Belt-tightening Greeks turn to secondhand bargains

ATHENS－Buying and selling secondhand has been taboo in Greece for a long time. However, the market has been on the rise in recent years amid a series of crises, experts and retailers said.

Thrift stores started mushrooming in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis that shrank the average disposable income of Greeks by 25 percent.

The pandemic gave a boost to online purchases, from clothing to furniture and electric appliances as well, while the new energy crisis and inflationary pressure, combined with growing concern about the climate crisis, strengthened this shift in the behavior of Greek consumers.