After two years focused on footwear, New Balance is expanding its Reconsidered resale program into apparel, bringing the model to a broader portion of its business.

The move underscores how quickly resale has scaled across retail, as more brands establish formal programs.

“Archive launched in 2021 with about 10 brands who had resale businesses,” said Meredith Blechman, vice president of marketing at Archive, which powers Reconsidered. “Now, fast forward five years, somewhere around 500 brands offer resale [via Archive].”

That growth also points to a shift in how retailers are approaching resale.

“Resale may have started as a sustainability initiative, but now brands are looking at it as a business driver,” Blechman said, noting that resale is contributing to customer acquisition, increasing loyalty and retention, and generating revenue.

From pilot to profit center

New Balance’s experience shows how quickly resale can move from a limited test to a meaningful part of the business.

• Reconsidered initially focused on reselling owned inventory alongside a small-scale trade-in program.
• Strong early demand quickly changed the trajectory, pushing the brand to expand the program more broadly.

“Once New Balance saw consumer response was really strong, the brand rolled out trade-in to all of its 100 locations,” Blechman said.

That momentum translated into measurable business impact, particularly in attracting new customers.

“They're driving a ton of new customers into their brand with this resale program,” she said.

Concerns about resale cannibalizing full-price sales are still common among brands evaluating the space, but the data continues to tell a different story.

• Rather than replacing existing purchases, resale is bringing in new shoppers while deepening engagement with current ones, according to Blechman.
• “On average, our brands are seeing 50% of their customers that are new to the brand,” she said. “Customers who shop both full price and resale have a higher LTV than those who just shop full price.”

These outcomes are closely tied to broader shifts in consumer behavior. For some shoppers, secondhand has become an entry point into the path to purchase.

“They're actually searching secondhand first, in some cases,” Blechman said.

While that behavior is often associated with younger consumers, the appeal of resale extends well beyond a single demographic.

“It really spans different types of consumers,” said Blechman, pointing to a mix of cost considerations, sustainability, and the appeal of finding unique or previously unavailable items.

Owning the experience

Demand for resale has long existed outside of brands’ direct control, with many consumers turning to third-party marketplaces to buy and sell secondhand items. This creates a challenge for retailers who have limited visibility into how their products are being resold and little influence over the customer experience.

Bringing resale in-house changes that dynamic.

• By owning the channel, brands can more closely manage how products are presented, authenticated, and delivered to customers.
• “There’s the added level of trust when you buy from a brand, less concern over authenticity and condition,” Blechman said.

As more retailers launch resale programs, the focus is shifting toward execution.

“The brands that have been most successful are the ones who are fully integrating resale with everything that's going on across the business,” Blechman said.

That integration is reflected in how resale shows up across the customer journey.

• Rather than existing as a standalone offering, it is increasingly incorporated into marketing campaigns, promoted across channels, and merchandised alongside full-price inventory.
• Some brands are also finding ways to connect new and resale inventory more directly, keeping customers within their ecosystem even when products sell out, said Blechman.

The shift is also beginning to extend into physical retail. In-store resale experiences are emerging as a way to build awareness and deepen engagement with shoppers.

“I think we'll start to see a lot more in-store resale in the future,” Blechman said.

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