Czechs turn to second-hand shops amid pandemic and inflation

For Czechs, shopping for used items has usually been taboo and whereas second-hand shops aren’t unusual, few folks readily admit to procuring in them.

“Folks often share their enjoyment of buying second-hand garments solely with a circle of household and shut buddies,” concluded a 2019 examine on Czech procuring habits, authored by the analyst Marketa Rulikova.

“Not sporting model new (and brand-named) clothes additionally suggests, for a lot of Czechs, an incapacity to supply for the household, a too acquainted misery remembered from the socialist previous.”

However the financial impression of the COVID-19 pandemic, topped by spiralling inflation and power costs, has led to a second-hand procuring spree.

“Now we have by no means had such takings as in these previous few months,” says Monika van den Berg, of Second Czech Republic, an NGO that runs a number of second-hand, charity outlets throughout the nation.

Second-hand gross sales have elevated threefold nationwide since final yr, the Affiliation of Social Duty, an trade physique, instructed native media earlier this month.

What’s modified? Some suppose it’s style. Czechs are more and more eco-conscious whereas shopping for second-hand usually means high quality.

“We predict that the increase is partly attributable to our supply,” says van den Berg. “We promote clothes of the highest quality and superb manufacturers as a result of means we kind donated clothes.”

“The client will get superb high quality clothes for a minimal worth,” she stated. As a result of the clothes has been worn but continues to be in good nick, it’s an indication of excellent materials.”

The obvious issue, although, is value.

Inflation has been hovering for the reason that flip of 2022. It was as much as 17.2 per cent in June, the best on document. Economists predict it may nonetheless climb larger.

On the identical time, power costs are additionally rising and there is a widespread sense that issues will get a lot worse as winter nears. As of June, Czechs have been as pessimistic as they’ve been for greater than a decade about the way forward for family consumption and saving, in response to the OECD’s client confidence index.

Naturally, extra shoppers have turned to second-hand items as they tighten family spending.

Clothes costs, as an illustration, are presently up by 19.9 per cent and footwear by 15.4 per cent in comparison with final yr, in response to the most recent information from the Czech Statistical Workplace.

“Folks within the Czech Republic have been more and more anxious about their monetary scenario, making an attempt to spare each haler,” stated Lukáš Kovanda, chief economist with Trinity Financial institution. “They restrict particularly spending on non-essential gadgets and garments, clothes or sneakers are amongst them.”

“This pattern will likely be much more pronounced in coming months and quarters as the general financial scenario within the Czech Republic additional deteriorates, presumably resulting in a substantial surge (within the) unemployment price subsequent yr,” he added.

However brick-and-mortar shops aren’t being overrun by low cost hunters.

As persons are tightening their belts, corporations are additionally making it simpler to look on-line for second-hand bargains. Many thrift outlets now promote their wares on social media. Some have on-line shops. Conventional distributors of recent and branded clothes are additionally getting in on the second-hand market.

In April 2021, the Germany-based on-line retailer Zalando, which sells throughout Europe, launched its web site’s “pre-owned” class within the Czech Republic.

By including this part, “we will bridge the hole between the enjoyable of vogue procuring, freshness and self-expression, alongside extra sustainable vogue consumption and unmatched comfort,” a Zalando consultant instructed Euronews in an announcement.

Since they launched the “pre-owned” part of the positioning throughout Europe in 2020, the class has grown from 20,000 to greater than 400,000 gadgets, together with the Czech Republic, the place “clients’ suggestions… has been very optimistic.”

Provide can also be driving the second-hand increase.

In some instances, similar to for charity outlets, items are donated. Now on-line platforms are more and more making it simpler for folks to promote their used items to different patrons, benefiting from the fast-growing e-commerce market within the Czech Republic, which noticed a 14 p.c leap final yr to be price round €9.1 billion, in response to Heureka Group, one in all Europe’s largest worth comparability web sites.

In 2019, Czech entrepreneurs launched Knihobot, an e-commerce platform that enables folks to purchase and promote used books. In 2020 it boasted earnings of round €700,0000 crowns; final yr it was as much as greater than €3 million. Based on media studies, it goals for €12 million this yr.

Economists name this “re-commerce”. Inflation and rising family prices aren’t simply creating extra discount hunters; they’re additionally pushing extra folks to promote their very own items.

Vinted, a Lithuania-based on-line market for purchasing, promoting and exchanging items, has round a million registered members utilizing the Czech platform, which might be round a tenth of the nation’s inhabitants.

“Platforms like Vinted generally is a good place for folks to mitigate the impression of inflation on their very own pocket by promoting issues they not want, and we all know persons are motivated by the monetary advantages of second-hand, in addition to the environmental points,” says Lilly Berns, Vinted’s PR supervisor for Germany, and Southern and Japanese Europe.

There’s nonetheless room for enlargement within the “re-commerce” sector.

Vinted, as an illustration, not too long ago linked clients within the Czech Republic and Poland, that means folks in each international locations can now purchase and promote their second-hand items to one another.

It additionally added pet care and leisure classes, “giving folks extra possibilities to promote and purchase preloved way of life gadgets,” stated their PR supervisor.

“In comparison with the first-hand market, the second-hand vogue sector nonetheless has large potential to develop, and we imagine in its optimistic improvement pushed by an increasing number of folks across the globe selecting pre-loved every single day,” she added.