A new report is suggesting that the secondhand market is booming in Europe, according to Procurement Magazine.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research released a report commissioned by Amazon, which measured the potential secondhand market across Spain, Italy, the U.K., France, and Germany. It revealed €37.7 billion ($44.1 billion USD) was saved in 2024 by shopping secondhand. This market included a whopping 740 million products.
"Customers are actively seeking second-hand items across a broad range of categories — from tech and fashion to home appliances. On Amazon, secondhand product sales exceeded €2 billion across Europe and the U.K. in 2024," said Mariangela Marseglia, VP of EU Stores at Amazon. "Reselling returned items isn't just good for the planet and for business — it's what our customers want."
Sending gently used items directly to the landfill has negative consequences both upstream and downstream. Upstream, all of the energy and materials that went into manufacturing are entirely wasted, leaving a big environmental footprint. Downstream, items in landfills generate methane, which exacerbates destructive weather patterns like floods and droughts. Plus, the plastics in these items shed particles, which end up in the food we eat.
While it's good to hear that the world's biggest online retailer wants to curb all of that, it's always worth looking at green initiatives by major brands with skepticism. Amazon's history with returns is less than rosy. Employees have shown just how many returns go back to landfill, and journalists tracking returns have revealed similar fates in Canada and the U.K. Even when items find their way into some form of redistribution, the path is often muddy and can lead right back to the trash heap anyway.
Still, Amazon is keen to promote a healthier lifecycle for used items.
"European consumers are embracing second-hand shopping like never before — and it's reshaping the retail landscape," said Amazon's European head of returns and repairs, Sam Littlejohn. "We're seeing incredible momentum, with financial pressures and the environmental benefits of keeping products in circulation, key motivations for shopping secondhand."
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