Depop revenue soars 42% as platform narrows losses and eyes massive secondhand market growth

Depop, the prominent peer-to-peer shopping platform, has released its 2024 financial accounts, revealing a substantial increase in revenue despite the company continuing to operate at a loss. The platform saw its revenue surge by an impressive 42% last year, reaching £101.6 million. Concurrently, the operating loss demonstrated improvement, narrowing to £42 million from £49.1 million in 2023, while the net loss also decreased from £48.6 million to £40.44 million in the latest fiscal year.

Owned by Etsy and based in London, Depop reported a significant expansion in its global user base, reaching 43.5 million registered users by year-end, up from 35 million in 2023. The platform's primary markets, where most of these users are concentrated, include the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, underscoring its international reach and focused market strategy.

A key indicator of strong user engagement within Depop's ecosystem is that approximately 57% of sellers who made a sale in 2024 also made at least one purchase, highlighting a vibrant community where users often transition between buying and selling roles. Furthermore, the apparel category overwhelmingly dominated its gross merchandise sales (GMS), accounting for nearly 94%. The company emphasized its position in the early stages of its growth lifecycle, noting that the global secondhand clothing market is projected to grow roughly three times faster than the broader clothing market through 2028, potentially reaching an estimated value of $350 billion.

Significant strategic developments in 2024 included a crucial evolution of Depop's fee structure. The company eliminated seller fees in both the UK and US markets, replacing them with a buyer marketplace fee. This strategic shift is believed to have enhanced the platform's attractiveness to sellers, resulting in a "meaningful acceleration in listings" since its implementation.

The platform also experienced an acceleration in its GMS growth, achieving a strong year-on-year increase primarily driven by expanding its market share in the US and Australia. Conversely, the UK market observed a decline. Depop distinguished itself as the fastest-growing US online apparel marketplace during the year, indicating substantial potential for further expansion. This overall improvement was bolstered by strategic investments across various areas, including its value proposition, marketing efforts, platform enhancements, and initiatives aimed at increasing seller engagement.

Technological advancements also played a vital role in Depop's 2024 performance. The company made notable progress in AI-powered selling tools, which now enable listing details to be auto-populated simply by uploading a photograph, streamlining the selling process for users.

In marketing, Depop achieved its best year for paid-marketing-driven GMS. This success was attributed to robust growth in performance marketing channels, an improved return on investment (ROI), and the effective scaling of mid-funnel channels, which significantly broadened its reach. Concurrently, the company reinforced its commitment to user safety and trust by enhancing existing measures and launching new AI-driven fraud detection and security features.