The Modern Retail Podcast

'We didn't expect the consumer response to be as great': GoodwillFinds CEO Matthew Kaness on bringing the thrifting experience online


Listen Later

GoodwillFinds is trying to bring the century-old Goodwill network to the era of ThredUp.

The new e-commerce platform has only been live since October, but has already seen pretty steady growth. When it first hit the market, GoodwillFinds offered 100,000 items for sale from four different Goodwill locations around the country. Now, that number is approaching 200,000 items. CEO Matthew Kaness said the organization plans to have a catalog of over 1 million products for sale by the end of the year. GoodwillFinds is in the process of onboarding four more locations -- and Kaness said dozens of other locations are in the pipeline to be added in 2023.

Kaness joined the Modern Retail Podcast to talk about the growing program. While most anyone in the U.S. knows about Goodwill, the organization has never had a centralized online presence. The idea with GoodwillFinds is to try and do just that -- as well as compete with other digital resale leaders like Thredup and the RealReal.

While the platform has only been around for a few months, Kaness said that the struggle hasn't been finding customers, but instead making sure the program can run smoothly while scaling. "We didn't expect the consumer response to be as great," he said. "So we are chasing some of the operations -- staffing up customer service, and adding more staff at pick, pack and ship [sections] within the various Goodwills."

The business is also trying to figure out what sells best on the online platform. While apparel has been one of Goodwill's most popular categories, Kaness said GoodwillFinds has seen "such a strong demand for non-clothing." In fact, apparel currently only accounts for one-quarter of the platform's sales.

The platform is still constantly being upgraded, with more products and features being added everyday. But the hope is to create the Goodwill experience online. That being said, Kaness was clear that the well-known treasure-hunt Goodwill experience can't be mimicked by an online app. "What we're trying to do is augment and expand and enhance the experience," he said.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Modern Retail PodcastBy Digiday

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

76 ratings


More shows like The Modern Retail Podcast

View all
Shopify Masters by Shopify

Shopify Masters

376 Listeners

The Digiday Podcast by Digiday

The Digiday Podcast

104 Listeners

Digiday Live by Digiday

Digiday Live

7 Listeners

How I Built This with Guy Raz by Guy Raz | Wondery

How I Built This with Guy Raz

30,235 Listeners

The Glossy Podcast by Glossy

The Glossy Podcast

256 Listeners

The Business of Fashion Podcast by The Business of Fashion

The Business of Fashion Podcast

582 Listeners

9 to 5ish with theSkimm by theSkimm

9 to 5ish with theSkimm

1,869 Listeners

Second Life by Second Life

Second Life

2,852 Listeners

Career Contessa by Career Contessa

Career Contessa

457 Listeners

RETHINK RETAIL by RETHINK Retail

RETHINK RETAIL

51 Listeners

The CMO Podcast by vYve & Jim Stengel

The CMO Podcast

350 Listeners

Morning Brew Daily by Morning Brew

Morning Brew Daily

3,002 Listeners

The Hustle Daily Show by Hubspot Media

The Hustle Daily Show

236 Listeners

The Debrief by The Business of Fashion

The Debrief

44 Listeners

OPERATORS by OPERATORS

OPERATORS

48 Listeners

Fashion People by Audacy | Puck

Fashion People

228 Listeners

Everybody's Business by Bloomberg and iHeartPodcasts

Everybody's Business

91 Listeners