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Britain Loves Second Hand

Posted: 25 October 2008 by Ian

A report released this week by online research company Hitwise shows an increase in demand for second hand goods in the UK over the last 12 months, with online classifieds web sites such as Preloved seeing a big boost in traffic as a result.

Between September 2007 And September 2008, UK web searches including the term "second hand" increased by 22%. The most popular search terms included second hand cars, second hand books and second hand furniture. Interestingly (and something which matches our own experience) second hand wedding dresses also made it into the top 10.

The report cites the UK credit crunch as a possible reason for such an increase, although Preloved suspects that environmental concerns are also playing a role as people look to buying and selling second hand as a way of reducing the amount of stuff we send to land fill.

Hitwise reports that as a result of this increase, classifieds web sites have on average enjoyed a 47% boost in traffic between September 2007 and September 2008. In fact here at Preloved we are seeing even stronger growth, with Preloved traffic increasing by 54% over the same period.

The research also confirmed Preloved's position amongst the 5 most visited classified advertising web sites in the UK.