Is Goodwill Poised To Continue 'Winning' in a Shaky Market, or Are Erratic Prices Turning Off Shoppers?

There's little doubt that Goodwill is among the first brands to come to mind when one thinks of resale or secondhand retailers. However, despite its status as a nonprofit business, common criticisms surrounding its regional partners' pricing policies have also dogged Goodwill Industries for years, somewhat intensifying lately due to a combination of socioeconomic factors.

Retail Brew highlighted findings from a recent ThredUp resale report, which revealed that the U.S. secondhand apparel market grew by 14% last year, its strongest annual growth since 2021 and well ahead of the broader retail clothing market.

With established legacy apparel brands such as Nike struggling to keep pace with the broader industry — one which itself is exhibiting a sharp downturn in 2025, according to Earnest panel data — it seems that it's not only off-price retailers that are reaping the rewards, but also secondhand sellers such as Goodwill.

That same Earnest data underscored spending statistics indicating that consumer spending at U.S. clothing and accessories stores in the U.S. had fallen by 3.9% year-over-year between Jan. 1 and March 23 of 2025, with the category having "emerged as the worst-performing major retail segment so far this year, highlighting continued pressure on discretionary spending," as Fibre2Fashion relayed.

Goodwill COO Says Trade-Down Effect and Sustainability-Minded Consumers Keeping Goodwill in the Game

Goodwill Industry International COO David Eagles was quoted extensively on the subject of how Goodwill continues to see success in the U.S. market, despite broader issues plaguing the American retail sector.

First, Eagles noted that Goodwill managed to ring up nearly 300 million transactions across its 3,300 U.S. stores in 2024, while also receiving a record-setting ~120 million donations — alongside between $6 billion and $7 billion in retail revenue.

And when asked about what the company was doing to retain consumer attention in a challenging economy, the COO pointed to the trade-down effect as the primary driver of Goodwill's current fortunes.

“No. 1 is the trade-down effect… as prices may increase, consumers [are] seeking value and knowing that they’re making a difference with their purchases,” Eagles said.

"The second piece is we do see probably higher demographic groups than you would think in the space looking for those treasure hunts," he added.

Eagles then proceeded to zero in on younger consumers and their stated appetites for sustainable and environmentally conscious shopping, which secondhand stores typically notch in the pro column as part of their business models.

Goodwill Continues To Endure Criticism Over Erratic Pricing, but Do Customers Care Enough To Stop Shopping There?

On the other hand, critics of Goodwill and its operating practices frequently point to erratic, seemingly overpriced goods cropping up on store shelves — a public relations problem, particularly for a company that sources the bulk of its frontline products via donations.

In the opening of a 2024 Daily Dot article, writer Melody Heald captured the complaint succinctly.

"Goodwill used to sell discounted items. But in the last few years the company has been caught reselling merchandise for higher than its original value. A number of shoppers have posted about the phenomenon online," Heald wrote, providing a few examples (a $6.99 TJ Maxx teapot selling for $7.37 at Goodwill, a $6 Target purse for $9.99, and a $3 Walmart clearance sweater for $6).

A litany of customer complaints was also attached to the Daily Dot piece, with some users signaling that they would be opting out of shopping at Goodwill moving forward.

A similar complaint was shared by Ben Koop, writing for Goshen College's newspaper, The Record. Accusing Goodwill of "corporate greed" after claiming first-hand evidence of overpriced goods at the secondhand retailer, Koop continued to denounce the larger chains in the space at large.

"This is what’s going on: Large thrift chains, such as Goodwill and Value Village, have realized that customers of a generally higher income demographic are buying frequently and in large quantities from their stores," Koop wrote.

"As a method of increasing profits (when the cost of inventory is virtually zero), they mark up products of good quality or of a particular brand that is likely to be sought after, knowing that the inflated cost, although still under the initial cost, will nonetheless be purchased by someone able to afford it," he concluded.