Exclusive Preview: A Conversation with Erin Wallace, VP, Marketing at ThredUp on a Trend No Retailer Can Afford to Ignore
A Conversation with Erin Wallace, VP, Marketing at ThredUp
In a compelling conversation hosted by eTail, Erin Wallace, Vice President of Marketing at ThredUp, sat down with eTail Event Director Kristin Schoenstein to dive into the transformative journey of ThredUp and its pivotal role in promoting sustainable fashion. Enjoy this glimpse of what you can expect to hear from Erin ahead of the event!
Kristen Schoenstein, Event Director, eTail (KS):
Okay, welcome everyone. We're here today with Erin Wallace, she's the VP of Marketing for ThredUp. And I'm Kristen Schoenstein, team portfolio director for the eTail event. And we have Erin with us today just to talk a little bit about the world of resale and maybe share some tidbits about what she'll be doing at our 25th anniversary event coming up next month. We're super excited to have you, Erin, and hear some more about what ThredUp's been up to.
Erin Wallace, VP, Integrated Marketing, ThredUp (EW):
Sure. So actually the vast majority of my career, almost 20 years at this point, believe it or not, has been spent in thrift and resale. So first as head of marketing and communications at Crossroads Trading, which is a national brick and mortar resale chain. And then for the last six years at ThredUp, first as the brand director and now as the VP of marketing. So, I oversee the teams, the creative brand, consumer comms teams that are tasked with building ThredUp into a beloved brand and a household name.
KS:
Well, certainly, it's certainly becoming a household name, that's for sure. Also, we're seeing like a big trend in resale commerce. And everyone's kind of getting on that bandwagon. It's really booming. According to ThredUp's apparel resale report that you did, the global market for secondhand apparel is slated to reach, I think $350 billion by 2027. So really big numbers. How does your marketing strategy at ThredUp, you know, one of our largest online resale online resale marketplaces reflect that shift?
EW:
Well, I mean, our marketing strategy really continues, where we've been building from, and we're really continuing to focus on consumer education across two core areas. And the first, of course, is fashion's impact on the planet. We've done a lot of work in this space and educating consumers how resale is a powerful solution to the industry's wastefulness, resale, the resale of just a single garment reduces its emissions by an average of 25%. So there's real impact there. And then second, really educating consumers on the fundamental economic value of shopping secondhand. So ThredUp, as you've said, it's huge. We carry, just to put a few numbers on that, we carry 55,000 brands across a hundred categories, all up to 90% off traditional retail prices. So it's a pretty powerful offering to consumers right now who are facing a lot of headwinds across inflation, student loans, high interest rates, you know, and on and on. So the value of secondhand has never looked more attractive.
KS:
For sure. And myself, I like just being able to send my own stuff to ThredUp and consign it. So that's just a nice benefit for sure for me. So it's great. We have a catchphrase at eTail. We always say changing the face of retail. How would you say that ThredUp is kind of changing the face of retail?
EW:
I mean, we love change and the face of retail needs to change. So, and really, I mean our mission is about change, so it's, our mission is to inspire the world to think secondhand first. And over the last 15 years, we've spent time building a platform that actually makes it easy to buy and sell secondhand clothing and accessories. Something that really didn't exist 15 years ago. But in the last five years we really extended our platform, to brands and retailers through our resale as a service offering. We call it RaaS, so that they can offer resale experiences to their customers. So right now we work with dozens of brands from global brands like J Crew, Tommy Hilfiger, all the way to like heritage brands like Madewell or Michael Stars. And I think that that work to bring secondhand to the masses, not only through our own marketplace, but obviously also in partnership with brands and retailers. That's the major shift in retail that we believe is creating a more sustainable future for fashion.
KS:
Future for sure. I'm definitely seeing it on more and more websites. You'll see the resale section. A lot of children's wear for sure. I was actually just on Hannah Anderson today and saw that they're doing resale, like it's everywhere.
EW:
Yes. Really not what you would've seen just a few years ago. So, really a big shift happening in retail and in a good positive shift. So that's exciting. So as you know, it's our 25th anniversary coming up. Congratulations. Yeah, we're really excited to have you there. And I think you've been to eTail in the past, and kind of seen the show. So what are you excited for, for next month coming to the show?
EW:
Yeah, I'm really happy to be here this year specifically. I think because we're seeing so much change in marketing and retail right now, more so than we've seen in the last handful of years. And, I'm really excited not only to share insights from ThredUp, but also really learn from other disruptive companies who are thinking about new things in new ways.