Customer Bruce Lucas prepares to pay for a pair of pants at Family Thrift Center. (Photo by Jay Paul)
It’s been confirmed: Richmond likes it secondhand.
A research study finds that the River City ranks ninth on a list of the Top 50 best metro areas for thrift store shopping. The analysis by StorageCafe, an online storage-unit location service, finds that thrifting in general is becoming more popular in the U.S., and that Richmond leads the way, ranking higher than larger urban centers such as Chicago, Miami and Boston.
This doesn’t come as a surprise to Earl Flournoy. “We’re busier than ever,” says the assistant manager at Family Thrift Center on Midlothian Turnpike. “In fact, we’ve seen double our clientele lately. Everybody likes vintage, the older the better.”
StorageCafe’s study reveals that with 7.4 thrift stores per 100,000 locals, the Richmond metro area ranks second in thrift store locations among the 50 most populous metros. “Eighteen percent of these thrift venues are large stores,” reports Bianca Birsan, communications specialist for the company, which published an online storage-unit location service that published the “Best U.S. Hubs for Thrifting” report in October.
The rankings utilize metrics such as thrift establishment availability, store sales volumes and local online traffic, and the analysis finds that annual secondhand sales in Richmond reached nearly $155 per household. The metro area also had the 19th-largest sales volume on the top 50 list. “It indicates that there’s strong thrifting activity here,” Birsan notes. The Denver metro area was ranked No. 1 on StorageCafe’s Top 50 list, with No. 2 going to Seattle.
“People are looking for that bargain,” says Cathy Wright-Rucker, general manager of Liberation Thrift, formerly known as For the Love of Jesus Thrift Store. “People are saving their money or scared to spend the money. Clothes and furniture, those are the hot items.”
With a growing customer base that includes VCU students, housewives, resellers and seniors, the South Side secondhand store is also reporting a sales spike, Rucker says. She confirms StorageCafe’s analysis that Richmond is a great place for thrifting. “We see it every day, people looking for antiques, they’re looking for that treasure, maybe a first-edition book. But most of the people who come into this particular store are people who just want a bargain.”
