If 2024 was about proving that charity retail could scale online, 2025 was the year the sector quietly learned how complex that success actually is.
Across conversations with charity retailers, pilots we observed, and signals from the wider resale market, a few themes kept surfacing. What follows isn’t a how-to guide - it’s a set of reflections from a year where charity retail e-commerce matured fast!
1. More competition doesn’t mean fewer opportunities - just new tactics
The second-hand market is growing, including competition. More retailers. More listings. More volume moving through platforms like eBay, Vinted, Vestiaire Collective and more.
With all that growth, attention is becoming a scarce resource. For charity retailers, this showed in 2025. Teams that once saw strong sell-through with basic flat-lay photos began noticing softer click-through rates as competition intensified. The listings didn’t get worse - everything else just got better.
Insight for 2026: in crowded marketplaces, standing out matters. Virtual models, consistent photography, clearer pricing signals and better descriptions don’t just “look nice”; they help charity listings compete and cut through the noise.
Bonus: if you want to read up on recent A/B tests done using virtual models check out the freely available Model Memo report.
2. “Which platform should we sell on?” became the wrong question
One of the most common conversations we heard in 2025 was platform uncertainty:
“Should this go on eBay or Vinted?”“Is Depop worth the effort?”
It’s an understandable question, but the reality is messier and more interesting: every item has its own natural platform.
ThredUp’s research consistently shows that resale success is driven by fit-between item, audience, and context. Charity retail is no different. The brands, categories, and even aesthetics that perform on one platform often underperform on another. Instead of asking where should we sell, the better question became:
“Where does this specific item perform best - and how do we learn that faster?”
Insight for 2026: the strongest teams aren’t choosing platforms, they’re testing them. Experimentation beats hard and fast policies
Bonus tip: if you’re interested in which marketplaces offer the best prices for certain categories, check out the freely available Seller Power Index report.
3. Fears about international selling are real - but so is the missed upside
Shipping costs, customs forms, tariffs, buyer disputes - international selling spooked many teams in 2025. And in fairness, the risks are real.
But the unintended consequence? High-value items quietly capped by domestic demand.
ThredUp’s global data highlights something charity retailers are just beginning to feel: cross-border resale demand is strongest at the premium end. Buyers will tolerate complexity when the item is rare, desirable, or meaningfully under-priced.
Insight for 2026: international selling doesn’t need to be “on” or “off.”
Several teams found success by introducing high-value item policies:
International shipping enabled only above a price threshold
Specific categories approved for cross-border sales
Clear internal rules that remove ad-hoc decision-making
This kept risk contained - without leaving revenue stuck in a storage crate.
4. Centralised models scale neatly. Decentralised models scale sustainably
Most charity retailers still operate centralised e-commerce models: items leave stores, move to a hub and get listed by e-commerce teams. It’s clean. It’s controlled. And it works - until volume, logistics, or staffing costs start pushing back.
Decentralised, store-led listing models we observed in 2025 consistently showed the lowest cost per item listed, with fewer logistical costs. Yet adoption of this model remains cautious. In our experience, it’s not strictly because decision makers think stores can’t do it - it’s just that building that confidence takes time, or the right tech.
What we’ve seen is that when stores list their own items, keep them on the shop floor, and witness their contribution to online sales in person, engagement rises. Quality improves, and e-commerce stops feeling like “something head office is making us do.”
Insight for 2026: decentralisation e-commerce provides a sense of "ownership" and empowerment to stores that leads to better buy-in across multi-location networks.
Centralised models still hold considerable merit (and often advantages) - but investing in tech that offers the right control could result in more empowered store teams and a more efficient e-commerce program.
Looking ahead to 2026: less certainty, better questions
If 2025 taught us anything about e-commerce, it’s that the sector isn’t short on platforms, tools, or demand. What’s emerging instead is a more nuanced understanding of trade-offs:
Visibility vs volume
Control vs empowerment
Simplicity vs upside
ThredUp’s broader resale forecasts suggest second-hand will keep growing - but the winners won’t just be those who move fastest. They’ll be the ones who learn fastest.
Detailed case studies are available on pilots we ran in 2025 with UK and EU charity retailers. To receive your free copy or to general advice on e-commerce projects in 2026, you can contact us via stephan@mnm.st.
