Depop feels less like shopping and more like social media to Gen Z. The app’s users are mostly Gen Z and young Millennials, who see resellers upload 400K items daily. And with the pre-owned market growing seven times faster than traditional retail, its U.S. sales jumped 54% year-over-year in Q2 of 2025. What sets it apart is what one user calls the “element of socialness”—they can stalk sellers’ profiles, follow their curations, and discover finds that users say are “more trendy or relevant” than on other resale sites. Essentially, the shopping “feels personal,” with many sellers modeling their own clothes and writing product descriptions that go viral in their own right. Depop’s new Pinterest-like “Outfits” collage feature also doubles down on making secondhand curation feel like part of Gen Z’s identity, not just another shopping app. It’s also an income stream: some Gen Z sellers earn around 20% of their money from the platform. (NYT)
👀 Read more from YPulse: The Real Appeal of Secondhand Shopping to Gen Z
