US shoppers flock to thrift stores to skirt price hikes on clothing: ‘It’s tariff-free’

US shoppers are flocking to thrift stores as anxiety around President Trump’s trade war – and its potential to reheat inflation – sparks demand in the tariff-free secondhand market.

Evergreen Goodwill, a Washington-based network of 23 thrift stores, said its weekly foot traffic rose 6% year-over-year in the first half of this year — double the 3% annual growth the network typically records.

At its flagship Seattle location — the largest Goodwill store in the world — foot traffic is up 9%, bringing in 16,000 visitors each week.

“Last Monday, we had a little over 80 people in line waiting to get in,” said Kahina Boufnar, a production manager at the Seattle flagship who helps sort through and price more than 57,000 items for sale each week.

For months, trade experts have warned that Trump’s tariffs could raise prices. Wholesale inflation increased at a much hotter-than-expected 3.3% pace in July, while consumer inflation remained fairly tame.

That’s a sign that businesses are eating the added costs – for now. Apparel prices increased just 0.1% in July. Still, prices for infant and toddler apparel soared 3.3% and footwear jumped 1.4%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Clothing is a particularly tariff-sensitive category, as major textile manufacturers like Vietnam, India, Cambodia and China face hefty rates.

“Everything is so much more expensive,” said Melanie Haid, 26, a writer and blogger at melwearswhat.com who lives in New York City. “Things are looking, I would say, pretty dire.”

“I would love for everything in my life to be thrifted if possible, honestly,” Haid told The Post, adding that she needs to save her money for pricey necessities like rent and groceries.

By February, half of customers said they are more likely to shop pre-owned goods to avoid tariff-related price hikes, according to a survey of 1,022 US consumers by Smarty and Propeller Insights.

Buffalo Exchange, an Arizona-based chain of 41 thrift stores that includes five New York City locations, said trade pressures have helped its business soar in the first half of 2025. 

“I do think it’s probably related to the tariffs, the economy,” Jessica Pruitt, marketing manager at Buffalo Exchange, told The Post. “Already, our business does well in economically unstable or tough times, because people of course start to prioritize value more.”

“It’s tariff-free, you know, which is great. It won’t be affected by those things.”

Savers, a thrift chain based in Bellevue, Wash., with 171 stores across the country, saw “double-digit growth in the US” in its second quarter, according to CEO Mark Walsh.

Meanwhile, downloads jumped 13% across a cohort of resale apps including eBay, Poshmark, Mercari, Depop, ThredUp and The RealReal, according to data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.

Monthly active users, who interact with the app at least once, rose 12% during the same period.

“[Growth] picked up, and it can be for a lot of reasons, most likely the economy,” Seema Shah, vice president of research and insights at Sensor Tower, told The Post.

Manish Chandra, founder and CEO of Poshmark, which mainly sells secondhand clothing, said he expects this trend to ramp up “as the landscape of tariffs and imports evolves.”

Thrift stores have already been welcoming a wider demographic of customers over the past few years as young adults and teens drive up interest in vintage and “one-of-a-kind” items.

“There is really something special to be said about taking time and sifting through racks and racks of clothing and finding that really unique piece,” Haid told The Post.

Goodwill employees have also noticed shoppers are snapping up bulky items like furniture and homeware more frequently instead of just clothing.

“The shopping carts now have all departments in it,” Boufnar told The Post.

Pruitt, who runs the marketing team at Buffalo Exchange, said thrifting’s reputation has made an about-face.

“When we first started out, secondhand shopping – it definitely was not on people’s list. It was not top of mind. There was sort of a stigma against it,” Pruitt told The Post.

“Now for a lot of people, especially Gen Z, it’s like the first choice and it’s cool.”

“Conscious shopping really emerged in a major way,” Hitha Herzog, chief retail analyst at H Squared Research and part-time faculty at Parsons, told The Post. “You then add in the layer of tariffs…and that is the icing on the cake.”

It’s also a unique industry in its ability to withstand trade shocks like tariffs.

Executives at Evergreen Goodwill and Buffalo Exchange said they don’t foresee having to raise prices or face shortages anytime in the near future, as sales donations of secondhand togs remain robust.

“We are in a unique position to really have great confidence in the future,” Derieontay Sparks, senior vice president of retail operations at Evergreen Goodwill, told The Post.