Reselling the products has always been the habit of many on their own scale. Some sell their existing car to purchase a new one, while others replace their old smartphone with the latest one. So, there is a specific terminology for this practice called ReCommerce. There are several mediums through which we sell our old products, known as the ReCommerce platforms.
What Does ReCommerce Mean?
When I was in school and college, I used to sell my books to my juniors and purchase new books from the seniors. This habit of mine used to help me enormously to save a lot of money on the stationeries. I am pretty sure that you would have done the same.
So, ReCommerce is nothing but the same practice on a bigger scale with more technological advancements. Defined in simpler words, ReCommerce is the practice in which a person sells his/her used product to the seller or other customer who might make better use of the same product. The portfolio of the product can be as broad as books, electronics, vehicles, smartphones, media, clothing, lifestyle products, and many more.
History of The Term “ReCommerce”
The term ReCommerce was introduced by George F. Colony in February 2005, stating that “There’s a lot of shelf-life issues out there. People are a couple of releases behind. Older PCs. There is a move to really go back to — we call it ‘ReCommerce’. Instead of ‘ecommerce’, it’s ‘ReCommerce’”. Most companies and big organizations initiated offering the buyback in the early 2000s, which proved to be a big factor in securing an upward curve in the performance.
The Growth of ReCommerce Online
When the reselling was just limited to local stores and peers, the online platforms showed up to give a boom to this practice. The availability of online platforms such as Shopify, Olx, eBay, and many others has made it so handy and accessible for people to sell their products quickly to other people at a reasonable price.
Different Types of ReCommerce
There are several methods by which the ReCommerce practices occur in the consumer’s landscape. Some of them are stated as below:
Informal market
When you sell your goods directly to other customers via platforms such as Amazon or eBay, it refers to an informal market. The platforms like these help ensure the safety of payment and avoid the chances of fraudulent activities in the deal.
Trade-In & ReCommerce services
Some specific companies and businesses execute this type of ReCommerce. They purchase the products from the customers at a predefined price and then refurbish the received goods. By transforming the goods into something more useful, these companies then sell the goods, securing a good profit for themselves.
Buy Back & Trade-In offers by Vendors of new products
A lot of companies, especially electronic ones, provide the option of buyback to their customers. Most multinational organizations provide this service by purchasing back the old item and providing a significant discount on the new one. It makes the latest products more affordable to the customers. For businesses, it becomes easier to secure space for their latest products in the competitive market.
ReCommerce vs Ecommerce
ReCommerce can be considered as the subset of E-commerce in which specific kinds of deals take place. ReCommerce provides the service of buying and selling used and second-hand goods only. It might be offline, or online via any big as well as a small platform. There is no contribution of the new products in the business model of ReCommerce.
Ecommerce, on the other hand, is a vast field that deals with new as well as used products. If you purchase a brand new smartphone and a used phone from online platforms, both of the transactions will be counted in Ecommerce. So, most of the ReCommerce is an ecommerce, but very few of ecommerce belong to ReCommerce.
Types of Purchased Products
Kudos to the online network of the platforms; ReCommerce now deals with the broad goods portfolio. Below is a brief description of the types of products associated with ReCommerce.
- Non-durable products which have a specific life, such as jeans, razors, corks, eyeglasses, watches, pantyhose, etc.
- Physical media such as books, journals, DVDs, and CDs.
- Jewelry items such as silver and gold.
- Technological gadgets such as tablets, smartphones, computers, video games, cameras, etc.
- Clothing and lifestyle items such as wearables, handbags, and other small goods.
What are the Benefits of ReCommerce?
The benefits of ReCommerce are not just limited to the monetary rewards, but it is much more than that. ReCommerce offers many benefits such as:
Affordability
ReCommerce makes shopping very affordable in numerous ways. First of all, it is always cost-efficient to buy second-hand and used items compared to new ones. You can even buy two products at the price of one.
In case you have the thought of purchasing a brand new item only, in that case, your old item can help you secure a significant discount for the new product.
Increased sustainability
The central vision behind the concept of Re-commerce is sustainability. The trends such as fast fashion have caused adverse impacts on the sustainability of the environment. The will to purchase the latest goods leaves a sea of waste behind it. So, ReCommerce is an excellent solution to increase sustainability by making the lifecycle of the goods longer.
Encouraging the better consumption
Most of the time, people are very careless with their products. ReCommerce has helped significantly in the better consumption of the products as well. People are now more responsible for their goods as ReCommerce increases the worth of used goods.
What are the ReCommerce Packaging Solutions?
