The Acceleration of E-Commerce: COVID-19 Spurs Online Buying Across Categories

Increased online consumer spending was spurred by COVID-induced store closures, capacity restrictions and consumer fear of transmission in public spaces.

$861B spent online with US merchants in 2020

+44% increase in spend since 2019

+3x the e-commerce growth from 2019

$6.3T forecasted 2024 global online sales

Supercharged Growth in Online Furniture Sales

Pre-pandemic, the furniture and homeware category was the fastest growing e-commerce segment as consumers warmed up to buying these products online.

During the pandemic, buyers became more comfortable buying big-ticket furniture items online, including desks, chairs, and sofas.

+41% In 2020, online furniture and houseware sales reached $36.1B, an increase of

Furniture Spending by Channel

$177.1B By 2027, the furniture and housewares market is expected to reach

Online Furniture and Homeware Sales

127% By 2027, sales are expected to grow

The Rise of Recommerce: The Resale Industry Is Skyrocketing

Consumers’ spending habits have evolved, including the appetite for resale across every category. In 2020, 48% of Americans bought an item through resale.

$130.6B From 2017 to 2024, the global resale market is expected to triple to reach

Largest Resale Categories Worldwide

Consumers’ Fashion Resale Habit Moves To Home Furnishings

Pre-pandemic, fashion was the star of the resale market. In 2018, fashion comprised 49% of the resale market, with home furnishings accounting for a mere 11%. As the most developed of the resale categories, fashion introduced buyers to the benefits of recommerce.

In 2020, the home category suddenly became the fastest growing resale segment. While fashion remains the most popular sector of the resale market, Americans are now embracing similar secondhand habits when it comes to their homes.

Younger shoppers brought resale to the mainstream

80% of Gen Z says there’s no stigma to buying used fashion

Three Key Factors Moved Buyers Towards Resale

1

2

3

Resale Home Furnishings Market Growth

Over the next 5 years, the resale home furnishings category is projected to grow by a whopping 54%. That’s 3.5x faster than traditional retail.

66% of US homes now have resale home goods and furniture inside

35% of Americans purchased home products in 2020 on resale apps

E-commerce + Recommerce = Explosive Growth in Home Furnishings

Increased shopper comfort with buying furniture online and growing consumer appreciation for resale have translated into explosive growth for digital home furnishings recommerce platforms.

Among Millennial and Gen Z consumers, 31% report that the pandemic increased their interest in buying used, vintage, or antique furniture online.

70% of shoppers plan to continue purchasing pre-owned products online after COVID-19

$16.6B of secondhand furniture is expected to be sold by 2025—that’s a 70%increase from 2018

Buying and selling secondhand extends the lives of your favorite pieces and keeps them in circulation longer.

As the US's leading online resale destination for home furnishings, Chairish's sales increased 60% in 2020.

+2,000 items added daily on Chairish

Industry Insiders Agree On Shifting Consumer Habits

The Fast Furniture Fiasco: How It’s Wreaking Havoc on the Environment

“Fast furniture” refers to mass-produced furniture that is made quickly, inexpensively, and often overseas. Most pieces are poor quality and are designed to last only a few years before ending up in the landfill. Though low priced, fast furniture comes at a high environmental cost.

90% of furniture is made overseas, where fewer regulations exist for pollution, labor, and land management.

80% of discarded home furnishings end up in a landfill, while only 0.3% can be recycled.

45% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from product manufacturing. Reusing items significantly reduces their environmental impact.

12M tons of furnishings are thrown out each year in the United States, up from 2 million tons in 1960.

Chairish puts the brakes on fast furniture.

550,133+ vintage, antique, and pre-owned items have been “re-homed” by Chairish since 2013.

The Circular Economy: Why Resale Is The More Sustainable Choice

Resale is at the core of the “circular economy”—the reusing, refurbishing, repairing, and reselling of items. Reselling extends an item’s life, thereby minimizing waste and avoiding the creation of something new, with all its associated environmental impacts.

A “circular economy” minimizes waste by reusing and reselling goods

If more consumers purchase resale goods through the circular economy, by 2030 primary material consumption could be cut by 32%.

Sustainability as a Growing Consumer Priority

Globally, shoppers have realized the environmental benefits of resale.

70% of all consumers agree that addressing climate change is more important now than ever

80% of shoppers say quality is important when choosing pre-owned furniture and home decor— higher-quality goods stay in the circular economy longer

2/3 of buyers of pre-owned furnishings think resale will play a significant role in the future of sustainability

71% of buyers of pre-owned furnishings believe their purchase is better for the planet

Every Generation Expects Retailers And Brands To Become More Sustainable

The Furniture Supply Chain Snarl

Pre-COVID, the furniture industry already had a “long lead time” challenge. Purchases of newly made items could routinely take up to 8-12 weeks to arrive.

With the impact of COVID combined with extreme weather conditions, the lead time problem was exacerbated exponentially. The furniture supply chain worldwide suffered major disruptions due to:

• Factory closures
• Material shortages
• Transportation limitations
• Rising material, labor, and transportation costs

While lead times in the furniture industry are getting ever longer, consumers’ expectations for speedy delivery are also increasing, due to overnight shipping experiences in other categories.

Underscoring the Advantage of Resale

In this “need it now” world, shoppers are increasingly turning to antique, vintage, and previously owned pieces for one simple, practical benefit: availability.

“Designers who already favored vintage pieces to give their spaces patina and character are now shopping old for a different reason altogether. One-of-a-kind pieces are, by definition, in stock.”

Business of Home, April 2021

Resale’s Availability Advantage

Pre-owned furniture offers the critical benefit of availability because:

• It already exists and is ready to ship. These items aren’t subject to material or production delays;
• It can be sourced domestically (and even locally) and distributed via a point-to-point model, reducing shipping times and minimizing the environmental impact of transportation.

Traditional Distribution

Chairish Resale Marketplace Distribution

Point–to–Point Model

Chairish offsets 100% of estimated carbon emissions from US shipping

Where is furniture resale going next? Consumers love the thrill of the hunt

86% of shoppers say they love to hunt for pre-owned, vintage, and antique home furnishings —with the acceleration of online resale, consumers have 24/7 access to a vast selection of unique home items

76% of shoppers like pre-owned home decor because of the individuality and uniqueness of the pieces— shoppers can achieve a one-of-a-kind look that isn’t available anywhere else

Current Trends Indicate That Resale Will Continue To Grow exponentially

Not only are more Americans interested in reselling their furniture, but Millennial and Gen Z consumers are becoming especially enthusiastic about it as they come into home ownership and furnish their own spaces.

44% of Millennials have already resold pieces of furniture

44% of Gen Z anticipate reselling their home furnishings in the future

Top-Notch Resale Brands

These well-known names can retain much of their original value and may even provide a profit over time.

Most Loved on Chairish

These styles are some of our shoppers’ all-time favorite vintage finds.

Where Chairish Stands & Where We Go From Here

Chairish is committed to doing our part to create a more sustainable home furnishings industry. We're proud to have resold over 550,133 vintage, antique, and pre-owned items, and we’re just getting started.

Chairish expects to offset 588 metric tons of carbon emissions over the next year. That’s like recycling over 25,000 bags of waste or planting 9,700 trees.