Study reveals the top UK cities for pre-loved goods

Have you ever wondered which UK city is the best for pre-loved shopping?

Well look no further, Barratt Homes has released a brand-new study to answer that very question!

The research delves into the UK’s top pre-loved cities based on their number of charity shops, auction rooms, second-hand furniture listings online, and salvage and reclamation yards.

The key highlights from the research are:

• Brighton ranks as the best city for pre-loved shopping with an overall thriftiness score of 77/100 based on the four ranking factors
• The best city for finding second-hand furniture online is Manchester, with 479 listings per capita
• Newcastle-upon-Tyne has the most charity shops, 101 per 100,000 people
• Exeter has the largest volume of auction rooms per capita, with Brighton boasting the most salvage and reclamation yards
• The people of Cambridge make the most Google searches per month for each source of pre-loved purchasing

To view the findings in more detail please visit:

https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/advice-and-inspiration/the-uks-most-popular-cities-for-pre-loved-purchasing/

Pre-loved purchasing

• Brighton is the second-hand capital of the UK
• Exeter has the most auction rooms per capita
• Manchester is the top city for second-hand furniture

Second-hand shopping has become increasingly popular in the UK, with the likes of reality TV phenomenon, Love Island, opting to partner with reselling platform eBay to provide pre-loved goods to contestants.

As a result, online searches for charity shops and second-hand furniture are growing year-on-year.

The term ‘charity shop’ alone pulls in an astonishing 301,000 monthly Google searches, with the term ‘second-hand furniture’ attracting 27,100 monthly Google searches. 

Given the rising interest, Barratt Homes wanted to tap into all things second-hand to uncover the UK’s pre-loved hotspots by analysing the number of charity shops, second hand furniture listings and auction rooms per capita.

Brighton is crowned the second-hand capital of the UK

The study ranked 34 UK cities against four second-hand criteria to generate a score out 100 to reflect the pre-loved offering available in each location. Of the 34 cities, Brighton came out on top as the UK’s second-hand capital, boasting an impressive score of 77/100. 

Manchester is the go-to city for second-hand furniture

Pre-loved furniture is the most cost-effective way of furnishing a new home, and for those of us craftier than others, upcycling vintage furniture can make for an exciting new hobby.

By analysing the number of second-hand furniture listings on Gumtree and Pre-loved, Barratt Homes found that Manchester is the UK’s best city for shopping second-hand furniture, with the highest number of second-hand furniture listings at 479 listings per 100,000 people.

In addition to listings, Mancunians are the third most likely to search for second hand furniture with 81 monthly searches per capita, behind Newcastle in first place (88) and Oxford taking the second spot (82).

Exeter has the biggest choice of auction rooms in the UK

Auction rooms are another great way to scout out vintage and unusual finds.

Our data, which analysed directory listings on Yell, found that Exeter has the highest number of auction rooms per capita, with six per 100,000 locals ranking just ahead of Brighton.

Brighton, Chelmsford, and Newcastle all appear in joint third with three auction rooms per capita.

Despite these cities appearing in the top three, the demand for auction rooms is the highest in Norwich, Leeds, and Bradford when it comes to monthly Google searches. All these cities combined pull in 2,180 monthly Google searches.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne revealed as the top charity shop destination

Charity shopping is a popular pastime for Brits and has become a cultural phenomenon in recent years with many taking the approach of, why buy new when you can repurpose?

Barratt Homes found that Newcastle-upon-Tyne has the most charity shops per capita with 101 per capita. Some of our favourites for finding the best-hidden gems are Sense and Cancer Research.

Lincoln is in second place with 91 per capita and Oxford follows in third with 81 per capita.

Gareth Rondel, head of sustainability delivery at Barratt Homes, said: “Second-hand shopping has taken the UK by storm since coming out of lockdown, and we have seen a shift in focus towards finding new ways to repurpose items rather than buying new.

“There is no longer a stigma attached to buying pre-loved items and the act of buying second-hand is used as an outlet for people to be creative with their finds”