Belt-tightening Greeks turn to secondhand bargains

ATHENS－Buying and selling secondhand has been taboo in Greece for a long time. However, the market has been on the rise in recent years amid a series of crises, experts and retailers said.

Thrift stores started mushrooming in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis that shrank the average disposable income of Greeks by 25 percent.

The pandemic gave a boost to online purchases, from clothing to furniture and electric appliances as well, while the new energy crisis and inflationary pressure, combined with growing concern about the climate crisis, strengthened this shift in the behavior of Greek consumers.

In a survey by classified ads platform Vendora.gr released in August, 67.3 percent of respondents said it will take more than two years for the current economic situation to get better.

"One out of three respondents stated that selling things they don't need anymore to make some extra money actually is a good way to tackle the inflation," Kimon Tousmanof, head of marketing at Vendora.gr, said. "Greeks not only start seeing that buying and selling secondhand has financial benefits, but they also see the environmental benefits of the whole thing."

Of the more than 800 people surveyed, 49 percent of people in Greece turn to the secondhand market to save money, 15 percent for variety and uniqueness and 10 percent out of concern for the environment.

"We've been seeing a trend going on these past years in Greece that Greeks are embracing more and more secondhand buying and selling. And it's estimated that until 2025, the market, the industry of secondhand buying and selling will double in size (compared to pre-pandemic levels)," Tousmanof said.

Growing demand

Eight out of 10 Greeks are looking for bargains and about half of them have purchased one secondhand item within three months, showed another survey conducted by local polling firm Focus Bari earlier this year among over 6,000 people.

Vendora.gr registered a 40 to 45 percent increase in traffic during the pandemic. And the market is also growing offline.

Tatyana Todorova, a Bulgarian who moved to Greece in 2007, owns a secondhand vintage store in central Athens since 2015.

Since the financial crisis, she has seen Greeks flocking to her store, and more such stores opening across Athens.

"More and more people realize we shouldn't constantly buy new clothes. Not only for financial reasons, but also for quality and environmental protection," Todorova said.

"Among my customers are people who are wealthy and interested in the quality of garments. Many of them are seeking vintage clothing from the '70s to '90s," she said.

Xinhua