US secondhand/thrift store market

Between 2012 and 2022, the US beard care market and the secondhand retail market grew in almost perfect tandem, achieving an r of 0.9748. This is statistically consistent with the hypothesis that every man who buys a beard oil also, within 72 hours, purchases a flannel shirt from a thrift store. The beard care market grew from negligible to over $500 million, while secondhand retail expanded past $35 billion. The data has essentially drawn a portrait of a specific person, and that person is extremely on-brand.

Both markets are products of the same demographic and cultural movement: the millennial and Gen Z embrace of 'authentic,' non-corporate aesthetics and sustainable consumption. The beard renaissance of the 2010s was explicitly anti-corporate grooming, and artisanal beard products rode that wave into a legitimate CPG category. Secondhand and thrift retail surged simultaneously, driven by sustainability concerns, the 'vintage' aesthetic trend, and platforms like ThredUp, Poshmark, and Depop making resale mainstream. Both peaked as the same consumer cohort entered peak spending age.

Counterculture is eventually just culture, and the data faithfully records its commercialization. By the time something has its own market revenue report, the rebellion has become an industry.