86% of Taiwanese users have made secondhand purchases before, and the biggest motivating factor is environmental reasons
TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Media OutReach – 30 November 2021 – According to the first Carousell Recommerce Index, led by Carousell Group, the leading classifieds group in Greater Southeast Asia, 86% of Taiwanese users have bought secondhand items before. This is higher than the Carousell Group’s average of 72%, and the second highest market after the Philippines (92%).
Recommerce refers to the selling and buying of previously-owned products, including both new and used in condition. The Carousell Recommerce Index 2021 Report is a Carousell Green initiative to highlight the importance of sustainability and recommerce in the Greater Southeast Asia region. The report covers findings from four Carousell Group brands—Carousell, Cho Tot, Mudah and OneKyat—across eight markets—Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Taiwan ranks highly across various areas when it comes to sustainability and making secondhand the first choice. 30% of respondents, who have bought secondhand items before, say they choose to buy secondhand for environmental reasons. This is higher than the regional average of 21%, tying Taiwan and Singapore for second place. 11% of Taiwanese respondents also say they only buy secondhand where possible.
Hidden preloved earning potential of NT$20,000 and above
Regionally, respondents had an estimated 102,556 unwanted items, or an average of 35 items per user, at home that could be sold. Taiwan ranks second with an average of 52 estimated unwanted items that could be sold per user, very close to first place Indonesia that had an estimate of 57. Taiwan is also one of the markets with many users forecasting up to 100 unwanted items that could be sold. Of these unwanted items at home, 13% of Taiwanese respondents estimate they could earn above NT$20,000 if they sold all the items.
Fashion is the top choice for secondhand
Apparel is the top category that Taiwanese users feel most comfortable to buy (52%) and sell (62%) secondhand. This is no surprise since it has led demand and supply for the past three years, from 2018 to 2020. Tops are most popular for both Women’s and Men’s Fashion, followed by women’s bottoms and dresses. A growing category for secondhand is Luxury which grew to rank third in terms of demand in 2020, and saw listing views increase by 14%.
This trend continues in 2021 where we have observed rapid growth, especially in the Women’s Fashion category. Comparing from mid-May, when Covid cases started to increase, to mid-August 2021, there was a 99% increase in browses for Women’s Fashion, and a 41% increase in listings created.
Growing recommerce in the region
“While recommerce is already gaining traction in Europe and the United States, it is still in its infancy in the Greater Southeast Asian region, especially Taiwan. Carousell Group created the report to better understand the market and sentiments towards secondhand. It is inspiring to see Taiwan leading the sustainability charge among our markets, and the huge potential for everyday Taiwanese users to not only benefit from recommerce, but to also make changes to save the planet. It is an affirmation of us increasing our recommerce efforts for Taiwan, and we will continue to work to increase the trust and convenience in buying and selling secondhand,” said Penny Cox, Head of Recommerce, Carousell.
Carousell Taiwan has been partnering with 7-Eleven Shipping since 2017 to enable users to transact smoothly, safely and reduce their carbon footprint. Users also have the option to donate their e-invoices to a list of charities, most of which are environmental-related.
This year, Carousell launched the Free Items category in Taiwan to help users to list and browse items to give away more quickly. Free Items category listings can move four times faster than the other General Classifieds categories. In another one of our initiatives for Earth Day, our online charity flea market, where we donated NT$10 to the Leopard Cat Association of Taiwan for every participating listing sold, garnered over 12,000 listings.
Lucas Ngoo, Co-founder, Carousell Group said, “As a pioneer for mobile classifieds in the region, Carousell Group has been constantly working to remove friction and enable secure, seamless transactions. With the use of AI and data, we have been focused on accelerating our recommerce leadership in the region to make buying secondhand trusted and convenient. This, in turn, will help to solve the meaningful problem of overconsumption with recommerce and thus make secondhand the first choice for consumers.”
The Carousell Recommerce Index (2021 Report) is available for download here.
About Carousell Group
Carousell Group is the leading classifieds group in Greater Southeast Asia on a mission to inspire the world to start selling, and to make secondhand the first choice. Founded in August 2012 in Singapore, the Group has a leading presence in eight markets under the brands Carousell, Mudah.my, Cho Tot, OneKyat and Ox Street, serving tens of millions of monthly active users. Carousell is backed by leading investors including Telenor Group, Rakuten Ventures, Naver, STIC Investments and Sequoia Capital India. Visit 
here for more information.
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