Economic Anxiety Fuels Secondhand Luxury Boom for The RealReal

Online luxury consignment marketplace The RealReal’s “breakout performance” in the second quarter of 2025 signaled that discretionary spending by consumers amid economic worries remains strong. It’s one signal of how consumers are navigating uncertainty: On the day many of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs went into force, the company nudged up its full-year guidance.

“Resale is a smart choice for a luxury minded consumer and price increases in the primary market due to tariffs or other factors make our value proposition even more compelling,” CEO Rati Levesque told investors on an earnings call Thursday (Aug. 7). “I do believe we are a tariff beneficiary for many different reasons. Right? Our source is the domestic closet.”

Chief Financial Officer Ajay Gopal said on the call that “we do believe that this is not a one-time benefit” related to tariff-driven consumer responses. Instead, he said, the results reflect a shift in spending behaviors driven mostly by Gen Z and millennial shoppers and those with medium to high incomes.

The RealReal achieved record quarterly revenue from goods sold of $504 million, up 14% on the year-ago period. The surge points to two trends: Some shoppers are plowing ahead on higher-ticket discretionary purchases despite widespread concerns among many consumers over how tariffs and inflation will cut into their pocketbooks. Consumers are also increasingly seeking ways to earn extra income on the side by consigning items for sale on marketplaces.

A recent PYMNTS Intelligence reported detailed how Americans are increasingly doubling down on side hustles amid rising living costs and inflation. Four in 10 American adults now perform side hustles ranging from selling used items and freelancing to renting out properties and milking credit cards for their cash-back benefits.

The RealReal, which sells gently used Chanel handbags, Cartier bracelets and Oscar de la Renta gowns, is a bellwether of sorts of consumer sentiment. Direct revenue, which is what the company earns when shoppers buy something that the marketplace has acquired directly from a “Get Paid Now” seller, soared 23% year on year as consumers seeking high-end goods opened their wallets. Consignment revenue, which is what a seller pays the marketplace when their item is bought, climbed 14%.

The number of shoppers hunting for used luxury goods on the marketplace rose 6% over the past 12 months to more than 1 million. That suggests even high-end consumers are looking to save money in the current economic environment. Shoppers are spending more, too: the average order value rose 8% year over year to $581, showcasing how luxury purchases of authenticated resale goods are shaping a new era of discretionary spending.

The company said that “based on its performance” and on “market conditions,” it was raising its full-year guidance from just below $2 billion in revenue to $2.03 billion to $2.05 billion.