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Nothing to wear: Petersburgers are buying clothes less often in second-hand stores
The authors of the study also noted that the total number of purchases in the clothing and footwear categories is decreasing. The average bill was 3,607 rubles, which is 11% more than last year, and the number of purchases decreased by 7%.
“The decline in sales was driven by longer heat waves in Europe, including early summer and dry, warm early autumn,” the study says. The fact that second-hand stores are largely offline also contributed to the drop in demand. And in the fashion sector, the trend of audiences moving online is accelerating.
In St. Petersburg, experts are observing a similar trend. According to Focus Technologies, the number of shoppers in fashion retail stores in St. Petersburg has decreased by 12% over the past nine months compared to the same period last year. The average bill has increased by 11%.
Mikhail Vasiliev, head of the research and consulting department at Focus Technologies, notes that one of the important factors influencing the decline in the number of customers is the gradual increase in supply, since we are talking about facilities that will continue to operate throughout the entire period. After international brands left the shopping malls, new stores, mainly Russian brands, opened in the remaining vacant spaces. As a result, competition intensified and visitor flows were redistributed between several retailers.
"The number of stores has increased (reaching its maximum size in mid-2023), and shopping malls are seeing an influx of visitors. All this forms a relatively high base compared to last year. The average annual figures look more modest," the expert believes.
Zhanna Silchenko, founder of the St. Petersburg consignment boutique Best Resale, categorically disagrees with the findings of Chek Index analysts. According to her, global sales of vintage clothing have grown by 18%, and forecasts show that by 2025 this sector could account for 10% of the global fashion market. According to the entrepreneur, demand is also growing in Russia, but at a slower pace. The main catalysts are the lack of sales of original luxury brands and rising prices in the mass and mid-range segments. The average bill increases by about 10% every year.
"The market is still less developed compared to European countries. However, most buyers prefer to buy products from Russian designers or mass-market products at an attractive, albeit used, price, rather than buy them at unreasonably high prices. Russian consumers are very different from foreign ones, and the level of acceptance of secondary consumption in our country is still lower than abroad, so there is no decline in sales in our sector," says Zhanna Silchenko.