FASHION

Is Instagram Stories changing the way pre-loved fashion is sold?

By Praachi Raniwala
07 February, 2023

While we use Instagram to share snippets from our lives and share sundry recommendations, why not use it to sell from your wardrobe too?

Among the many ways the COVID-19 pandemic changed our consumption patterns, the rise in the reselling market along with pre-loved culture is perhaps the most significant. The reseller market in India was pegged at $600 million in 2020 by management consultancy firm Redseer, who has also projected social commerce in the country to become a $7-billion opportunity by 2025. While there are online platforms that enable cleaning out your closet and fattening your wallet at the same time, on the flip side, there are those seeking a more seamless and instantaneous way to turn reseller, without having to sign up and create accounts in a new marketplace. 

Instagram stories to the rescue

Users of Instagram are now turning their own Stories into temporary shops to open up their wardrobes to their followers, doing away with any middlemen in the process. Rebecca Bloomwood, à la Confessions of a Shopaholic, but for the Instagram age. A study by the e-commerce platform Depop found that users are 2.5 times more likely to make a purchase through Instagram stories than through traditional shopping channels, thanks to its convenience and immediacy. It also helps that at 230.25 million, India has the largest number of Instagram users in the world.

“I don’t really have a lot of engagement on my Stories; I just have an open profile. But I still managed to sell my clothes because many people today are actively looking for interesting finds from thrift stores or via Instagram,” says Sana Thampi

Paurl Gauaba feels it boils down to one’s curation. “You need to have an eye for what you can resell. It’s really about something cool which one may not find elsewhere,” she says

But are individuals really tapping into it at a personal level? New Delhi-based content creator Tarini Manchanda, founder of The Initial Studio, did so during the first wave of the pandemic as a way to support charities raising funds to fight COVID-19. With close to 100k followers, she found a willing audience to buy her pieces, too. Ever since, Manchanda hosts a charity sale via Instagram stories once every six months. For Mumbai-based social media marketing consultant Devika Pathak, it was a way to clean out her closet of as-good-as-new pieces she no longer resonated with. Doing it through Stories was “the lowest-hanging fruit,” to give the concept a try. Meanwhile, model Sana Thampi, who calls Goa home, also turned to the platform last month as the quickest way to declutter her wardrobe. “I wasn’t aware of any other platforms I could do this through,” she says.

The premise is simple. Pull out pieces you want to rid your wardrobe of but are still in good condition. Click a few pictures of each item. Hit upload, and wait for the queries to pour in. Access to UPI's real-time payment system makes purchases quick, while DMs put people at both ends of the purchase directly in touch with each other. “There is a certain amount of credibility when buying pre-owned products directly from an individual on Instagram, because you feel like you know them. It’s not a faceless seller behind a screen,” adds stylist Paurl Gauaba, who started selling surplus items from her inventory and wardrobe on Instagram Stories during the pandemic, and has since created her Poshmark account too.


Behind the scenes 

Pricing is key, in this case. A majority of Thampi’s pieces were priced at ₹ 500. The ones Gauba owns typically start at ₹ 200, with only selected designer pieces going up to ₹ 1,500. Buying from someone donating proceeds to charity ends up being an added incentive for many shoppers. “We raised over ₹ 2 lakhs from the first sale,” reveals Manchanda.

Pricing is key, in this case. Image: Pexels

As effortless as it sounds, is the process seamless enough to execute? Manchanda admits that it can be chaotic, requiring a few days’ time dedicated to the sale. “The process is very manual. You need to photograph and catalogue the items, write about their condition, and keep track and respond quickly to the barrage of DMs that come in once you start posting,” she admits. “Logistics can be tedious, and when you are selling over 30 pieces in one go, as I do, there is room for error too,” she admits.

It is exactly this cumbersome process that put Tania Jones Koshy, a community manager at a luxury marketplace, off planning such sales. “I really wanted it to work out but it was very stressful,” she says candidly. Koshy also admits that the social stigma attached to this activity had her wary. “Everyone has barely-used items of great quality in their wardrobes, and it would be amazing to make some money off them to buy something new instead, but there is still a social stigma attached to it. Selling your car is considered alright but selling your clothes to your Instagram followers, when it’s not for charity, can make you come across as ‘cheap’,” she says.

“I announced that I am having a closet sale, and asked those interested to DM me. I only sent those who replied, images of what I was selling,” says Devika Pathak

Tarini Manchanda Manchanda raised over ₹ 2 lakhs from the first sales she did via her Instagram stories as a way to support charities raising funds to fight COVID-19

Pathak, who realised it wouldn’t align with the aesthetic of her account if she suddenly started selling clothes on Instagram Stories, created her own twist to the format. “I announced that I am having a closet sale, and asked those interested to DM me. I only sent those who replied, images of what I was selling,” she explains.

Koshy feels it’s easier for influencers to capitalise on this model as they already have an actively engaged community, many of whom might also enjoy the flex of wearing something that was once owned by their favourite influencer. Thampi, who has about 6,000 followers on Instagram, did not find this count to be a hindrance. “I don’t really have a lot of engagement on my Stories; I just have an open profile. But I still managed to sell my clothes because many people today are actively looking for interesting finds from thrift stores or via Instagram.” Gauaba feels it boils down to one’s curation. “You need to have an eye for what you can resell. It’s really about something cool which one may not find elsewhere,” she adds. “You can’t list a basic black H&M t-shirt and expect it to sell, even if you price it very low. But a cool T-shirt from Bhaane or Huemn? Why not?” she says.

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