Posted by Mobile marketplace seamlessly changes the way women shop, opening more closets for sale than the total number of physical fashion boutiques in the U.S.
MENLO PARK, Calif.—Sept. 13, 2013—Today Poshmark, the fastest-growing mobile fashion marketplace, is revealing key metrics behind the growth of their unique social community. The entrepreneurial spirit within the community has fueled the exchange of over one million items this year, projecting a 10x increase in items sold this year over last, causing a dramatic shift in how women across the country consume fashion – simply through their iPhones.
Poshmark, a free iPhone and iPad app that connects those buying and selling women’s fashion and accessories, now has over 250,000 women across America who have opened their closets for sale through their mobile phones. To put that in perspective, that’s 2.5 times as many fashion retail stores that exist in the U.S. and sets the pace for Poshmark to see 10x the number of closets for sale compared to last year. The ease with which a woman can list clothing on Poshmark, coupled with the millions of shoppers who are constantly browsing the marketplace, has transformed commerce into a fulfilling social experience.
This new shopping environment has resulted in an exciting evolution in consumer behavior. Closet entrepreneurs are selling items in order to buy new ones, keeping their wardrobe fresh, while allowing them to shop as frequently as they want knowing they can always “Posh” it when they’re done and recoup their money. It’s also giving women the opportunity to create successful businesses on Poshmark, some of which are individually generating up to $20,000 a month.
Through Poshmark’s mobile app, hundreds of thousands of women who have always dreamt of a career in fashion have finally discovered the perfect technology channel to fulfill their entrepreneurial spirit. The challenge of opening a boutique in America is tougher than ever before: total retail sales increased in May of this year, but apparel showed the slowest growth out of all retail sectors, and 40 percent of independent retailers are doomed to fail within their first five years.
Through community development and simple, intuitive design, Poshmark is eliminating these barriers by giving women the ability to create a closet where they can list and share clothes and accessories in less than 60 seconds—all at little to no cost to get up and running.
“With such a vibrant and active community, it’s so easy to be successful selling on Poshmark and it doesn’t feel like work at all!” said Jackie Piper, a Poshmark closet entrepreneur from Baltimore. “The app has completely changed the way I look at my closet. I never thought my passion for clothing could be anything but a hobby. Now not only am I doing what I love, but since it’s all on my phone, I can travel along with my husband’s job allowing me to be anywhere and still make significant money.”
The share economy upon which Poshmark is built has turned the idea of a community on its head, putting interpersonal relationships and social connection at the core of the marketplace to create a loyal and fanatic user base. Instead of focusing on transactions, Poshmark’s community is 100 percent driven by love. Buyers and sellers who have never met offline share each other’s closets, come together to support one another, and even meet up at local real-world Posh Parties. Ultimately, Poshmark has embraced the diversity found in women from all walks of life and their unique love of fashion, fostering organic growth with a sense of inclusiveness and friendship not found anywhere else.
Poshmark’s rapidly growing community of engaged users browse, buy and sell on a regular basis, opening the app an average of 7-8 times a day and spending between 20 and 25 minutes within the app daily. Measuring this level of engagement with what the company calls “acts of love,” the community is constantly buzzing, with one million comments, likes, and shares from users every day.
“We have taken a very real-life, personal approach to building a community that started with dozens, then grew to hundreds, then thousands, and now millions of members – and still growing. It’s been absolutely essential since the beginning for us to maintain that feeling of closeness, empowering each woman who uses our app,” said Poshmark CEO and founder Manish Chandra. “We don’t think of our community as a group of statistics, but as passionate, inspiring entrepreneurs. The deep, meaningful relationships that are being created within our marketplace are redefining how fashion is consumed, making the shopping experience more personal than ever before.”
It is because of this connection that women in the marketplace look at each other as friends rather than customers. These close-knit relationships built via constant communication – due to 24/7 mobile access – encourage Poshers to buy and sell from each other more frequently, supporting each other both socially and financially. As a result, 70% of Poshmark buyers are also sellers. With more than one million items sold out of their closets in 2013 so far, this shift in consumption is helping put a big chunk of the average $125,000 women spend on clothes in their lifetime back into the pockets of everyday women across the nation.
In order to support the thriving community and entrepreneurial ecosystem being created within the marketplace, Poshmark recently announced the first ever PoshFest – a fashion festival in Las Vegas October 19-20, 2013 dedicated to helping women learn how to market their closets and sharpen their business skills.
To download the Poshmark app, visit: bit.ly/poshmark.
About Poshmark
Poshmark is a mobile fashion marketplace built around real-time social experiences. Posh Parties are themed, real-time shopping events where people gather to shop, share, and sell fashion right from their phones. Poshmark’s vibrant community brings fashion lovers together to share their individual style, turning every closet into a unique shopping experience. Founded in February 2011, Poshmark is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA. For more information, please visit www.poshmark.com.