Today In Retail: Poshmark, thredUP Amp Up Arms Race; Rent-to-Own Fills Gap Left By BNPL

In today’s top retail news, Poshmark and thredUP are aggressively investing in expanding their respective platforms, while rent-to-own firms make their way in an increasingly buy now, pay later (BNPL) world. Also, Canada Goose’s eCommerce sales continue their flight, and the newly expanded child tax credit is giving some retailers optimism.

With Resale Booming, Platforms Get Aggressive About Attracting Consumers

The secondhand market continues to boom, and both Poshmark and thredUP are doubling down on investments in their platforms to try and gain the upper hand. Poshmark, for example, has added myriad new features over the last several months to keep buyers, including notifications for when another buyer is interested in a certain item and recommendations when something of interest gets sold. For thredUP, the focus is on partnerships through its Resale-as-a-Service platform, which executives say creates a supply advantage for the company.

Rent-to-Own Looks for Its Place In A BNPL World

Much has been written about BNPL in recent months, with major payments players jumping in and Square announcing plans to acquire Afterpay for $29 billion. But before there was BNPL, there was lease-to-own — and while not making as many headlines, Katapult, Aaron’s, Rent-A-Center and others can serve as complements to fill a gap left open by BNPL.

Canada Goose eCommerce Jumps 80 Pct In Fiscal 2022 Q1

Canada Goose’s eCommerce operations continue to grow, with a jump of more than 80 percent in the first quarter of its 2022 fiscal year after a triple-digit leap in the previous three months. Overall revenue jumped more than 126 percent from the previous year for the company in its homeland for the first quarter, even while it faced a higher-than-normal number of retail store closures because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Direct-to-consumer revenue was up 189 percent in mainland China for Q1 over the same time 12 months earlier.

Expanded Child Tax Credit Gives Retailers Hope Amid COVID Concerns

Despite myriad challenges for retailers, pent-up consumer savings and the new expanded child tax credit have some experts still excited about a post-pandemic retail rebound. Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO of Saks Inc., told PYMNTS that as soon as the child tax credit payment hit bank accounts on July 15, retailers saw a bump in consumer spending, and he expects similar patterns to emerge over the next several months as subsequent payments are delivered.