A shopper browses the shoe aisle at Wildlife Thrift Store in downtown Vancouver, which opened its doors in 1997 and expanded to Toronto in 2022 after its success in B.C.Isabella Falsetti/The Globe and Mail
Karla Ahlqvist’s 7,000-square-foot thrift shop on a bustling corner of downtown Vancouver has been a little busier in recent months. The store, which sells everything from blazers and bags to books and dishes, has seen its sales grow steadily over the years − and they’ve continued to climb in 2025.
While economic headwinds and plummeting consumer confidence spurred by tariffs have delivered a series of blows to many retailers across Canada, shops like Ms. Ahlqvist’s are continuing to boom.
March data from the Conference Board of Canada showed that their index of consumer confidence declined 16 per cent month over month, while RBC found that Canadians are pulling back on shopping and estimates for spending, excluding autos, dipped 0.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, sales at Wildlife Thrift store’s Vancouver location, where most items are under $20, were up about 10 per cent at the end of the first quarter compared with last year.
Karla Ahlqvist, the owner of Wildlife Thrift Store, on April 24.Isabella Falsetti/The Globe and Mail
“We are remarkably unaffected by tariffs and anything that Donald Trump does and it’s mostly because we are simply resale,” said Ms. Ahlqvist. “We’re not importing, we’re not creating, we’re not manufacturing and we’re not buying … every month and every year, we consistently tend to do a little bit better.”
Many businesses have buckled under the pressure of the U.S. President’s trade war, which has sent global supply chains into disarray and raised costs from painful import duties and pervasive uncertainty.
The resale industry has not only remained largely unscathed by these pressures − many businesses appear to be thriving. But the rising demand for thrifted goods might also make some of the most affordable quality fashion even less attainable.
“When tariffs are imposed on imported apparel, footwear, they’ll directly raise the cost for consumers … those costs are often passed on,” said Jenna Jacobson, an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University focused on retail.
“As new items become more expensive, some consumers may choose more affordable alternatives, which could include discounted retailers but it also includes second-hand marketplaces.”
The exterior of Wildlife Thrift Store on April 24.Isabella Falsetti/The Globe and Mail
And with discount retailers, which often sell products manufactured in China, facing their own uncertainty, resellers now have a leg up.
A March report from online resale platform ThredUp found that 59 per cent of shoppers said they expected tariffs to make apparel more expensive and that they would seek out more affordable options, including secondhand clothes. The survey was conducted by GlobalData and surveyed 3,034 U.S. consumers as well as 50 top U.S. fashion retailers and brands.
Publicly traded thrift-shop companies are seeing their shares soar ever since Mr. Trump slapped widespread tariffs on global trade partners earlier this month. Shares for Nasdaq-listed ThredUp spiked more than 50 per cent while shares for Savers Value Village rose more than 22 per cent on the New York Stock Exchange.
Some charity shops, which sell secondhand goods on a not-for-profit model, say they’re are also drawing in crowds.
At charity-shop chain Goodwill, sales since February in retail stores are up 6.13 per cent over the previous year while transactions are up 4.95 per cent over last year, according to Bev Kobe, president and chief executive officer of Goodwill Industries Ontario Great Lakes.
A shopper browses clothing at Wildlife Thrift Store. Owner Karla Ahlqvist says her business has been totally unaffected by tariffs, and, if anything, business has boomed.Isabella Falsetti/The Globe and Mail
“We have an aggressive growth strategy aiming to open 15 new stores over the next seven years,” she said in an e-mail.
But rising demand for secondhand clothes is also making this fashion category less accessible − a trend that’s escalated in recent years.
Reddit communities have been alleging that thrift-store chains in Canadian cities are dramatically raising prices.
Experts say that any price hikes in the sector are in large part the result of spiking demand as well as the rise in sustainable-fashion influencers. According to the 2024 Savers Thrift Report from Value Village, nearly one in three Canadians have thrifted in the past year alone, and more than 40 per cent of Gen Z shoppers are thrifters. In addition, 25 per cent have increased or plan to increase their spending in this category in the next three years, with that figure surging to 42 per cent for Gen Zs.
Even major retailers are getting in on a piece of the pie, with shops such as Zara, Lululemon, Patagonia and even IKEA launching their own resale platforms or initiatives.
“If you notice that people are going to alternative marketplaces to get your product, it only makes sense that retailers want to reinsert themselves into that marketplace,” said Ms. Jacobson.
While secondhand resellers have an opportunity to rethink their pricing strategy and perhaps even raise prices because of higher demand, the growing competition will require pivoting in terms of price and assortment, according to Liza Amlani, principal at Retail Strategy Group.
“Retailers need to have a good understanding of the market and what their customers are willing to pay,” she said.
In fact, not all resellers are optimistic that demand will continue to rise if tariff turmoil escalates further.
“If our customers don’t have money, they don’t shop,” said Nicole Babin by e-mail. She is the founder of thrift-store chain Common Sort, with locations in Toronto and Montreal.
“When people are scared, they don’t spend their money.”
For now, Ms. Ahlqvist’s store at least has no intention of raising prices. “It comes down to the ownership and our business model is to not gouge people.”