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If 2025 belonged to any resale platform, it was Depop. The London-based company, launched in 2011, saw revenue climb by 42% as secondhand fashion went more mainstream. Peter Semple, the brand’s CEO, said the company’s secret hasn’t been only sustainability or price. It has also included personality.
“The world’s waking up to circular fashion, and we’ve always known it has to feel exciting,” he said. “We want Depop to be both accessible and aspirational. You come for affordability, but you stay because it’s fun and feels alive.”
That energy has been central to Depop’s evolution this year. In April, the company launched its “Outfits” feature, a moodboard-inspired tool allowing users to mix, match and share styled looks without ever leaving the app. It’s less marketplace, more community sandbox, and it’s already helping draw in new audiences beyond the app’s Gen-Z roots.
“It’s really about engagement,” said Semple. “We’re giving people another reason to open the app, play and express themselves. You don’t have to be deeply into fashion — you can just explore.”
For a company born in the era of thrift-haul YouTube videos, Depop’s maturity looks different from its resale rivals. The platform now counts more than 50 million listed items and an ecosystem of both casual and professional sellers, with approximately 43.5 million registered users worldwide. “Our goal is to teach the world to be circular,” Semple said. “For some, that means selling one jacket and buying another. For others, it’s about building a business.”
Depop’s seller forums and daily community chats give power sellers a direct line to the company’s team, which keeps feedback loops fast and loyalty high. “We’ve got sellers who’ve grown entire careers on Depop,” he said. Some of the platform’s top sellers have reported gross sales of up to $10,000 a month. “And that sense of ownership — that this is their space — is what makes it work.”
Affordability remains a powerful hook for the company, especially amid economic uncertainty. “You can get great stuff for less — and in tough times, that matters,” Semple said. “But we’ve worked hard to make sure affordability doesn’t mean compromise. There’s incredible quality and variety out there, and we’ve built a brand identity that reflects that.”
Under Semple’s leadership, Depop has also ramped up its real-world presence, hosting pop-ups and cultural activations in cities from London to Los Angeles. Depop has expanded its marketing mix, rolling out its bold global brand campaign, “Where Taste Recognizes Taste,” in September 2025, across connected TV, Spotify, SiriusXM, TikTok, Meta, Pinterest and large-scale OOH ads. Earlier in 2024, it also invested in hyper-local street campaigns like “Depopamine”, using murals and wild postings across U.K. cities.
“We want to be worth talking about,” he said. “Actors, musicians and influential figures mention us organically, from Doechii referencing Depop in a verse to stylists name-checking it in interviews. We’ve even seen it pop up in ‘Saturday Night Live’ skits and on red carpets, where someone proudly says, ‘I got it on Depop.’ You can’t buy that kind of advocacy.”
AI and machine learning are quietly reshaping Depop’s next phase as it learns from its parent company, Etsy, which recently partnered with OpenAI. “We’ve made huge progress in using AI to improve discovery and recommendations,” Semple said. “People online are already saying, ‘Depop’s algorithm gets me.’” He noted the platform’s one-click listing tools and smarter search as examples of how the company is using technology to reduce friction. However, he insisted, it’s never at the expense of the community. “Human connection is at the heart of what we do,” he said. “AI helps make that connection easier.”
Looking ahead, Semple’s priority is scale, especially in the U.S., where Depop plans to invest heavily in visibility and improved user experience. “We’ve always had a strong foothold in youth culture,” he said. “Now, it’s about expanding the aperture and reaching new demographics, by expanding categories like kidswear, and showing how resale fits into every style story.”
As for challenges, Semple said he grapples with a question that other brands would envy: How do you grow without losing your cool?
“We talk about that daily,” he said. “Being cool isn’t about exclusion; it’s about energy. It’s about showing up in ways that feel real and exciting for different people. The goal isn’t to stay niche, but to stay meaningful.”
