Americans are shopping more for secondhand clothing as they look to spend less and save money, according to a new report.
Shoppers are not only buying from secondhand retailers more but are also spending less on each purchase.
“The number of secondhand fashion transactions per household grew nine times faster than secondhand spending in March, yet consumers across all income groups are spending less on each purchase since April 2025,” according to a Bank of America Institute report published Tuesday using credit and debit card data.
The secondhand clothing industry has received a lot of buzz over the past couple of years, with videos of shoppers’ hauls from thrift stores flooding social media.
Gen Z, who the report classifies as those born after 1995, have turned their passion for sustainable fashion into a side hustle.
The generational group made up 41 percent of secondhand sellers this year, up from 37 percent in 2024, according to the report. The overall number of Bank of America customers selling secondhand clothing increased 16 percent in March from the year before.
Secondhand shopping can give some relief to Americans struggling with the cost of living, while making them feel good about their impact on the environment.
“As inflation persists, and retailers confront tariff costs, consumers are facing higher price tags on apparel – about five times higher than they were a century ago,” the report said. “Beyond discount apparel, secondhand fashion offers consumers an environmentally friendly and economical alternative to clothing purchases.”
Inflation soared in March, mainly because of high energy prices caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The Consumer Price Index increased 0.9 percent in March from the month before. The cost of consumer goods and services rose 3.3 percent from the previous year, according to government data. The Federal Reserve has a target annual inflation rate of 2 percent.
Nearly a quarter of all households lived paycheck to paycheck last year, according to a Bank of America Institute report from November 2025.
While the number of Americans who don’t have any wiggle room in their budgets continues to rise, the pace of growth has slowed nearly three times from 2024 levels, the report said.
Americans are also less confident this year about having enough money to be financially secure through their retirement, according to an annual survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald Research released Tuesday.
Just 64 percent of Americans feel comfortable with their retirement funds amid higher costs and rising concern about the future of social safety nets.
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