Resale Market Explodes: Global Value of $6.5 Billion by 2032.

In recent years, the concept of swap economy, or the exchange and resale of products and services among consumers, has increasingly penetrated the business and everyday environment. From airline tickets, event tickets, and second-hand clothing to refurbished electronics and digital products, secondary markets are experiencing strong growth, driven by the need for flexibility, sustainability, and cost reduction. Additionally, global trends indicate that consumers are increasingly seeking platforms that enable secure resale, while European regulators are slowly adapting rules to the market.

Secondary Airline Tickets

According to data from Straits Research, the global secondary ticket market was valued at $2.8 billion in 2023, and it is estimated that by 2032, the value of this market will reach $6.5 billion with an annual growth rate of 9.7 percent. This is an opportunity that should not be missed, as recently concluded by the Dutch low-cost airline Transavia. The company has enabled a functionality that allows passengers to resell their unused airline tickets through the official website or web application.

– This innovation provides passengers with greater flexibility and reduces financial loss in case of changes in plans. Instead of the ticket expiring, it is now possible to receive a partial refund without complicated procedures or hidden fees – announced the airline.

How the Platform Works

Passengers can choose to offer their ticket for sale in their user account, and transactions occur exclusively within Transavia’s secure system, reducing the risk of fraud. If another passenger buys the ticket, the amount is automatically refunded using the same payment method used for the purchase. At a minimum, all taxes and airport fees are always refunded, and in some cases, it is possible to return up to 50 percent of the original ticket price.

Tickets purchased less than 12 hours before departure or within 72 hours before arrival are not suitable for resale, while tax refunds are always guaranteed, and in the case of ticket sales, the amount can be significantly higher. For example: three tickets on the route Paris – Faro, purchased for €633, were sold through the system 20 days before the flight. Passengers received a refund of €316.50, approximately half of their investment.

The ticket resale model is not unknown in France, as the national railway operator SNCF already has a platform called Ouigoswap that allows ticket exchanges for vouchers. However, if there is no buyer, the passenger receives nothing.

Booking Also Resells

Another low-cost airline offers a ticket resale option through the site Booking.com. This is the Irish Ryanair. In recent years, Ryanair has initiated a series of legal actions against booking platforms that resold its tickets without consent, including Booking. The company accused them of adding extra fees and complicating contact with passengers, but now the parties have reconciled. Additionally, besides Booking, Ryanair has also entered into agreements with other platforms, including Kiwi.com and Expedia, which allow ticket resale within their systems.

Fashion and Gadgets

The sale of second-hand clothing is not new, but a relatively recent novelty in Croatia is the digital platform Vinted, which enables the sale or resale of second-hand clothing and has experienced significant growth. In 2024, Vinted achieved revenue of €813.4 million, representing a 36 percent increase compared to the previous year, with a net profit of €76.7 million. In the U.S., the second-hand clothing market is also experiencing strong growth. According to a report by Vogue Business, in 2025, second-hand clothing accounted for 33 percent of total clothing sales, reaching a value of $56 billion.

Regarding electronics, Back Market and Refurbed are leading platforms for refurbished electronic devices. Back Market achieved revenue of $415 million in 2024, representing a 25 percent increase compared to the previous year, while Refurbed, its Austrian competitor, achieved revenue of $778 million in 2024.

Unused Tickets

Secondary ticket markets for concerts, festivals, sports events, and theater performances are becoming an increasingly significant segment of the swap economy. Among the leading European platforms is the Dutch TicketSwap, founded in 2012 in Amsterdam. This platform now has over 9 million users in 36 countries, and many events from Croatia can be found on it, indicating that local users have already recognized it. Thus, on TicketSwap, tickets for Zagreb clubs such as Lauba, Boogaloo, as well as Arena Zagreb or Tvornica kulture, can be found, along with various theater performances. Interestingly, the platform advocates for fair pricing policies, with a maximum margin of 20 percent of the original ticket price. Financially, TicketSwap achieved revenue of approximately $39.2 million in 2024.

Croatian Perspective

Although global trends in the swap economy are already well established, the Croatian secondary platform market is still developing. According to data from the Balkan eCommerce Summit, the value of the Croatian e-commerce market reached $1.2 billion in 2024, with an expected annual growth of 9 to 10 percent by 2027. This growth creates favorable conditions for the development of secondary markets and encourages the entry of domestic and international platforms.

There are already platforms in the Croatian market that enable resale, but they are mainly focused on direct ticket sales. In addition to international platforms like Vinted and TicketSwap, users also utilize local services such as Njuskalo.hr, Mojekarte.hr, Entrio, and Ulaz.hr. Although these services do not offer, i.e., there is no resale category, various tickets can regularly be found on Njuskalo, mostly for concerts, while others only offer direct sales.

However, the development of secondary markets in Croatia faces several challenges. Primarily, the lack of regulation makes it difficult to formally define the rights and obligations of buyers and sellers, which can sometimes lead to uncertainty in transactions. On the other hand, user trust is still crucial; payment security and product authenticity must be guaranteed for platforms to grow in the long term. As the e-commerce market in Croatia expands, secondary markets are expected to grow, particularly in the segments of fashion, electronics, and event tickets.