The latest offbeat economic indicator could have loved ones looking like indie sleaze-era hipsters

We love an offbeat economic indicator as much as the next person. Avocados? Red meat? Tell us more.

In 2025, we’ve got a new one to add to the list—and it might have your friends and colleagues looking like indie sleaze-era hipsters. Beware the skinny jeans.

The economic uncertainty of our current moment has sent shoppers flocking to the same places as Williamsburg-dwellers in the late aughts: thrift stores.

In Q2 2025, thrift store visits were up 39.5% compared to the same period in 2019, according to a new report from Placer.ai, which provides retail foot traffic data. That’s much higher than the 9.5% climb seen in the clothing industry more broadly during the same time.

While the allure of secondhand shopping amongst cash-strapped consumers has been a consistent narrative recently, particularly in light of tariff-induced price increases, “foot traffic data shows that thrifting’s move into the mainstream has been years in the making,” the report notes.

Looking at year over year trends, “visit increases outpac[ed] per-location gains, suggesting that the segment’s growth is partly driven by store openings,” the report said. “Yet established locations are thriving too, with average visits per location continuing to rise even against last year’s strong benchmarks.”

With new stores bringing in more customers and visits to existing locations rising, it’s likely that “thrifting’s momentum reflects true market expansion rather than merely a redistribution of demand,” the report added.

Notably, the median household incomes of thrift store trade areas also climbed, from $73,300 in 2019 to $75,500 in 2025. Additionally, the share of visits from those living outside urban areas also “climbed consistently over the past six years, making secondhand shopping a fixture of consumer culture across regions and income levels,” the report noted.

In any case: Prepare to see some vintage flannel.