Young consumers use pandemic savings to invest in sneakers - StockX

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 8, 2021

Young people having saved money during the pandemic lockdowns are helping to drive the sneaker resale market and are buying such products as investments, specialist reseller StockX said this week.

In the UK, sneakers and other collectibles “are fast becoming the most return-heavy alternative asset. Items people might well have kept for sentimental reasons are now making a significant profit on the resale market,” the company said.

Research by the business showed that just over a third of the 2,000 sneaker buyers Harris Poll spoke to on StockX’s behalf were motivated to purchase based on the potential investment return. Some 36% of respondents cited “future worth or investment value” as a key consideration when buying items.

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And StockX said that “assets like Air Jordan 4 sneakers are less volatile and tend to consistently appreciate over time, outperforming the FTSE 100 [and] S&P 500” stock indexes.

In fact, Air Jordan 4 sneakers have seen 100% growth over 12 months and on average, an ‘investor’ with 10 pairs of top-selling Jordan 4s would have seen a £1,416 gain.

The company said young investors are increasingly attracted to such assets as they see traditional stocks and shares as a more complex option.

It added that limited edition sneaker drops by labels such as Nike, Adidas Yeezy and Jordan Brand “have created a scarcity that gives way to investing in coveted items that are hugely in demand”.