2022 REUSE REPORT:
*According to our survey which was conducted in March 2022.
America’s perception of shopping reuse is evolving. The notion of recommerce is becoming more appealing than commerce, thanks to the public’s increasing consciousness around sustainability and desire to spend responsibly. Today, many children and young people are growing up in families that are using and buying preloved goods. This transformation is indeed promising, and Mercari’s second annual Reuse Report turns the spotlight on these modern families and the future they are helping shape.
This shift is gaining momentum in 2022 as consumer prices rise amid inflation and ongoing uncertainty. In the U.S., there are currently 33 million households with children under 18, and these children are continuously outgrowing clothes and toys, meaning parents are constantly spending to keep up. Americans spent a total of $143 billion on kids’ and baby items alone in 2021. By 2030, this figure is expected to grow to $182 billion.
In our opinion, that’s simply too much. The good news is that two-thirds of parents surveyed purchased secondhand kids’ and baby products in the last 12 months*, collectively spending $7 billion in 2021. And that’s just the beginning.
The secondhand kids’ and baby item market is forecast to grow 83% by 2030 when it is projected to be valued at $12.8 billion, with 53% of these sales expected to occur online. With American households filled with more than 272.6 million unused kids’ and baby items, there’s plenty of supply to meet this demand.
Our Reuse Report: Family Edition probes all of these key statistics and trends, and is designed as a follow-up to our inaugural 2021 Reuse Report, which examined the resale market as a whole. Our latest report explores how American parents and families are using resale, as both buyers and sellers, revealing key insights as well as the massive size and scale of this growing ecosystem.
We all know that raising kids can be expensive. For families, embracing the circular economy is an excellent way to save money and unlock value. It’s a way to make homes feel less cluttered and more peaceful, at a time when having a refuge is more important than ever to our well-being. And it’s a way to do some good for our overtaxed planet. At Mercari, we’re empowering people to shop in a way that’s good for their wallets and good for everyone—and we hope you’ll join us on this journey.
US secondhand kids’ and baby (k&b) item market forecast to reach $12.8B by 2030.
Source: GlobalData Market Analysis, Forecasts, & Consumer Survey
Consumer statistics are based on a March 2022 survey of 2,210 U.S. respondents over 18 with kids or grandkids conducted by GlobalData. Sample is nationally representative in terms of gender, age bracket, income level, and region.
Online sales contributed 39% of secondhand k&b item volume in 2021.
Number of births1
Number of households with children under 181
Average age of mothers giving birth for the first time
Number of households with kids under 31
Average household size1
Key family landscape statistics
United States, 2021
Source: GlobalData Market and Consumer Analysis National Vital Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and National Center for Health Statistics. 12021 Figures
The kids’ and baby item resale market is forecast to more than double between 2016 and 2030. This growth outpaces that of the new k&b item market, forecast to grow only 30.2% during the same period.
Total value of the k&b item resale market for each year
United States, $ billions
Source: GlobalData 2021 Market Analysis and Forecasts
Data includes consumer spending on all resale or secondhand kids’ and baby products, through all channels for each year. 2025 and onward are forecasts.
Parents surveyed who have purchased at least one secondhand kids’ and baby item in the last 12 months
United States, % of parents overall and by gender and age group
Source: GlobalData Consumer Survey, March 2022, n= 2,210
References respondents with children who have purchased new or secondhand kids’ and baby items.
That projects to 100.2 million Americans. Younger parents are more likely to make those purchases.
Online resale growth between 2016 and 2021 was boosted by the pandemic, and it will continue to scale in the coming years.
Total kids’ and baby item resale market value split by online and offline for each year
United States, $ billions
Source: GlobalData Market Analysis and Forecasts
Data includes consumer spending on all kids’ and baby resale or secondhand products, split by online and offline. 2030 is a forecast.
Source: GlobalData Market Analysis and Forecasts
Data includes consumer spending on all secondhand kids’ and baby products, split by online and offline. 2030 is a forecast.
Online is forecast to account for 53.4% of the k&b item resale market in 2030 and will outpace offline growth between 2021 and 2030, increasing by over +150%. This channel is the primary driver of kids’ and baby item resale growth through 2030.
US online vs. offline sales
2016-30
American households sit on $13B worth of unused kids’ and baby items.
Source: GlobalData Market Analysis, Forecasts, & Consumer Survey
Consumer statistics are based on a March 2022 survey of 2,210 U.S. respondents over 18 with kids or grandkids conducted by GlobalData. Sample is nationally representative in terms of gender, age bracket, income level, and region.
100M valuable k&b items were thrown away in 2021, worth a cumulative $4.5B.
Total value of unused, resalable items owned by consumers
United States, 2021
Source: GlobalData Market and Consumer Analysis
Numbers refer to the total number of unused items across American households and per American household. Includes only consumer households, not businesses. Includes only the categories covered in this report. Values are estimated dollar values of the products.
