• New data from online classifieds platform Gumtree shows that Australia’s second-hand economy is now valued at $46 billion, the highest figure recorded in the past decade.
• More than half of Australians say they expect that second hand sales will boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many of them saying they’re more likely to take part themselves.
• The most popular reason for selling used goods was to save money for necessary bills, followed by needing money for general expenditure and reducing debt.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

As the effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue to be felt, unemployment is soaring in Australia and consumer confidence remains low. But there is at least one part of the economy which is doing well: the secondhand market.

New data from the online classified company Gumtree Australia’s tenth annual Second Hand Economy Report claims that Australia’s second hand economy will be worth $46 billion this year.

That’s higher than any other year in the decade by more than $3 billion dollars. In the report’s first year in 2011, the second hand economy was valued at $25 billion.

Gumtree Australia’s managing director Mark Kehoe said this all-time high comes amid a time of economic turmoil.

“This year it feels especially significant as more Aussies than ever are turning to the second hand economy to trade pre-loved items,” Kehoe said in the report.

And this is backed up by the company’s survey data. 56% of Australians think the effects of COVID-19 pandemic will cause the second hand economy to grow, and 42% say they’re personally more likely to sell items than before.

Australians say that they’re turning to the second hand economy because of financial pressures. Those surveyed said the main reason they were buying used goods was to save money for necessary expenses and goods (48%). This was followed by a desire to ease general household expenditure (41%), reducing debt (26%) or to save to buy something new for themselves (19%).

Gumtree Australia’s head of marketing Amanda Behre said the company’s services can help Australians who are facing financial pressure.

“It’s our mission to empower people and create economic opportunity and with potentially thousands of dollars worth of unwanted items sitting around homes across Australia, we believe the second hand economy is the perfect way to relieve financial pressure during this time,” she said.

Thanks in part to these trends, Gumtree’s business is booming. The company said its website has more 7 million unique monthly visitors on average and more than 2.6 million live listings.

The company’s survey of 1,020 Australians aged 18-64 was completed by pollster YouGov Galaxy between 4-11 August 2020.

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