Vinted’s U.S. brick-and-mortar launch brings the popular European fashion resale marketplace to New York, spotlighting hidden closet value and tapping into a booming secondhand apparel industry now worth billions and scaling globally.
The U.K.-based resale platform Vinted is officially live with its first store in the U.S., launching in New York with a pointed message: American closets are overflowing with value that has gone unused for far too long. One of Europe’s largest peer-to-peer fashion marketplaces, Vinted arrives with new consumer research that frames its expansion not as a trend play but as a practical response to stalled spending, cramped living spaces, and wardrobes filled with clothes that no longer earn their keep. One in five Americans is holding onto more than $500 worth of unworn clothing — an amount Vinted equates to roughly a week’s rent in New York City.
Fifty-five percent of New York City residents say they don’t have enough closet space — 32 percent higher than the national average — and younger New Yorkers aged 25 to 34 often own multiple unworn pieces with price tags still attached.
Vinted is not new to resale; the platform has become Europe’s leading online marketplace for buying and selling secondhand clothing and accessories, and is widely used across 22 EU countries. Unlike U.S. competitors — which charge sellers a fee — Vinted lets sellers list without paying selling fees, meaning they keep every dollar they earn, with buyers covering the fees instead.
The broader secondhand apparel ecosystem in the U.S. has been rapidly expanding for years, well before Vinted’s formal debut. The U.S. secondhand apparel market grew approximately 14 percent in 2024, its strongest annual increase since 2021, outpacing the broader retail clothing market by roughly five times. Analysts project U.S. online resale alone could nearly double to reach $40 billion by 2029.
Could Vinted’s U.S. launch shift consumer behavior?
Vinted is betting that Americans will respond to a platform that makes clearing closets and earning cash straightforward. “We’re on a mission to make second-hand the first choice, because we know there’s huge value in what’s sitting at the bottom of closets across the country,” Adam Jay, Vinted Marketplace CEO, said in a statement. “In Europe, we’ve spent years helping people make money from their unwanted items, and save money by buying secondhand instead of new. Now, we want to do the same in the U.S. The research shows, there’s a real opportunity for Americans to release their wardrobe, and start discovering the benefits of shopping secondhand.”
Vinted’s model appeals to the value-seeking consumer without intermediaries between buyer and seller. Sellers list items for free and keep their full earnings; buyers can filter across a wide range of styles and price points, from everyday basics to premium names. For consumers who have watched market trends tilt toward pre-owned luxury and everyday pieces alike — and for whom environmental or cost concerns now shape fashion choices — that model could feel timely.
The secondhand sector boom
Across the broader resale spectrum — including thrift, consignment, and online resale — the total U.S. secondhand market generated an estimated $56 billion in 2025 and is forecast to exceed $74 billion by 2029. Participation has surged: roughly 93 percent of Americans report shopping online for secondhand items, and about one-third of clothing purchases in the U.S. over the past year were pre-owned. Globally, too, secondhand fashion is appreciable. Estimates at more than $210 billion in 2025, it’s expected to reach nearly $580 billion by 2035.
Data underpinning these shifts often points to a broader change in how shoppers — especially younger ones — think about wardrobes. A recent survey found nearly half of Americans don’t realize their old clothes have resale value, even as half say “closet clutter” is a stressor. Elsewhere, generational shopping data shows that online resale and thrift platforms account for a large share of resale spending, with younger cohorts demonstrating distinct preferences for preloved finds in place of new purchases.
Luxury resale platform The RealReal recently reported third-quarter results that exceeded expectations while unveiling Athena, an AI-powered system designed to accelerate authentication, product descriptions, and pricing for luxury consignment. The technology is intended to reduce processing time and improve efficiency across its highly hands-on resale model, reinforcing its position as a scaled luxury marketplace in the U.S., even as profitability remains a work in progress.
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