Goodwill is making its first online effort with GoodwillFinds, a curated marketplace of donated products that competes with Poshmark and The RealReal.
The site launches with more than 100,000 goods, including apparel, toys, and housewares, as well as exceptional high-end bargains.
The century-old organisation produced $5.4 billion in retail sales of donated products in the US and Canada last year. GoodwillFinds CEO Matthew Kaness said the net earnings assist over 100,000 people acquire full-time jobs each year.
Goodwill is one of the pioneers of the circular economy, he added. Three billion pounds of stuff were salvaged from landfills by Goodwill’s 3,300 shops in the US and Canada last year.
The site will feature over a quarter million products by the beginning of next year, Kaness said, and a collectors’ loyalty programme is in the works. They want to partner with social media influencers to promote their favourite findings.
“To date, 90% of sales have been through non-digital selling channels, mostly through third party marketplaces like Amazon and eBay,” Kaness added. Goodwill members from around the country, including six board members, envisioned the e-commerce platform. Kaness, a Walmart, Urban Outfitters, and Modcloth veteran, wants to get all Goodwill stores in the US and Canada online.
Morningstar predicts that the resale sector would outperform retail by three times until 2031. The secondhand market might reach $82 billion by 2026, according to ThredUp’s 2022 Resale Report.
“Watching the emergence of secondhand marketplaces and their popularity online has been a big impetus,” Kaness added.