The resale of Christmas gifts was in full swing on Sunday, up from last year at Rakuten France, the e-commerce site seeing it as a sign of the erosion of purchasing power in the face of inflation, some preferring to recover money rather than keep a gift that is not very popular or of little use.

Rakuten France counted at 3 p.m. more than 650,000 new ads posted on its platform since the start of the morning, a growth of 8% compared to 2021, at the same time.

"Perhaps once taboo, the resale of gifts is now quite anchored in the habits of the French" who "think of the planet by trying to have a more reasoned mode of consumption and of their wallet" by seeking "to preserve their purchasing power," says Flora Louvet, communications manager for Rakuten France.

“We are really on a very purchasing power aspect.

It's a real budget boost for both the retailer and the buyer,” the spokesperson points out.

Big discounts

The discount reaches, according to her, about 15% for a very recent product in new condition and the discount can even go up to 70% for a more common and less recent product.

Before Christmas, nearly one in two French people said they were considering reselling their Christmas present, i.e. 8 points more than in 2021, according to the annual barometer carried out at the end of November by Ipsos for Rakuten France.

The economic inflationary context is more felt this year: 16% of respondents (+6 points compared to 2021) indicate that they resell their Christmas gifts for budgetary reasons, according to this study.

At eBay France, around 12:00 p.m., around 100,000 new ads had been posted.

But according to the online platform, no special jump in resales this year: after an explosion in online sales in 2020 and 2021, years marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, “we are returning to normal trends” and “fairly faithful to forecasts," said Louise Benzrihem, eBay France project manager.

However, she also underlines the particular dimension of the inflationary context: "As the Christmas budget is affected by the impact of inflation, the resale of gifts makes it possible to supplement this budget or put money aside", adds the specialist, who expects another peak in resale “about 30 days after Christmas, once the period for returning the goods has expired” on the receipts.

Books, video games and mobile phones are the star gifts for resale, alongside perfumes, Lego and Playmobil, according to these two players in the sector.

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  • Economy

  • Christmas presents

  • Christmas

  • eBay

  • purchasing power