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This lockdown, the one thing that has been on an upswing for Nohar Nath, founder and CEO of pre-owned clothing website Kiabza, is the rising number of people getting in touch to put up their clothes for sale on the platform. Kiabza, which procures branded second-hand clothes from various sources on a consignment basis, gets 800 products for sale every month. After April 15, that has shot up to 1,400 and more are showing interest everyday.Even though the platform’s sales have dropped 60% due to lockdown restrictions, Nath says these consignment deals have grown 30-40%. Realising a hidden potential early on during the lockdown, Kiabza tweaked its marketing communication through digital channels towards the sell side. “For the first time, people are sitting at home with so much time at hand. They are reevaluating their closets. There is a realisation that you don’t need these many clothes. So they are looking for options other than donating,” says Nath.Other recommerce players such as P2P swap platform This for That and Bengaluru-based swap pop-up Exchange Room have also noticed similar trends.Prithvi Rao, cofounder of Exchange Room, says, “Increased awareness of climate change, personal carbon footprint and also the realisation for many that less is more is giving rise to a wave of ‘make do’ and ‘reduce’ habits. It is a good time to be in this space. The enquiries we get for sales have increased.”That decluttering is on top of the mind of people in lockdown is evinced from the popularity of decluttering coaches who are running packed webinars and workshops. KonMari-trained organising expert Gayatri Gandhi of Joy Factory says she has been flooded with decluttering queries since the lockdown. “The prime reason to not organise has been lack of time. People want their home to be a space that calms them and not something that makes them anxious, upset or low,” she says.Several studies have said most of us use only 20-30% of our wardrobes. Even Kiabza’s self-conducted market research survey had found that most women don’t use 70% of their wardrobe; 50% for men. 76361417Mumbai-based organisation coach Rohini Rajagopalan, founder of Organise with Ease, has been receiving queries on products that will make homes functional and less cluttered. “Decluttering is overwhelming for most. But with no occasions this year, people are relooking at possessions and realising they are blocking real estate in their closets.”Even the resale of luxury goods has been witnessing an upswing due to the trend to lighten the load. Anvita Mehra, founder of Confidential Couture, a website that sells pre-owned luxury accessories and clothing, has noticed a 45% jump in selling enquiries. “Luxury buys are high-value goods that don’t make much financial sense to hold on to during this time. They are taking up space and you don’t have enough occasions to take them out now. That reflects wasteful hoarding,” she adds.Two prime areas of hoarding are clothes (including accessories like shoes and bags) and kitchen equipment, says Rajagopalan. Since lockdown, people have gone beyond sharing clothes to sharing kitchen equipment, baby goods and advice, and tips and tricks on other subjects, says Nancy Bhasin, cofounder of This for That. “Even as deliveries were shut, transactions didn’t fall as people kept exchanging. The lockdown is a turning point when people will notice the underutilised and unutilised value at their home. It looks like the resale/swap segment is taking off. If this segment does not open up now in India, it never will.”The community of swappers on This for That have been adding new categories on their own. For instance, Bhasin notes they never added innerwear and loungewear as a category. But swaps on these items are happening. With a 75-80% repeat rate, she says most swappers will only buy a product once they are not able to find it on a swap platform. 76361443Second-hand, subscription and rental are the top three fastest growing retail categories. Online consignment and thrift store ThredUP’s 2019 resale report suggested the global secondhand apparel market would double by 2023, from $24 billion to $51 billion. The $7 billion global luxury resale market is projected to grow to $11 billion by 2022, according to Cowen.Shopping second-hand goods has a sustainable sheen too. Did you know that if a million people bought only one secondhand clothing item, it would save 6 pounds of CO2 emissions — equivalent to removing half a million cars? It is the 18-25-year-olds who are active in the garment resale segment.For luxury resale, the age-group is above 30. Nath says, “Now even the 30-35 category is coming round to buying preowned.” Historically, an economic slowdown has helped recommerce as people have less money to spend.The luxury segment is also adapting to the post-Covid realities. For instance, Confidential Couture has added entry-level luxury brands and made the payment plan more flexible. Mehra adds, “The more supply you have the more demand it will create as India is a demand-driven economy for pre-owned luxury.”Sai Sangeet Paliwal, cofounder of Exchange Room, says, “Resale is picking up faster. We have seen a rise of online thrift stores. Every single day, there is a new one popping up. Even during the lockdown, items were getting sold in spite of disclaimers for delayed deliveries.”

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