Dabble in Second-Hand Trading with This 'Recommerce' App

Tap That App is a regular segment where we feature an app our editors think is cool.

Consumers in China have shown more of an affinity towards used goods in recent years, with a growing catalog of apps dedicated to second-hand cars, electronics, books, fashion items and more.

One of the more commonly used ‘recommerce’ apps in the Chinese market is Idle Fish (Xianyu, ‘闲鱼’), a digital flea market owned by Alibaba that was downloaded two million times in February 2020, according to data from Sensor Tower.

Xianyu was one of the earliest Chinese apps selling used goods, starting back in 2013. According to CEO Chen Lei, the app now boasts over 20 million daily active users and has listed 1.4 billion items on the platform, as cited by Xinhua.

Aside from standard customer-to-customer trading, the app also offers features such as recycling, donating and renting out products. In December 2019, a location-based service feature was launched to link users geographically, creating a greater sense of community while driving up sales. 

If you’re looking to continue shopping away while reducing your carbon footprint a bit, this app is certainly worth exploring.

Idle Fish (Xianyu) is available on iOS and Android devices. 

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[Cover image via Xianyu]