Households own 868.1M kids’ and baby items worth a total of $39.6B. 31.4% of these items are either no longer used or were never used, meaning Americans are sitting on $13B worth of items that could be resold.
Categories of items no longer used by families are expected to grow the fastest in secondhand sales between 2021 and 2030.
38.4% of parents keep unused kids’ and baby items at home for sentimental reasons.
What unused items do you have in your home?
United States, % of respondents
Source: GlobalData Market Forecasts & Consumer Survey, March 2022, n=2,210
References all respondents with children who have unused kids’ and baby items. Percentages may sum to more than 100% as respondents could select multiple responses.
Almost 15% of parents with unused k&b items pay to store them. That’s an opportunity to resell and make some money back.
Where do you store unused kids’ and baby items in your home?
United States, % of respondents
Source: GlobalData Consumer Survey, March 2022, n=1,303
References all respondents who have unused kids’ and baby items stored in their homes. Percentages may sum to more than 100% as respondents could select multiple responses.
75% of parents donated or gave away at least one kids’ or baby item in the past 12 months.
That’s a savings of $511.20 or 67% per year, per person, and a total combined savings of $91.5B in 2021.
Secondhand savings
How much families could save buying k&b products secondhand rather than new
Source: GlobalData Consumer Survey, March 2022, n=2,210
References respondents who have purchased new or secondhand kids’ items. $91.5B was derived by the 2021 new spend value of $136.5 billion multiplied by the 67% average saving that buying secondhand yields.
50.3% of secondhand k&b item shoppers expect to spend more on secondhand in 2022.
Source: GlobalData Market Analysis, Forecasts, & Consumer Survey
Consumer statistics are based on a March 2022 survey of 2,210 U.S. respondents over 18 with kids or grandkids conducted by GlobalData. Sample is nationally representative in terms of gender, age bracket, income level, and region.
83% of parents of 0 to 2-year-olds shop secondhand.
Secondhand shopping dynamics by age of children
How parents with kids of certain ages shop secondhand
Source: GlobalData Consumer Survey and Analysis, March 2022, n=2,210
References respondents who have purchased new or secondhand kids’ and baby items in the past 12 months; new spend is based on all those who bought new k&b products even if they did not buy secondhand.
Parents are cost-conscious and sustainability-focused. They realize that it’s not worth buying new when children outgrow items quickly.
What are your motivations for purchasing secondhand baby and/or kids’ products?
United States, % of respondents
Source: GlobalData Consumer Survey, March 2022, n=1,369
References respondents with children that purchased secondhand kids’ and baby items. Percentages may sum to more than 100% as respondents could select multiple responses.
Parents have a greater need to find new homes for outgrown things, while making some money.
What are your motivations for selling secondhand kids’ products?
United States, % of respondents
Source: GlobalData Consumer Survey, March 2022, n=1,108
References respondents with children that sold secondhand kids’ and baby items. Percentages may sum to more than 100% as respondents could select multiple responses.
All k&b item resale categories forecast to grow through 2030.
Source: GlobalData Market Analysis, Forecasts, & Consumer Survey
Consumer statistics are based on a March 2022 survey of 2,210 U.S. respondents with kids or grandkids conducted by GlobalData. Sample is nationally representative in terms of gender, age bracket, income level, and region.
Between 2016-2030, the k&b item luxury category is expected to grow +82.5% and reach $1.45B.
Growth of spending on k&b resale categories in 2021
United States, % growth
Source: GlobalData Market Analysis; Mercari numbers from Mercari 2021 growth is expressed on a year-over-year basis. Data includes consumer spending on all resale or secondhand products in each k&b each category, for all age groups, through all channels for each year. 1Luxury is not a stand-alone category as it is an amalgam of various products/categories. 2The blue circles show the growth of orders on Mercari platform of various products between the time periods of October 2020–March 2021 and October 2021–March 2022.
Mercari orders growth2
Total value of the maternity resale market for each year
United States, $ millions
Source: GlobalData Market Analysis and Forecasts
Data includes consumer spending on all resale maternity products, through all channels for each year. 2025 and onward are forecasts.
The luxury kids’ and baby item resale market is forecast to reach $1.45B by 2030 as younger consumers become more interested in secondhand luxury and seek this category for their children.
Consumer spend on luxury kids’ and baby resale items
United States, $ billions
Source: GlobalData Market Analysis and Forecasts
Data includes consumer spending on all resale luxury goods for kids and babies, through all channels for each year. 2025 and onward are forecasts.
Mercari is your marketplace.
Our platform connects millions of people across the U.S. to shop and sell items no longer being used. Mercari is constantly innovating to make exchanges easier, from at-home authentication to improvements in online payments and shipping. Mercari has more than 50 million downloads in the U.S. and 350,000 new listings every day, empowering the next generation to transform the way they shop.
