MILWAUKEE — Thrift shopping, or buying secondhand, has surged in popularity over the last few years.
A 2022 report by OfferUp, an online recommerce marketplace, shows 82% of Americans now buy or sell used items. It also showed the secondhand market is expected to grow five times faster than the overall retail market by 2027.
At Plume, a vintage boutique in Milwaukee’s Bayview neighborhood, general manager Alisa Chojnacki handpicks clothes for her customers.
“I feel like in the last — especially like, 5 to 10 years — vintage has really exploded,” said Chojnacki. “I think especially since we are moving more towards sustainability.”
She said she’s noticed people are becoming more aware of the negative environmental impacts associated with mass-produced “fast fashion.” Fast fashion is known as cheap, trendy clothing that companies produce fast to meet consumer demand.
Chojnacki said there’s a growing a desire for quality, unique pieces, especially among younger generations.
The market for second-hand clothing is projected to be worth $350 billion by 2027, according to a 2023 report by ThredUp, an online marketplace for used clothing.
“Everything is one-of-a-kind and if you’re looking to create your own unique style, shopping vintage is a really good way to do it,” said Chojnacki.
It’s a similar story when it comes to used furniture and home goods.
Aricka Cohen is the founder of vintage furniture business, Mid-Century Meow, which has a warehouse full of home goods in Brookfield.
Cohen said she finds a lot of items at estate sales and opens her warehouse space to the public on weekends. She said she loves to see the joy of customers when they find something they love.
“It’s really fulfilling because it tells me that it wasn’t just a one-sided experience where I was really excited to talk with them and help them find their piece,” said Cohen. “It really was that they enjoyed it as well.”
Both Cohen and Chojnacki said the superior quality and design of furniture and clothing from eras past are indisputable.
“We’re really catering to everyone from like the 5-year-old little girl who wants a pair of clip-on earrings to the 80-year-old who comes in and was like, ‘I had this,’” said Chojnacki. “And I’m like, 'Maybe it was yours. Maybe this piece already belonged to you.”'