In Kidibam’s Parisian workshop, the pace is steady. A few weeks before Christmas, hundreds of cleaned, disinfected and reconditioned toys leave the expert hands of employees to begin a second life, under the tree of a new family. Created a year ago, this company specializing in the collection and resale of second-hand toys claims to have already put “more than 10,000 products” back on the market, collected throughout France, then resold – often half the price – on its website. According to François Truong, co-founder of Kidibam, the phenomenon is growing: every week, more than 1,000 toys are sent by parents who want to get rid of these bulky boxes, while, on the other side of the chain, some families buy up to 10 products at once. “With inflation, the majority of our customers put forward the argument of purchasing power: thanks to second hand, they can offer more gifts, often of better quality, for a lower cost,” explains this Parisian . The ecological question would also be important. “What could be more polluting than a mountain of plastic toys that only last a few months? Through this opportunity, families also want to consume better and educate their children in this new principle,” he adds.
Still completely taboo a few years ago, second-hand gifts seem to have become a lasting part of French habits. According to a study published on December 7 by Ifop and the online resale site Le Bon Coin, 43% of those questioned have already given second-hand gifts. Among them, almost a quarter took the plunge during the past year. As for the recipients, 42% of respondents also received second-hand gifts – a figure which rises to 60% among 18-24 year olds. As a further sign of an emerging practice, the proportion of people who have already given or received a second-hand gift is significantly higher among the younger generations than among the older public: 62% of 18-24 year olds and 55% of 25-year-olds. 49 year olds have already offered the opportunity, compared to 35% of 50-64 year olds. The figure drops considerably among those aged 65 and over, of whom only 24% have ever agreed to give non-new gifts. The same generational gaps are observed for the recipients of these products: only 26% of those aged 65 and over have already been offered the opportunity, compared to more than half of those aged 25-35, for example. “But it’s progressing: I see more and more parents buying vintage clothes for their children, for example. This allows them to create a bond, to adapt to their new way of consuming,” comments Marine Thyrault, co-founder and director general manager of the Bordeaux store Concrete Raw, which offers eco-designed and second-hand products for sale.
“Economy of resourcefulness”
If the trend affects all social classes and all ages, the most modest groups nevertheless remain, according to the Ifop study, the most likely to offer a second-hand gift to their loved ones. No less than 56% of people with a monthly income of less than 900 euros, and 47% of people whose monthly salary is between 900 and 1,300 euros have already offered the opportunity, compared to 37% of the categories the wealthiest (whose monthly income is 2,500 euros or more). “In the circles [plus modestes]the second-hand gift is one of the behaviors falling within what we have called with Jean-Laurent Cassely ‘the economy of resourcefulness’, attitudes aimed at trying to optimize a constrained budget and ‘spending smart’, practices which have developed further with the return of inflation”, notes Jérôme Fourquet, director of the opinion and corporate strategy department of Ifop.
The question of cost is indeed one of the first reasons given by the French about their interest in second-hand gifts: 52% say they have given them because they were “cheaper”. “When we see the price of toys from big brands, we understand that some parents cannot offer them to their children. Second hand allows them to access these brands,” comments François Truong, who guarantees a certain quality in his second-hand products. “For example, we package Playmobils in recycled cotton bags, we ensure that all the pieces of a puzzle are put together, it has to remain attractive,” he explains.
Beyond the economic argument, 40% of people who have already given a second-hand gift admit to having done so for ecological reasons, in particular to combat overconsumption. This ethical dimension is more widely shared among the most qualified (47% for holders of a diploma above bac + 2, compared to 29% for the least qualified). Above all, the image conveyed by the occasion has changed: 84% of respondents indicate that they are transparent about the origin of the gifts they have given, and only 21% of French people believe they have felt “embarrassment or shame” to offer a second-hand gift. More generally, 85% of those questioned believe that these gifts can be “as good quality as new gifts”, and 48%, that the latter often have “more character and charm than new items”. “There is a real positive trend around the occasion, on sneakers, furniture, decoration… Young people, in particular, are very attached to the symbolic side of the gift, and appreciate offering beautiful vintage objects, with manufacturing techniques and materials that are much cleaner and more qualitative than the most modern products”, analyzes Marine Thyrault. For Christmas 2023, 38% of French people tell Ifop that they are ready to buy second-hand gifts. Note that, if the idea of second hand is now widely accepted by the French for end-of-year celebrations or birthdays (58% say they are in favor), the practice is not yet completely back into the customs for wedding gifts – no less than 66% of respondents say they are shocked by the principle of offering gifts during a union.