Retail sales plunge, resale sales soar

KUSA - Retail sales plunged by a record amount in October as shoppers cut back on spending at big chains and department stores. However, they didn't stop spending altogether.

As the economy goes down thrift and resale stores are seeing spending go up. In these troubled times second hand retail bargains are attracting a whole new breed of customer.

Allie Thurston loves to shop.

"I just bought some sweaters. I think this is kind of my favorite right now." She says holding up a snow patterned sweater.

Unfortunately Thurston's budget doesn't love her spending so she is finding ways around it, heading to thrift stores like goodwill to stretch her money.

"I can spend $30 here and buy 5 things whereas at a regular department store I can barely buy a shirt for $30," said Thurston.

According to the Commerce Department, October retail sales slumped 2.8 percent. That's the largest drop since just after the terrorist attacks of September 2001.

Meaghan Carabello is a representative for Goodwill.

"Nationwide goodwill has seen an increase of between 6 and 11 percent in retail sales because of the economy," said Carabello.

Resale stores like Kid to Kid in Aurora are also seeing the payoff.

Owner Todd Frick says kids obviously grow out of clothing fast. The bonus of his store is you can buy the things you need, then bring them back and sell the items for cash when you don't need it, or get an in store credit.

"I am seeing probably 20 to 30 new customers a week being entered into my stores data base," said Frick
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Susan Jones says resale shopping just makes money sense to a single mother of 3 kids who want the latest and greatest fashion trends.

"I've worked in retail for over 22 years and I know the markup on clothing and it really doesn't make any sense to pay full price on something you can get at a lower price and it's still the same quality," said Jones.

The surge in thrift store sales has its downside, though. Organizations say they are worried about a decline in donations. Just as consumers are more likely to buy second hand goods, they are also less likely to get rid of their used clothing or furniture.

The Salvation Army is rolling out a national ad campaign in January to combat a decline in donations. It is the first ad campaign in its 128-year history in this country.
Goodwill representatives say they're monitoring their donations carefully.