Whether customers buy new or old products, they still expect efficient packaging when they receive the order. Sustainable packaging of the used products is preferred because Re-commerce is all about sustainability for the environment. Several internet packaging service providers help pack the used products and deliver them to the buyer.
Different Focus Points of ReCommerce
ReCommerce
It is the standard term in which the seller receives the cash award, discount coupons, or vouchers for selling the goods.
Solidarity ReCommerce
In this marketing position of ReCommerce, the sellers are offered an opportunity to donate the residual value of the goods to non-profit organizations or other social causes.
Ecological ReCommerce
This kind of ReCommerce takes place for effective waste management by disposing of the products of polluting capacity.
Build Your Own eCommerce Store
Hire eCommerce Developers
The Positive Impact of ReCommerce
Environment
The biggest positive impact of ReCommerce can be experienced on the environment.
- It increases the lifecycle of the product.
- It helps to reuse the existing products to manufacture the new ones and thus encourage sustainable consumption of resources.
- It enables the sustainable consumption of goods.
- Recycling and reusing the goods enhance waste management.
The purchasing power of consumers
ReCommerce is a significant catalyst for increasing the purchasing power of consumers:
- Second hand and used goods are more cost-efficient to buy, and it makes the shopping affordable for everyone
- Exchanging the old goods against the new ones provides a significant discount to consumers.
Development factors of ReCommerce
Customer’s behavior
Customer behavior is the most significant development factor for ReCommerce. Most people in developing countries have the habit of giving their old goods to others. This practice is followed by millions of people worldwide at the local level. So, it attracted the need for online platforms and mediums of ReCommerce.
Efficient waste management
Efficient waste management is the other development factor for the same. Many countries have laws and legislation for the manufacturers to collect used items and goods from their customers and make efficient use of them.
Usability of existing products
Most electronic goods companies recall their old products from the consumers. The manufacturer uses the same spare parts of the products to manufacture the new ones, and it helps them save a lot of manufacturing costs and thus secure a good margin.
Issues with the ReCommerce
It is not easy for any firm to start the practices of ReCommerce as it requires a lot of work to be done, which is not possible for every small and medium-sized firm. Below are some of the issues with ReCommerce practices:
- Firstly, ReCommerce requires a lot of process management, such as logistics management, customer relations, information systems, price control, and many others.
- Once the firm has collected the goods, they need to make further improvements to make them worth selling.
- In the end, the firm needs to make efforts to resell the product. An organization has to perform marketing, listing, and promoting the product to attract the buyers of products.
Why ReCommerce will Continue to Grow?
The current generation is more aware of their responsibilities to the environment. It has been recorded that one-third of Generation Z prefers to buy used and second-hand products. Moreover, the rules and regulations for effective waste management and the quality of products are also coming into the limelight. Manufacturers are also benefiting from using the old products for manufacturing the new ones.
These factors help predict that the ReCommerce industry will experience good growth in the upcoming years.
Ten Tips for ReCommerce Success
- Present the goods with good quality pictures and graphics
- Provide a detailed summary of the product
- Ensure to give an honest description
- Provide good customer service
- Conduct research about your target audience
- Connect with the target audience on social media
- Offer heavy discounts wherever possible
- Focus on fulfilling the order at the earliest date
- Provide easy-to-use tracking scans
- Provide the products according to trend
Five Top ReCommerce Sites
- Poshmark: It helps users to list the product they want to sell on the website or mobile application.
- RealReal: Mainly designed to sell and purchase second-hand luxury home decor, jewelry, clothing, and art items.
- ThredUp: one of the best platforms to sell clothing goods.
- Vestiaire Collective: a platform to sell luxury consignments.
- Depop: a platform designed for making deals in vintage and designer products.
How Can We Help You?
This blog must have provided you with an idea about the concept of ReCommerce and how it is going to secure tremendous growth in the upcoming years. So you can also be a part of this growing trend of the market and bring a good side income out of it. As one of the best and most experienced web and app development companies, we can provide you with the platform to start your journey in ReCommerce. Being a frequent seller is a good idea when you are a regular buyer. It helps you manage your finances more efficiently and contribute to environmental sustainability goals.
Conclusion
ReCommerce is a new emerging trend allowing people worldwide to sell their used products. The concept of ReCommerce helps the buyer and seller secure several benefits for themselves. The buyer gets a hefty discount on the new items by exchanging them with the old ones. It helps to make things more affordable and thus enhance purchasing power. Similarly, after making the necessary improvements, the seller can resell the product securing a good margin for themself.
Apart from monetary benefits, the most significant advantage of ReCommerce is that it enhances a product’s life cycle, making it more sustainable for the environment.
#23 Chase Tower, opp. Metro Pillar 31,
USA
UK
UK
