Consumer to consumer trading is growing with 67 per cent of Australians planning to sell items in 2011, a forecasted rise of 9 per cent from 2010, a new study shows.
The Global Trade Study, which was commissioned by Gumtree, found that the increase in consumer to consumer trading is expected to occur amongst 16 to 34-year-old and amongst women.
It is expected that Australian women are set to overtake men in consumer to consumer trading in 2011, with 69 per cent of women planning to sell rather than throw away, compared with only 63 per cent of men. In 2010, it was men that were leading the way, with 61 per cent of males partaking in consumer to consumer trading compared to 57 per cent females.
The survey also found that Australian women are more likely than men to buy from other consumers, with 53 per cent saying they would buy compared to 45 per cent of men. Men are making the most money from selling, with 10 per cent claiming to have made over $300 in the past 12 months.
A quarter of Australians claim to have saved between 50 and 75 per cent from buying from another consumer instead of from retail.
Brian Shanahan, managing director of Gumtree Australia, said people find a home for variety of weird and wonderful items that they no longer use.
“More and more Australians are making the most of their unwanted goods by turning them into cash, rather than simply throwing them away. Over the last 12 months we’ve seen Gumtree grow rapidly and in March 2011 we reached over 1.5 million unique visitors per month.
The study examined patterns and attitudes across nine different countries on trading with other consumers within the community. The study combined internal data with findings from an external study of 9,000 respondents.