn’t know you needed. That’s a subtle but important shift in user behavior, and it’s fueled by algorithmic curation, hashtag systems, and mobile-first interfaces.

For emerging e-commerce brands, this suggests that shopping experiences shouldn’t always be linear or search-driven. The more a platform can enable organic discovery, the more time users are likely to spend browsing—and the more likely they are to buy.

Logistics and the Long Tail

Secondhand platforms also challenge assumptions about logistics. Unlike traditional e-commerce where fulfillment is centralized, resale platforms are decentralized by design. Every seller handles their own shipping, which dramatically lowers operational overhead for the platform itself.

At the same time, it introduces variability that needs to be managed through smart UX and strong policy enforcement. Messaging, expected handling times, and shipping integrations all play a part in ensuring a good experience. This model might not be right for every brand, but it opens the door for more decentralized and community-driven commerce models—particularly in niche categories.

Data-Driven, Creator-Driven Commerce

Another standout feature of these platforms is how they empower individual sellers as creators. The best resellers on Poshmark or Depop don’t just post items—they stage them, brand their pages, run promos, and engage with their audiences. The platform gives them the tools to succeed, and in turn, they drive traffic and sales.

This dynamic has major implications. E-commerce is no longer just about listing a product. It’s about storytelling, community building, and micro-influencer engagement. Platforms that understand this—and build tools accordingly—will have a serious edge.

What This Means for the Future of E-Commerce

We’re in the midst of a shift where resale is no longer a sideshow—it’s becoming a core part of how people shop online. According to thredUP’s 2025 Resale Report, the global secondhand apparel market alone is expected to grow 2.7 times faster than the global market by 2029, reaching $367 billion. But again, it’s not just about clothes. The secondhand mindset is spreading to electronics, home goods, books, and more.

For e-commerce professionals, there’s a clear takeaway: pay attention to what’s working in resale. Whether it’s community features, UX built around discovery, or seller empowerment tools, these platforms are shaping the next generation of online retail.

The resale revolution isn’t just changing what people buy—it’s changing how they buy. And that’s a trend no one in digital commerce can afford to ignore.