Secondhand retailer Savers is ramping up its expansion strategy in Australia as the local resale market surges, with new stores, cultural partnerships and regional growth firmly on the agenda.
Research from MMR Statistics values Australia’s resale sector at $34.61 billion in 2025, with further growth of close to 10 per cent forecast in 2026. This is a trajectory that Savers Australia managing director Michael Fisher says reflects a structural shift in consumer behaviour.
“We’re seeing a real shift in the way Australians shop,” Fisher says. “Secondhand shopping has firmly moved into the mainstream, with more people embracing reuse not just for sustainability reasons, but also for affordability and style.”
Savers currently operates 18 stores and two warehouses nationally, employing more than 1,200 staff. The retailer has opened six stores in the past two years and is preparing to enter Geelong later this year, marking a push into regional markets.
Fisher says expansion is focused on increasing accessibility to secondhand shopping while embedding stores within high-traffic retail corridors.
“We look for a balance of high foot traffic, strong visibility, and access to diverse communities,” he said. “We want to make sure Savers isn’t just present, but embedded in vibrant retail environments where secondhand shopping can be brought to the forefront.”
Alongside physical growth, the retailer is leaning into brand and cultural positioning, including partnerships with major fashion events such as PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival.
“Secondhand can sit confidently within major fashion platforms,” Fisher says. “That helps shift perceptions and inspire more Australians to embrace reuse.”
Savers’ scale remains central to its competitive positioning, particularly as curated resale platforms and peer-to-peer marketplaces gain traction.
Savers was born in the United States in 1954, and has since scaled to over 300 stores globally. The retailer operates a for-profit, thrift retail business model based on purchasing donated clothing and household goods from non-profit partners, then reselling them. Fisher says this helps fund vital community programs and services across the country.
Over the past five years, the business has reportedly paid approximately $20 million to partners across Australia.
“Our model offers something quite different,” Fisher says. “With thousands of new pre-loved items arriving in our stores every day, we deliver that ‘treasure hunt’ experience while making secondhand accessible at scale.”
Fashion remains one of the strongest-performing categories across its stores, driven by both value and self-expression. Fisher notes most items are priced under $10 on average, reinforcing thrift’s role amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures.
On top of this, Fisher says there is growing interest in self-expression, especially among younger shoppers who are drawn to the creativity and individuality that secondhand fashion offers.
A 2024 survey by Pureprofile and commissioned by Savers found that over 80 per cent of shoppers in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia have engaged in second-hand shopping.
Of those surveyed who said they have purchased second-hand items regularly, over seven in 10 (74 per cent) say a quarter of their wardrobe is thrifted.
The survey also noted that it was the thrill of the find that proved most motivating for thrifters. Specifically, 42 per cent of Australians surveyed were inspired to shop second-hand for the treasure-hunting experience, compared to just 23 per cent who cited price as the driving factor.
This may be aligned with how consumers value the broader benefits of thrift. According to the new research, half of the Australians surveyed see thrifters as more creative with their style. This sentiment is more pronounced in younger generations (60 per cent of Gen Z).
For a third (36 per cent) of Australians surveyed, creative and unique style was considered to be an appealing trait. Sustainable shopping is also considered a positive trait by three in 10 adult Australians surveyed, which also increased for younger generations (four in 10 of both Gen Z and Millennials).
Meanwhile, more than a third (37 per cent) held people who embrace savvy shopping in higher regard.
At the same time, Fisher says customer motivations are evolving.
“Value will always be an important driver,” he says. “But sustainability awareness is growing. Customers aren’t choosing between value and sustainability anymore – they’re looking for both.”
As its network expands, so too does its environmental footprint, Fisher adds. Savers’ Australian operations reportedly diverts more than 9.1 million kilograms of reusable items from landfill annually.
For Fisher, the convergence of affordability, sustainability and cultural relevance is cementing resale’s place in the broader retail landscape.
“The more ways people can engage in reuse, the stronger the circular economy becomes,” he says.