In 2024, New Balance launched Reconsidered, the brand’s resale program. And in 2026, the company is now building on its success to add apparel to the footwear already sold to the program.
According to New Balance, since Reconsidered’s launch, the platform has helped to recirculate more than 100,000 pairs of the brand’s shoes.
New Balance ranks No. 178 in the Top 2000. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American e-retailers by online sales. There, Digital Commerce 360 categorizes New Balance as an Apparel & Accessories retailer.
Why New Balance is adding apparel to its resale platform
“Reconsidered has been an impactful platform for New Balance consumers to access popular, like-new or gently worn styles while helping to extend the life of our footwear,” said Tracy Knauer, vice president of North America marketing and direct-to-consumer operations. “We’ve seen an influx of new customers come to us through Reconsidered, so we’re excited to continue offering them even more options through our expansion into the apparel category.”
Consumer returns with cosmetic imperfections that cannot be sold as new — all of which have been cleaned and inspected — will be part of the program. Another addition to the program is that customers can now also trade in gently worn New Balance shoes by mail or at more than 100 retail locations and receive a voucher for accepted items toward their next purchase on NewBalance.com or at participating U.S. New Balance retail locations. Apparel is not currently eligible for trade-ins.
New Balance’s Reconsidered experience relies on the resale platform Archive, using cleaning, fulfillment and warehousing services from Tersus Solutions.
“Resale is fundamentally different from traditional ecommerce because brands are managing one-of-a-kind products coming from many different sources and in different conditions,” Ryan Rowe, the chief technology officer and co-founder at Archive, told Digital Commerce 360. “Our platform handles that complexity so brands like New Balance can launch and scale resale programs while maintaining the same brand experience customers expect from their primary channels.”
What’s behind rising interest in resale?
Nicole Arnett Sanders, a marketing professor at Columbia Southern University, told Digital Commerce 360 that the rise of branded resale platforms is one of the most important shifts happening in consumer culture right now. New Balance is just one of many online retailers that see opportunities in a growing resale market.
“New Balance’s expansion of Reconsidered into apparel is a timely and strategic move that reflects a deep understanding of where the consumer mindset is right now,” Sanders said.
Sanders assessed that resale gives New Balance consumers a way to stay loyal to the brand while adapting to tighter household budgets.
“That’s a powerful retention play that traditional discounting can’t replicate, because it doesn’t erode the brand’s premium perception,” she stated.
In addition, Sanders noted that expanding the resale program is great digital strategy.
“On the circular economy side, this isn’t just a sustainability signal — it’s a digital engagement strategy,” Sanders explained.
Moreover, she said Reconsidered creates a reason for consumers to return to New Balance’s owned ecosystem repeatedly, which is gold for first-party data collection at a time when that’s harder to come by.
“Every resale transaction is a touchpoint that keeps New Balance in the purchase consideration loop without paying for acquisition,” Sanders said.
What New Balance will hope to achieve
She added that the brands that will win in digital commerce aren’t just selling products — they’re building behavioral ecosystems.
“Reconsidered is exactly that kind of infrastructure, and New Balance is positioning itself as a brand that meets consumers where they are, economically and digitally,” Sanders said.
Shawn DuBravac, CEO and founder of the Avrio Institute, a retail research and consulting firm, said Reconsidered’s expansion is not just about sustainability or greenwashing.
“By some estimates, secondhand apparel sales are growing twice as fast as the broader apparel market,” DuBravac said. “Resale is no longer a sustainability side project. For brands like New Balance, it is becoming a core channel with measurable customer acquisition and loyalty dynamics.”
DuBravac said when used strategically, resale is an important on-ramp for new customers to the broader brand.
“When the resale channel is a viable customer acquisition and engagement channel, the traditional economics change significantly,” he said.
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