Technologies

As Black Friday nears, secondhand gifts poised to ride a holiday shopping wave

It’s not cheaping out to give gifts from online auction, thrift and consignment sites, shoppers say.

Teresa Chin, a friend of mine from grad school, got an early start hunting for Christmas ornaments for her in-laws this year. She’d heard about global supply chain snags and didn’t want to be caught empty-handed for the holiday.

So Chin turned to Poshmark, an online market for secondhand clothes and household goods, where she found figurines of skiing cheetahs — objects full of personal references that would tickle her husband’s parents. Because Poshmark sellers tend to list what they already have on hand, Chin didn’t worry about her cheetahs missing the holiday because of busy ports or blocked canals. The purchases also fit her value of consuming less new stuff.

«It’s on time. It’s cute,» Chin told me. «It feels personal.»

Chin is far from alone in giving gifts euphemistically referred to as «previously owned.» Spurred by concerns about consumer waste and climate change, attitudes about secondhand goods have been shifting for years. The reevaluation has created a booming business for everything from auction sites to online consignment stores.

The popularity of used items has prompted many consumers to consider a practice that was once unthinkable: giving secondhand goods as gifts. Nearly 40% of respondents to a survey conducted on behalf of resale site Mercari said they’re planning to buy at least one secondhand gift this year. Half of those said they’d be comfortable telling the recipient the gift was previously owned. Sales in luxury categories are swift as the holidays approach, according to eBay, which said it’s seeing five pre-owned watches and three pre-owned handbags sell every minute as the holidays approach.

The move toward secondhand gifts is getting a powerful boost this year from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shuttered factories and closed down ports. That’s made new items susceptible to shipping delays and supply shortages. Secondhand goods aren’t subject to those woes. If the collectible sneakers are on the site, they’re in stock.

Buying used items online has been around since Web 1.0. But options for finding the perfect gift have multiplied in recent years. Early internet standby eBay, where designer clothes, electronics and collectibles have been on offer since the 1990s, now competes with peer-to-peer markets like Poshmark and Mercari. Online consignment shops, including the RealReal, ThredUp and Vestiaire Collective, have also sprung up.

Neil Saunders, a retail analyst at Global Data, whose firm helped conduct the Mercari survey, says people buying online for themselves has helped break down the psychological barrier to shopping for used gifts.

«We’ve seen that stigma come down year after year,» Saunders said.

Used goods can mean less environmental damage

Some shoppers are drawn to online thrifting and consignment as a way to reduce their environmental footprint, ThredUp and the RealReal both say. This extends to gift-giving, as 22% of shoppers in the Mercari survey said they’d turn to the secondhand market during the holidays because of sustainability concerns.

Buying used fashion lets gift-givers find something nice that contributes less to climate change than something new would. The fashion industry has a bad reputation for emitting greenhouse gasses, polluting water and contributing to deforestation, which has pushed more socially conscious people to buy fewer new clothes. More than 40% of respondents said sustainability was a «deciding factor» for shopping at the RealReal, according to survey data from the company.

ThredUp has found that sustainability is especially motivating for younger shoppers, says Christina Berger, a company spokesperson. ThredUp and other online resellers could prompt fashion brands to make fewer, higher-quality products, she says.

«There will always be a place for new items, of course,» Berger said. «But overall we need to reuse more and produce less.»

Used goods can be one of a kind

Many gift-givers, like my friend Teresa, are looking for something unique that matches the recipient’s tastes. Recent changes in the way shoppers view fashion trends mean that many people are interested in finding older handbags or accessories from fashion collections that are hard to find. Having the latest isn’t the only — or even highest — priority for fashionistas.

That shift was already underway with items like sneakers, which grow the most in resale value of all apparel categories, and now means the most thoughtful gift you can give a fashionable friend might end up being a Gucci handbag from a few years ago. Consignment sites might have only one or two listed among all their other items, so receiving that exact bag could be a big deal.

«It’s extra special knowing that the gifter curated something for you from millions of items,» said Rati Levesque, president of the RealReal.

