SEOUL – Despite weekly drops from fast-fashion brands and fast-moving trend cycles, a growing number of consumers in South Korea are shopping differently.

For Gen Z, shopping is less about browsing department stores or following platform rankings and more about “digging”, scouring secondhand platforms and shops to unearth pieces that match their taste.

That shift, driven by rising living costs and value-driven spending, has pushed secondhand consumption out of the margins and into the mainstream.

The numbers back it up. According to the Hana Institute of Finance, South Korea’s re-commerce market is estimated to have grown more than tenfold, from 4 trillion won (S$3.48 billion) in 2008 to 43 trillion won in 2025.

Cost savings remain the biggest draw, with multiple surveys citing lower prices as the top motivation for buying used items.

South Korean consumers are increasingly getting used to thrifting. In a survey of 1,000 people aged 13 to 59 by market researcher Embrain, 78 per cent of respondents said they had bought or sold used clothing, and 62 per cent said they viewed secondhand clothing as a natural option.

The global market is expanding quickly as well. Research and Markets projects the global secondhand apparel market will more than double from about US$199 billion (S$256.99 billion) in 2025 to US$486 billion in 2031.

Companies now handle the entire process, from collection and inspection to pricing, care and delivery, improving reliability compared to past person-to-person transactions.