Entertainment Reporter.
Giving South Africans more sustainable and affordable consumption choices as well as business opportunities, Yaga is the fastest-growing online marketplace for selling and shopping preloved fashion in South Africa. With over 100,000 registered users and 20,000 daily visitors, it has attracted an initial R12 million investment for growth and expansion into Africa.
Safe and hassle-free to use, Yaga.co.za is the ideal online platform for fashion shopping in the ‘new’ normal. It allows shoppers to safely buy preloved fashion at great prices from the comfort of their homes, while enabling fashion enthusiasts to sell preloved items using their mobile app.
Fashion Resale Market Trend is explosive
“The fashion resale market is growing more than 20 times faster than the traditional fashion retail market. This trend is evidenced by the rapid growth of major global players like Vinted and Depop, and the launch of new similar platforms,” says founder and CEO Aune Aunapuu. Industry experts do agree1 that the resale industry is growing fast and becoming increasingly mainstream while traditional retail is projected to shrink. Increasing numbers of consumers around the world are changing their behaviour to support a more sustainable lifestyle, including purchasing preloved fashion items to help reduce the impact of the fashion industry on the planet. Yaga aspires to help the next generation to turn to more sustainable consumption.
Sustainable Entrepreneurship
Yaga supports sustainable entrepreneurship by giving anyone the chance to open a ‘shop’ and to start selling online. Buyers visiting Yaga can browse these shops, purchase items using EFT, credit card or their Yaga wallet, and get nationwide delivery via various delivery partners. Yaga’s users have earned more than R10 million in sales last year, with Yaga top sellers earning an average of between R30 000 and R50 000 per month. “We create jobs and extra income – many of Yaga’s sellers said that it was their only income during the COVID-19 pandemic and turned out to be a life-saver,” says Aunapuu.
Investment and Expansion
Yaga partnered with local influencer marketing agency, People Have Influence (PHI), to introduce this innovative fashion shopping approach to some of the country’s most prominent and influential fashion bloggers, stylists and fashionistas to promote the online platform and drive engagement via Instagram. In just one year, Yaga reached more than one million South Africans via the local influencer campaign.
Also attracting attention from investors, some of whom are investors in companies such as Bolt and Planet42 that successfully operate in African markets, Yaga recently raised R12 million to support its rapid growth.
“In South Africa, we have become the first choice among our target group for trading in fashion items,” concludes Aunapuu. “We intend to repeat the same in other target markets in Africa as we build the platform for sustainable fashion consumption in Africa.”
For more information visit yaga.co.za