Consumers are favouring secondhand marketplaces amid cost-of-living crisis

A new report by Cardlytics has found that consumers are being driven towards discount brands and secondhand marketplaces as the cost-of-living crisis continues to take a toll on UK spending.

According to the advertising platform’s State of Retail Spend report, over half of consumers are planning to shop at discount homeware and fashion brands this year, while there was also a significant increase in shoppers turning to secondhand marketplaces.

Discount retailers had seen the largest increase in spend over the first half of 2022, up 12 percent from 2021.

Meanwhile, secondhand platforms also experienced an uptick of seven percent in spend, with the average number of transactions made on relevant platforms rising six percent.

Next to the increase in purchasing, both sectors have also seen a rise in the amount spent per person.

Cardlytics said that in 2022 customers are spending around 207.63 pounds on secondhand marketplaces, a significant 482 percent rise compared to the 2019 average, 35.67 pounds.

The report stated that this trend was likely to continue as prices rise and customers become more aware of the environmental impact their purchasing has.

Retailers must invest in supporting consumers long-term

Shoppers were also found to be favouring high street brands over designer labels, with the latter seeing spending fall by seven percent in the first six months of this year.

The number of transactions also dropped at luxury brands by 10 percent in the same period.

Around 60 percent of consumers stated they were planning to spend less on luxury goods this year, while 48 percent said they were looking to switch to cheaper brands.

Despite the ongoing crisis, high street retailers were said to be benefiting from this move away from designer brands, with spending and transactions at high street fashions brands up 11 percent.

In a release for the report, Dawn Reid, VP advertising partnerships at Cardlytics, said: “There's an opportunity for retailers to invest now, to support consumers longer term, whether through investing in price and discount ranges, value-focused marketing, or loyalty schemes, brands can put money back into their loyal customers' wallets and help build longer term brand affinity.

“Those brands that can grow and retain their customer base now, when times are tough, will be most likely to succeed in future.”