Half of Belgians either bought or sold second-hand in 2023, and the other half of the population is likely to get involved in the growing marketplace soon.
A survey conducted by iVox revealed that 50.4% of Belgians sold items second-hand in 2023, while 44% purchased them. This is up from 44.2% and 38.5% respectively in the previous year.
Buying second-hand predominates among young people: under-35s bought and sold twice as much as those over 55. The market was slightly more popular among French-speaking Belgians (48.6%) than Dutch-speaking Belgians (40.8%). Women's participation (51.3%) exceeded that of men's (37.1%).
Participants who did engage in the second-hand market pointed to financial appeal as a major motivating factor. Four in ten participants also cited the enjoyment they derived from bargain-hunting, the desire to find original items, and the environmental aspect of avoiding fast fashion and other brand-new products.
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Respondents who did not buy or sell second-hand in 2023 did not avoid the market due to any strong conviction against it.
One in three bought first-hand "out of habit", 15% "hadn't thought about it", and 68.5% agreed that it was better to avoid buying a product new when it was possible to find it second-hand.
These responses suggest that half of the population is primed to engage with second-hand shops and websites, whose sales have grown exponentially in recent years.
