The RealReal’s Record-Breaking Quarter Signals a New Era for the Luxury Resale Market
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By PAGE Editor
The RealReal, the world’s largest online marketplace for authenticated luxury resale, has announced its third-quarter results for 2025—and the numbers mark a turning point not only for the company but for the resale industry at large. With a 20% year-over-year increase in gross merchandise value (GMV) to $520 million and total revenue up 17% to $174 million, The RealReal has solidified its leadership in the circular luxury economy. Perhaps even more notably, its adjusted EBITDA margin reached 5.4%, an improvement of 380 basis points, suggesting that profitability is no longer a distant ambition but a tangible reality.
CEO Rati Levesque credited this momentum to the company’s disciplined focus on its three strategic pillars: unlocking supply through a refined growth playbook, driving operational efficiency, and delivering a superior service experience. “We delivered another quarter of accelerating growth and expanded margins,” Levesque said. “We’re changing the way people shop.” Her comments underscore how The RealReal is reframing resale from a niche side market into a vital pillar of luxury consumption—an evolution that’s reshaping the very structure of fashion commerce.
Beyond the headline numbers, the company’s operational improvements reveal an important industry signal. Consignment revenue rose 15% year-over-year, while direct revenue—sales of items owned outright by The RealReal—surged 47%. The shift suggests that the company’s hybrid business model is becoming more robust and data-driven, with artificial intelligence increasingly influencing inventory optimization, pricing, and authentication. Levesque noted that AI initiatives are central to enhancing consignor trust and improving customer experience—an acknowledgment that in luxury resale, precision, and personalization are as valuable as the products themselves.
Despite a reported net loss of $54 million, the figure includes a $44 million adjustment due to warrant liability—a non-cash accounting shift that doesn’t reflect a downturn in core performance. In fact, adjusted EBITDA jumped to $9.3 million, up from $2.3 million in the same quarter last year, a clear sign that The RealReal is scaling responsibly. Its customer base also continues to expand, with 1,024,000 active buyers over the past twelve months, representing a 7% increase year-over-year. The average order value rose to $584, up 12% from 2024, indicating that luxury consumers are increasingly confident in purchasing secondhand high-ticket items.
Looking ahead, The RealReal raised its full-year guidance—forecasting up to $2.1 billion in GMV and approximately $690 million in revenue for 2025. This upward revision demonstrates both strong market demand and operational discipline, key attributes for an industry that has often struggled with scalability. As sustainability becomes a non-negotiable component of modern fashion, resale platforms like The RealReal are uniquely positioned to capitalize on consumer behavior shifts toward conscious consumption.
For the broader fashion industry, these results represent a fundamental redefinition of value and access. Where luxury once relied on exclusivity and newness, resale platforms are rewriting the narrative around longevity, authenticity, and circular ownership. The RealReal’s continued growth signals that consumers no longer see secondhand as secondary—it’s now an essential layer of luxury participation. Brands that once resisted the resale economy are increasingly exploring partnerships, authentication collaborations, and circular design initiatives, following The RealReal’s example in transforming sustainability into strategy.
As the resale economy continues its ascent, The RealReal’s third-quarter performance may be remembered as a watershed moment: proof that profitability and purpose can coexist in fashion’s evolving ecosystem. By merging advanced technology, trusted authentication, and a luxury customer experience, The RealReal isn’t just selling pre-owned goods—it’s redefining what ownership means in the 21st-century luxury market.
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