Comment on Charity clothing stores turn to Depop and Instagram as they head upmarket with vintage and designer items

Clothing displayed in a British Heart Foundation store in Newcastle.Grace Dean/Insider Britain's charity shops are changing how they look and trying to appeal to Gen Z customers. They're selling more vintage and designer clothes, putting items on Depop, and flocking to Instagram. They're carefully curating stores and displays to evoke the atmosphere of a boutique or vintage shop. Britain's charity shops are changing.They're selling more designer and vintage items, creating listings on Depop, and carefully curating their social-media profiles — all targeted mainly at appealing to the growing number of Gen Z shoppers.Clothing displayed in an Oxfam store in Chiswick.Grace Dean/InsiderEven before the pandemic, charity shops had been experiencing a fall in visitor numbers and sales volume, Kate Avenell, head of retail development at Save the Children, told Insider.But coming out of the pandemic, customers showed a "significant shift" both to vintage and retro fashions and to charity shops as more people focused on sustainability, Maria Broomheadsmith, Sue Ryder's retail sales manager for the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire region, said.Donna McGinnigle, project manager at the British Heart Foundation, said there had been a "huge surge" of Gen Z and student shoppers who were visiting stores "in droves.""Things don't stay on the shop floor for long," Avenell added.Clothing displayed in a Mary's Living and Giving store in Chiswick.Grace Dean/InsiderTamara Sender Ceron, associate director fashion retail at market-research company Mintel, told Insider that 26% of people aged 16 to 34 had used marketplace apps like Depop and Vinted over the past year.Ceron added that while many Gen Zs are expected to continue to buy from fast-fashion giants, "there is growing awareness about the impact on the environment and a pushback from some in this generation is likely to turbo-charge the second-hand and rental/subscription markets."Charities have cashed in on this.