Mercari can be downloaded on app stores or accessed online through www.mercari.com.
For information on this report, and Mercari, please contact us at
press-usa@mercari.com.
To calculate the market numbers, the following inputs were used:
All the data is built into GlobalData’s model of consumer spending, which allows calculation of the various metrics on a national level. Retail analysts carry out several checks on this model to ensure its accuracy and validity. This includes checking against data from individual retailers, official government data, industry data and other sources.
Where provided, forecast data is modeled using a three-step process:
Inputs for the forecasting model include standard economic and social variables as well as specific data from consumer research, retailer predictions and retail metrics such as store numbers.
Consumer statistics are based on a March 2022 survey of 2,210 U.S. respondents over 18 with kids or grandkids conducted by GlobalData. Sample is nationally representative in terms of gender, age bracket, income level, and region.
“Kids’ and baby”, “children’s”, “kids’”, and “k&b” item resale are used interchangeably in this report.
The following definitions apply to the baby category segments; please note ‘baby’ includes children ages newborn to 2 years.
Cribs & furniture (nursery): all furniture, including cribs, dressers, changing stations, etc.
Decor & bedding: all household furnishings such as bedding, bathroom textiles, wall art, décor, storage and organization, etc.
Car seats: car seats of all kinds, including booster seats, etc.
Strollers: all strollers, prams, and stroller accessories, etc.
Clothing: all clothing, including sleep clothing, etc.
Shoes: all shoes and footwear, etc.
Toys: all toys including bath toys, activity centers, rattlers, plush toys, etc.
Nursing & feeding (nonfood): feeders, bottles, bibs, food storage, food preparation, etc. (perishable and food products are not included)
Diapering: diapers, wipes, creams and ointments, diaper bags and storage, changing pads, training pants/underwear, potties, etc.
Bath: baby bathtubs, bath seats, bath cushions, rinsers, faucet covers, bath safety, etc.
Sports: baby-focused sports equipment and accessories
Books: all physical books
Safety & health: baby first aid, health monitoring equipment, baby monitors, etc.
Travel accessories: baby carriers, carrycots, travel accessories, etc.
Electronics: baby electronic devices, such as tablets, etc. (not electronic baby monitoring which is in safety, not electronic toys which are in toys)
Hobby/crafting: all crafting tools, kits, materials and accessories
Musical instruments
Other: all other kids’ and baby categories
Luxury: a carve out of all other categories to cover luxury (branded products)
The following definitions apply to the kids’ category segments; please note ‘kids’ includes children ages 3-16.
Clothing: all apparel and accessories
Shoes: all footwear, including sneakers
Strollers: all strollers, prams, and stroller accessories, etc. (only relevant to kids aged 4-12)
Toys: all toys, games, activitities, hobby, collectibles, and crafting products
Books: all books, including textbooks
Sports & outdoors: all sporting equipment, all outdoor activity products including cycling, camping, skateboarding, etc. (not apparel)
Furniture: all furniture purchased for kids such as beds, mattresses, desks, chests of drawers, etc.
Decor & bedding: all furnishings for kids such as bedding, drapes, pillows, wall art, posters, etc.
School supplies: all school supplies such as stationery, calculators, backpacks (excludes apparel products and books)
Electronics: all devices such as iPads, phones, gaming consoles, etc.
Entertainment (DVDs, CDs): physical DVDs and CDs, includes other formats such as vinyl
Hobby/crafting: all crafting tools, kits, materials and accessories
Car seats: car seats, including booster seats (only relevant to kids aged 4-12)
Luxury: a carve out of all other categories to cover luxury (branded products)
The maternity segment includes an aggregate of all maternity products including things like:
Maternity apparel and footwear
Maternity books and DVDs and other physical media content
Maternity beauty products
Maternity accessories and aids
Food items are not included in the market sizing. Items need to have been purchased for maternity purposes, so general purchases made by or for someone who is pregnant (e.g. a standard pair of sneakers, etc.) are not included.
GlobalData is a global research agency and consulting firm. Within the firm’s retail division, their work focuses on all aspects of retailing and consumer behavior, which they deliver through a variety of different reports and their interactive Intelligence Centre. They also undertake custom research and consulting work for clients.
GlobalData is headquartered in New York and London with offices across the world. Their analysts and researchers work to understand the latest trends and developments in retailing across developed and emerging markets. They also have a global panel of consumers which they use to undertake consumer surveys and to gauge and assess sentiment and views on various retail issues.
GlobalData works with many of the world’s leading retailers, FMCG groups, property firms and those in the financial sector to help them maximize success through developing a thorough understanding of the retail sector and its likely future performance.
For information on this report, and GlobalData’s other products and services, please contact:
e. retail@globaldata.com
t. +718.708.1476
w. www.globaldata.com/retail
