Retail Week pulls eBay’s global general manager of fashion Kirsty Keoghan for a chat about the impact of the Love Island partnership, the steps retailers can take to become more sustainable and being the “OG of selling pre-loved fashion”.
Kirsty Keoghan took on the role of global general manager of fashion less than a year ago but she has been a pivotal part of eBay for 12 years.
Her current job sees her driving eBay’s apparel and pre-loved fashion proposition across the UK, US and Germany and she most notably helped the marketplace become the headline sponsor of Love Island this year.
With new data from eBay revealing Brits are expected to buy 50 million throwaway outfits this summer, Keoghan explains what she and eBay are doing to encourage the use of pre-loved clothing.
What impact has the Love Island partnership had on eBay and consumers?
“Everyone was overwhelmingly positive about this partnership, which says to me that consumers and the industry are really ready to think about how they become more circular. During series nine versus series eight, we saw a 1,400% increase in searches for pre-loved fashion.
“We’re now selling one pre-loved item every second on eBay in the UK. We’ve seen that jump as a result of the show and it’s not just on the buyer’s side. We work really closely with sellers and we’ve seen a 20% increase in people listing pre-loved fashion items year on year and we’ve also seen a 24% increase in new circular businesses that have joined eBay so far in 2023.”
Is there a demographic that tends to buy pre-loved fashion more on eBay?
“The 18-34 age bracket tends to have the highest percentage of secondhand clothing in their wardrobes at 22%, which is nearly double that of the over-55s. But actually what we’re seeing is this is becoming more widespread and it’s not just a young person’s game. When we speak to our customers, all the demographics are saying that they would consider buying pre-loved.”
Is there still a stigma around secondhand or pre-loved fashion?
“I would say that was one of the things we were really trying to tackle with working with Love Island and we’ve seen that stigma is changing. So 65% of shoppers will consider buying pre-loved holiday outfits because they are 42% cheaper than they would be if they were to buy new ones.
“I think some of the things that we’re doing to really drive that is through consumer partnerships and working with more business sellers that provide services on behalf of brands or consumers where they’re taking those items. They’re cleaning them and grading them so you know exactly what you’re buying. There’s much more trust associated with buying pre-loved items because we’re able to make sure that we’re providing information to buyers so they feel informed when purchasing.”
Who are the rivals to eBay for providing sustainable fashion?
“We’ve been around for nearly 30 years and along the way, there’s always been a lot of competition. It’s actually very flattering if people want to rival you. One of the things that we’ve really tried to do is bring the industry together. Circular fashion is a really difficult thing for a lot of brands and retailers to tackle, so we’ve tried to bring the industry together to think more collaboratively rather than against each other.
“It is flattering that there are competitors out there but, for me, that’s giving consumers more confidence and more choice for them to go and buy pre-loved items. But I would say we are the OG of selling pre-loved fashion.”
What do you think retailers could do to stop greenwashing?
“I think it’s really hard and that’s why we want to bring the industry together. There is no quick solution to being more circular or being more sustainable. I think that any steps retailers are taking are a good thing, as long as we’re not misleading customers. We’re about nudging, not judging.
“We did some research with WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme) that showed if you brought a pre-loved fashion item instead of a new item once a month, just by making that one different buying decision, you could save 6,000 tonnes of fashion items going to landfill in a year in the UK.
“It’s about making small steps and it’s not going to happen overnight. I hear from brands all the time that they’re really worried about doing the wrong thing, so we just try to encourage them to start somewhere. So start with what you’ve got in front of you to extend the life of that item.”
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