Second-hand Economy
Canadians love buying stuff second-hand. At least that's what the latest Kijiji's Second-Hand Economy report says. According to the study, conducted by researchers at the Université du Québec à Montréal, 82% of Canadians participated in the second-hand economy, which translates into $29 billion. Second-hand purchases/sales or reuse involves extending the lifespan of products by allowing them to be reused by other individuals. This can'take on a number of different forms: donations, second-hand purchases, exchanges, free sharing, paid sharing, rental or lending.
According to Peter Spiro who is with the Mowat Centre, a public policy think tank at the School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto, the second-hand economy is a substantial market with an annual growth of 20 percent over the last six years which contributes about $34 billion to the Canada's gross domestic product. Spiro also says that the second-hand market allows a four-person family to save about $1,150 per year while helping divert objects from landfills.
Here are a few highlights from the latest Kijiji study:
- The average Canadian earns $1,037 every single year from taking part in the second-hand economy.
- Millennials are more likely than the general population (51% vs 39%) to see the Second-Hand Economy as an opportunity to make extra cash.
- Canadians exchanged 1.9 billion items in 2016, including items such as cars, baby clothes, furniture, art, and much more. That’s an average of 78 products per person that were granted a second life last year alone!
- Those seeking out second-hand items saved $843.
- Finding new homes for still-useful items is environmentally mindful, and saves over a billion products from going into landfills each year.
Are you interested in starting an online business that involves selling used goods or services or are you looking for something for your home but don't want to pay full price? Take a look at the following books:
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