Thrifting on the rise

By Mara Myers, Delta College Student Submission

BAY CITY, Mich.-“You can’t just say, ‘thrifting is for this crowd or this crowd’,” Kym Kram said. “Thrifting is honestly for any age.”

Thrift shopping, or thrifting, is the practice of buying items second hand. Today, shoppers can visit thrift stores both physically and online. Thrifting has gained popularity in recent years for a variety of reasons, including low prices, quality differences, and sustainability.

Kym Kram, co-owner of Third St. Thrift, located at 113 3rd St in Bay City, has noticed this increase in popularity.

“If you look back two years ago, there really wasn’t a lot of thrifting,” Kram said. “Like, it was Goodwill, and it was Salvation Army. You didn’t have a lot of mom-and-pop ones that were for profit.”

In the past few years, the increase in popularity of thrifting has led to a variety of new thrift stores opening, including Third St Thrift. The owners of Third St. Thrift used to own Bayside Boutique, but they moved locations and opened the new shop due to lack of traffic.

“We love being downtown,” Kram stated. “There’s a lot more foot traffic, there’s a lot more customers.”

One of the reasons for the increase in popularity is the quality pieces that can be found through secondhand shopping. With the rise of fast fashion, we have witnessed a decrease in the quality of new clothing. By shopping second hand, consumers can find better made items that consist of preferable materials.

Another factor that has helped thrifting gain traction is the affordability of buying previously owned items. When asked what she loves about thrifting, veteran thrift shopper, Julia Schram said, “the prices mostly.”

In our interview, she detailed some recent discount purchases, including a rug for $3, a pair of denim pants for $4, and a purse for $3.

“A lot of times, it’s like my day out,” Schram said. “Because, you know, it’s like you can’t afford to go out, even to a show anymore.”

Savannah Sicurella of NPR points out that Generation Z accounts for 40% of global consumers of secondhand fashion. The quick adoption of thrift shopping can be attributed to social media and its hold on the generation. For example, the resale site, Depop, which was modeled to function like a social media platform, is quite popular. Users under the age of 16 make up 90% of the app’s active users.

Consumers also value the sustainability of secondhand shopping. Many people have noticed the waste that fast fashion creates and do not want to contribute to it.

With a variety of different thrift shops available to visit, it is important to know that not every shop carries the same kind of products. Schram says she likes to go St. Vincent De Paul’s furniture section when she is looking to upgrade her furniture, and the Economy Center when she is looking for “more old-fashioned” pieces.

People of all ages, backgrounds, and styles enjoy thrifting. As a business owner, Kram needs to take note of her customers and what they are looking for.

“We have a whole variety of customers. Like I said, we have the younger generation that’s coming in, and we have the older generation coming in.” Kram says, “So, we try to have a little bit of what’s in style for the younger crowd. And then, also what the older people are looking for.”

To accommodate what their customers are looking for, Third St. Thrift keeps a wish list for customers. Between donations and sourcing items for the shop, Kram is able to find some of these wish list items and provide them for her customers.

Sicurella says, “It’s impossible to know if the trend among young shoppers will persist, or if it will ever eclipse traditional retail.” The only way to see if this trend will continue is to watch what consumers think and how their behaviors change.