The secondhand footwear, apparel, and accessories market is growing and has tripled its size worldwide in the last two years to between $100 billion to $120 billion.

The research was carried out by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the resale platform, Vestiaure Collective. It was published in a document titled “What an Accelerating Secondhand Market Means for Fashion Brands and Retailers”

Affordability was the main reason for buying secondhand and the main social grouping active in this sense were those from Gen-Z consumers buying 31%, followed by millennials with 27%.

According to the research, the secondhand market is currently worth 3% to 5% of all fashion sales and is predicted to continue growing and could reach 40%.

Although prices had been the main driving force for buying apparel, footwear and accessories in the secondhand market, the research shows that this is a declining trend. On the other hand, 40% of respondents felt that by buying pre-owned items, they were acting sustainably, especially when this came to choosing footwear.