Record number of New Zealanders shopping second-hand items boosts circular economy

WELLINGTON -- Record number of New Zealanders shopping second-hand items has boosted the country's circular economy by 500 million New Zealand dollars in the past year to an estimated value of 5.5 billion New Zealand dollars, a new report by Trade Me has found.

The report showed average Kiwi has around 1,350 New Zealand dollars' worth of unwanted possessions they could sell, 50 New Zealand dollars more than last year.

There was no slowing down of the growth of New Zealand's circular economy, with 81 million items across the country that could be sold for cash, Trade Me marketplace spokesperson Sally Feinson said recently.

The annual survey was the sixth of its kind conducted by Trade Me, New Zealand's largest online auction website, in November 2024 among 4,000 individual New Zealand-based respondents. It investigated where, how, and why people buy, sell and trade preowned items.

A record 89 percent of Kiwi bought items in the last six months, up two percent on last year, the highest levels of second-hand shopping since Trade Me started tracking back in 2019, Feinson said, adding 79 percent of respondents sold at least one item in the last six months.

Regarding people's motivations for buying and selling secondhand, thinking about the environment is becoming more important than making money, despite the rising cost of living, with more than half of Kiwis surveyed saying they consider the environmental impact of their purchase, the report said.

The report said 62 percent of respondents' key motivation in selling items is to declutter, while 53 percent do it to earn some money.

Women were more likely than men to consider the environmental impact, it said, adding clothing, shoes and accessories, home and living, and books, CDs and DVDs remain the dominant items to sell. (1 NZ dollar equals $0.57)