Used goods don’t have to seem cheap

Holiday gift-givers aren’t Scrooges because they shop secondhand. Sure, you can find a nice winter coat or brand name athletic wear at around half the listed retail price on many auction, thrifting and consignment sites, but you can also find Versace handbags and Cartier watches that cost more than a thousand dollars.

Many consignment services are aimed at people who see clothes as an investment. Companies like the RealReal and ThredUp say they want to help consumers buy higher-cost items new, and then resell them to recoup some of the cost.

It’s a potential alternative to fast-fashion buys. Instead of constantly buying cheaply made clothes that wear out easily, shoppers who can afford to pay more up front can access togs that cost more but last longer and retain some of their value. Some sellers might get only part of their money back, and others might get even more than they originally paid because some items go up in value as they become harder to find.

Electronics are another item that shoppers can find at a discount on resale sites, including eBay, and they aren’t necessarily less nice as gifts. Most people want to give electronics in a sealed box, says Jordan Sweetnam, senior vice president and general manager of eBay North America. The company’s eBay Refurbished program provides electronics in generic packaging, and sometimes includes new user manuals. Name brands also sell their own refurbished products on eBay, typically with branded packaging and quality guarantees.

That, he says, provides «that fresh out-of-the box feeling that’s so important when gifting refurbished products.»

Technologies

Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal

Technologies

Waymo recalls 3,800 robotaxis after glitch allowed some vehicles to ‘drive into standing water’

Waymo issued a voluntary recall of about 3,800 of its robotaxis to fix software issues that could allow them to drive into flooded roadways.

Waymo is recalling about 3,800 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues that could allow them to “drive onto a flooded roadway,” according to a letter on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.
The voluntary recall is for Waymo vehicles that use the company’s fifth and sixth generation automated driving systems (or ADS), the U.S. auto safety regulator said in the letter posted Tuesday.
Waymo autonomous vehicles in Austin, Texas, were seen on camera driving onto a flooded street and stalling, requiring other drivers to navigate around them. It’s the latest example of a safety-related issue for the Alphabet-owned AV unit that’s rapidly bolstering its fleet of vehicles and entering new U.S. markets.
Waymo has drawn criticism for its vehicles failing to yield to school buses in Austin, and for the performance of its vehicles during widespread power outages in San Francisco in December, when robotaxis halted in traffic, causing gridlock.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it’s “identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways,” and opted to file a “voluntary software recall” with the NHTSA.
“Waymo provides over half a million trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments across the U.S., and safety is our primary priority,” the company said.
Waymo added that it’s working on “additional software safeguards” and has put “mitigations” in place, limiting where its robotaxis operate during extreme weather, so that they avoid “areas where flash flooding might occur” in periods of intense rain.
WATCH: Waymo launches new autonomous system in Chinese-made vehicle

Technologies

Qualcomm tumbles 13% as semiconductor stocks retreat from historic AI-fueled surge

Semiconductor equities reversed sharply after a broad AI-driven advance, with Qualcomm suffering its worst day since 2020 amid inflation concerns and rising oil prices.

Semiconductor stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, reversing course after an extensive rally that had expanded the artificial intelligence investment theme well past Nvidia and driven the industry to unprecedented levels.

Qualcomm plunged 13% and was on track for its steepest single-day decline since 2020. Intel shed 8%, while On Semiconductor and Skyworks Solutions each lost more than 6%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF, which benchmarks the overall sector, fell 5%.

The sell-off came after a key gauge of consumer prices came in above forecasts, and as conflict in Iran pushed crude oil higher—prompting investors to shift away from riskier assets.

The preceding advance had widened the AI opportunity set beyond longtime industry leader Nvidia, which for much of the past several years had largely carried the market to new peaks on its own.

Explosive appetite for central processing units, along with the graphics processing units that power large language models, has sent chipmakers to all-time highs.

Market participants are wagering that the shift from AI model training to autonomous agents will lift demand for additional AI hardware. Among the beneficiaries are memory chip producers, which are raising prices as supply remains tight.

Micron Technology slid 6%, and Sandisk cratered 8%. Sandisk’s stock has surged more than six times over since January.