Vinted matches Primark's cashless transactions in clear indication of pre-loved retail growth

CACI, the consumer and location intelligence specialist, has revealed that Vinted, the online marketplace, has matched Primark for the number of cashless transactions in March and April. The data comes from CACI’s new platform, Brand Dimensions, which compares spend across 300 well-known brands representative of the UK market.

The data highlights three key findings: the exponential growth of Vinted, which has multiplied its transaction numbers seven-fold in 18 months; increasing consumer demand for value retail, both online and offline; and the generational shift in spending patterns from young people.

Brand Dimensions shows that both Vinted and Primark delivered nearly 900,000 cashless transactions in March and upped this to nearly 1 million in April. Propelled by advertising campaigns and recent partnerships with the likes of Channel 4 and ITV, as well as changing consumer patterns when it comes to buying second-hand goods, Vinted has seen 680% growth over the last 18 months.

While the data only accounts for cashless purchases, and the average ATV (Average Transaction Value) for Primark sits slightly higher than Vinted, it shows the growing relevance of pre-loved fashion, as a more sustainable and lower value choice. The customer demographics also provides interesting insight into the performance of Vinted and Primark. Using CACI’s Acorn segmentation, it is evident that Primark has maintained a consistent customer profile in the last 18 months. Vinted however typically over-indexes for mid-affluence groups, but is increasingly appealing to higher affluence, with Acorn’s Executive Wealth and Mature Money groups in particular transacting more.

Alongside these findings, CACI’s Centre Dynamics data, a location intelligence platform which analyses a range of retail destinations around the UK, has also revealed some insight on the provision of physical fashion retail. 100% of city centres have reduced their clothing and footwear provision, as have 99% of major town centres and 93% of regional malls, pointing to a significant change in destination approach and the evolving online and pre-loved fashion market.

Rachael Bedford, Brand Dimensions Lead at CACI, commented: “Vinted has achieved rapid growth over the last 18 months, no doubt accelerated by well-targeted advertising campaigns, partnerships, and desire to shop more sustainably. By mirroring the cashless transaction level of one of the most popular high-street brands, Vinted is illustrating its ability to attract more users, drive better engagement, and deliver a solid ecosystem which is accessible and user-friendly. Given Vinted’s very low-price points, it does raise questions as to whether the brand will continue on this path, or perhaps take advantage of customer engagement to drive higher-value items and support multi-item purchases. 

“The data also points to an interesting online vs offline perspective with consumers still seeking value, whether that’s on the high street, or via a digital marketplace. You would expect Primark customers to continue to engage in value retail, but Vinted is increasingly attracting higher affluence groups, so there is a growing pool of shoppers seeking a better-value-for-money experience. This may be driven by economic factors including the ongoing cost of living crisis, or perhaps a sway towards an eco-friendlier approach to retail, with consumers choosing second-hand over new.”

This news comes as CACI announces the imminent launch of a new, updated version of Acorn, the demographic segmentation tool that helps businesses understand their customers and employ increasingly relevant and sophisticated consumer strategy. Acorn will be fully integrated with Brand Dimensions, providing market-leading insight into the performance of 300 brands and their customers.