Every time we speak to brands and retailers about resale, an important part of their decision-making journey is to create a resale business case for their internal stakeholders. We’ve taken this knowledge and created a 3-part series about the top ways to build this business case. Part 1 is dedicated to sustainability. Part 2 is supply chain and business operations. Follow us on LinkedIn to stay updated for part 3 (marketing and e-commerce).
Our goal with this series is to provide you with all the information you need to get your internal stakeholders on board and as excited about resale as you are! We’ve already explored the environmental benefits, and now it’s time to dig into the business and operations side of things.
How does resale support our business goals? Can it help us manage hard-to-sell inventory? Will it help us adapt to new legislation? We’ll answer each of these questions and more.
Here are 5 ways resale supports your behind-the-scenes operations and business objectives.
- Integrated resale brings lost transactions in-house.
Launching an integrated resale channel allows brands to take charge of their resale experience and take back revenue and customer engagement lost to third-party resale platforms. Whether you like it or not, resale is already happening. Your products are already being sold on third-party apps, like Poshmark and eBay, and your brand has no control over product quality or user experience. On top of that, you have no idea who’s buying your products. By managing your own resale experience, you can better understand who your buyers are and ultimately welcome them into the community, turn them into sellers, and so on. Why sell a product only once? - Resale is a more profitable way to offload hard-to-sell inventory.
A branded resale channel is not just for customers. Brands can also utilize their resale channel to offload inventory that otherwise might be challenging (or costly) to sell or recycle. Think returns, samples, one-of-a-kind items, excess inventory, and slightly-damaged products. This can help reduce the quantity of products brands might shed through heavy promos/discounts, off-price retailers, or textile recyclers at the end of a year, allowing brands to clear space in their warehouses throughout the year. On the front end, we can add custom badges so shoppers know whether they’re buying something from the community or the brand. Having a resale channel is like having a boutique within your shopping experience that creates a space for unique products and special collections (i.e., a recrafted collection). - Brand-owned resale enables a more resilient business.
Selling pre-owned products helps brands diversify their revenue stream by adding a flow of product that is already made and locally available. Most consumer brands, for example, rely heavily on a global supply chain, leaving them at risk of supply chain disruptions, which we’ve seen play out in recent years. Resale provides some added flexibility during these unpredictable times. Brands can similarly lean on their resale programs for added revenue and customer engagement during unforeseen inventory challenges, like out-of-stock inventory moments. Contrary to what some stakeholders might think, resale doesn’t cannibalize new product sales. Many brands we work with see a 2.5x increase in overspending when sellers return to use their store credit. After all, offering resale is a testament to the quality and durability of your products. - Branded resale allows for a deeper level of authentication.
Customers can shop confidently through a branded resale channel knowing the items have gone through a certain level of authentication. When it comes to Recurate-powered recommerce, every listing is reviewed before going live, and our integrated resale technology allows customers to list directly from their order history. Some of our partners choose to add an additional level of in-person or digital authentication. For example, Another Tomorrow utilizes a digital ID integration to provide customers with product information and to make it easy to resell an item from their mobile device. Our team helped integrate this new functionality across Another Tomorrow’s user experience and behind-the-scenes operations. We support both various resale models, including peer-to-peer and take-back resale, to align with a brand’s business goals. - Resale helps brands adapt ahead of potential legislation.
Resale is an easy and profitable way for brands to get ahead of the curve and embrace sustainability in their business model before it’s mandated. For example, as awareness of fashion’s environmental impact continues to grow, we’re seeing a shift toward more sustainable fashion legislation, notably regarding workers’ rights, greenwashing, and brand responsibility. In the EU, for example, new legislation was just proposed that would establish new sustainability standards for the fashion industry, considering everything from materials and durability to recyclability and end of life. Resale is that perfect blend of doing what’s good for the planet and good for business, too.
Beyond the operational and business benefits, resale is also a powerful way for brands to build community and further sustainability initiatives.
