ThredUp's resale report uncovers truth behind holiday gifting trends

Black Friday is only a few days away, yet it is already ramping up to be a busy shopping day as retailers announce big mark-downs to drive consumers to shop. However, popular digital fashion resale platform ThredUp has published its new “Holiday Purge” data report to warn against impulse shopping through shedding light on some facts about unwanted fashion gifts.

ThredUp said that it receives a surge of unwanted holiday gifts every January. "More never-worn, new-with-tags items are sent to ThredUP post-holiday than other times of year," the company explained in a blog post.

Using insights from purged holiday gifts and observations made throughout the year, ThredUp created its Holiday Purge report, revealing insights as to how consumers can shop more sustainably this holiday season.

Best fashion gift: Lululemon

If you're not sure what to buy as a holiday gift, Lululemon items seem to be a good choice, according to ThredUp's research. It found that Lululemon is the least "regretted" purchase, as 97 percent of items from the brand that were sent into ThredUP had been worn and were without tags attached.

Best luxury gift: Prada

Prada seems to rank the highest among big-ticket gift items, as 96 percent of Prada items that ThredUP received in 2019 were used and without tags. The secondhand clothing market surmised from this that Prada items are " aclassic gift choice that holds its resale value."

Most purged gift categories: activewear and Forever 21

Lululemon might always be a safe bet when gifting, but that does not mean that people like to receive other types of activewear as gifts. ThredUp's research found numerous activewar categories to rank high up on the list of purged gifts, particularly naming Asics sneakers, New Balance sneakers and Nike shorts.

Similarly, people do not like to receive Forever 21 items as holiday gifts. ThredUp saw an increase of 98 percent in Forever 21 tops sent in unworn with tags still attached.

Photo courtesy of ThredUp