28% companies sell second-hand products: Survey

As many as 28 percent of all the consumer businesses sell second-hand products themselves as part of their range, according to the Responsible Business 2023 survey commissioned by national postal and logistic services operator Posti.

The survey conducted by the Kantar Finland Oy showed that Finns need to make significant changes to their lifestyles to ensure sustainable development, and businesses need to change their operations for the same reason, said Posti in a press release on Thursday.

The circular economy is one of the changes underway, with almost a third of consumer businesses already selling second-hand products.

About 5% offer a platform for selling second-hand products, allowing consumers to sell products to each other.

About 15% of businesses are interested in this type of business, although they have not yet started it themselves.

Among the obstacles identified in the survey were technical challenges such as building a store site, warranties and reliability, transport and storage.

Almost a third (28%) of Finns have already bought second-hand goods from businesses, not directly from other consumers.

"Every unmanufactured product saves the environment. For example, we have started working with companies to find new ways to sell, handle, and store used products more easily and profitably," said Anna Storm, Posti's Vice-President, Stakeholder Relations, Director of Sustainability.

"The second-hand fashion market, for example, is one of the fastest growing sectors in the trade today. We can significantly boost sustainable growth by working with businesses to make buying second-hand easier, more attractive, and less hassle," said Storm.

According to the survey, consumers are demanding better alternatives from companies and 75% think companies need to change how they operate to ensure sustainable development.

In turn, companies think that customers are interested in environmentally responsible choices (81% of b2c and 75% of b2b companies).

About 61% of companies have either started or are in the process of making their operations more environmentally friendly and 15% of companies have identified the need to do so but 14% of business respondents said they have no plans to do so at present.

However, 77% of consumers think comparing different environmental claims between companies is difficult.

Companies have started to create circular economy business, for example, by selling their own products second-hand in their online or in-store shops.

The Responsible Business 2023 survey was conducted by collecting data in May 2023 through telephone interviews with business decision-makers and an online panel with a consumer focus group.

Respondents in the consumer group were 2079 Finns aged 20-79. From the business side, 301 business managers from b2c and b2b sales companies and 150 b2b purchasing managers were included.