Holiday shoppers are watching every dollar this year, and secondhand is where a growing share of them plan to spend it. 

• US holiday retail ecommerce sales are expected to cross $3 billion this year, according to EMARKETER's June forecast. 
• Nearly 4 in 10 shoppers say a tighter budget will shape their holiday spending more than anything else, and another 27% point to rising prices as their top concern, according to a new report from Alchemer. 

That pressure is pushing consumers toward a channel retailers have historically treated as a side business: 49% of US adults say they're at least somewhat likely to buy a secondhand item as a holiday gift this year, up 53% from 2022, according to a July survey from CivicScience.

Retailers that still frame secondhand as a clearance-rack afterthought are missing where this year's shopper is headed.

Secondhand gifting has moved from niche to mainstream

​​Secondhand resistance is collapsing on both ends at once. The share of consumers saying they were not at all likely to buy a secondhand gift fell from 68% in 2022 to 51% in 2026, while the share who are "very likely" to do so more than doubled, from 8% to 17%, according to CivicScience. Willingness runs wider still outside of gifting: 83% of US adults say they'd purchase something secondhand, led by clothing and physical media at 52% each.

Retailers building holiday gift guides around exclusively new inventory are ignoring a channel that now reaches the majority of their shopper base. A secondhand or refurbished callout, even a modest one, meets demand that's already there instead of waiting for shoppers to find it elsewhere.

The shoppers driving demand are spenders, not just bargain hunters

The shoppers pulling secondhand forward are not the ones with the least to spend. Parents (28%), millennials ages 30 to 44 (30%), and high-income shoppers (20%) all lead their peers in likelihood to buy a secondhand holiday gift this year, according to CivicScience's data. Luxury tells the same story: 40% of US adults say they're at least somewhat likely to buy a secondhand luxury fashion item in the next 30 days, up 5 percentage points from a year ago, and high earners make up the strongest share who are "very" likely to buy.

That combination matters for merchandising. Secondhand strategy built solely around discount positioning will undersell a segment of high-income, high-spend shoppers who see pre-owned goods as a legitimate way to buy quality and status.

Price gets shoppers in the door, but it's not the only reason they stay

Price leads, but it does not stand alone. Some 52% of shoppers buying secondhand clothing cite price, and close behind sit finding unique or vintage styles (28%), sustainability (25%), and simply enjoying the hunt (21%), per CivicScience. Three of the four reasons shoppers give have nothing to do with saving money.

Marketing copy built entirely around "save money" leaves those other motivations on the table. Campaigns that lean into style discovery, rarity, or lower environmental impact will reach shoppers a pure discount pitch never touches.

In-store secondhand sections can pull in shoppers who'd otherwise go elsewhere

Secondhand carries a traffic dimension beyond the merchandising question. Among all US adults, 39% say they'd be more likely to shop at their preferred retailer if it added a secondhand section, according to CivicScience's survey. That number jumps to 67% among shoppers who already plan to buy a secondhand gift this year, which means the retailers most likely to benefit from a secondhand pilot are the ones whose customers are already primed to say yes.

Value is now the hinge on which loyalty turns. Price and overall value is the single biggest driver of a good shopping experience, cited by 65.6% of shoppers, and a significant price increase is the top reason shoppers abandon a retailer they otherwise like, cited by 42.7%, more than double the next closest reason, per Alchemer. That makes a secondhand section unusually well timed: It offers real value without discounting margin on new inventory.

Secondhand has outgrown its reputation as a niche or purely budget-driven category. It's pulling in parents, millennials, and high-income shoppers alongside price-conscious buyers, and it's driven by style and sustainability as much as savings. Retailers that give secondhand real shelf space and real marketing attention this holiday season have a chance to capture spend that a price-squeezed, low-patience shopper is actively looking to place.

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribehere.