Wallapop has officially arrived in Italy. Born in 2013 in Spain, this platform offers a responsible and sustainable consumption model, with a buying and selling market of second hand products easy and convenient to use. We went to the official launch evening of the service to get told all about this project and here’s what we found out.
Wallapop is the perfect place for the Zillennials
Over the course of its history, Wallapop has gathered one around itself community of over 15 million users, which have so far traded more than 180 million products who have gained a second life this way. The potential market it aims at in our country, in which it has been active since last September, is around 43 million people of all ages, but there is a target on which it is particularly focused.
We are talking about the so-called Zillennials, that generation halfway between Z and Millennials. An audience that is now used to the world of second-hand. This is confirmed by the data of one Research developed together with Doxa who found that for the under 40s, buying second hand is a common practice (for 90%) if not even regular (for 52%). It is a considered choice sustainable (according to 93% of respondents), intelligent (92%) and which also allows access to high-end products at a low price (30%).
Opinions that perfectly reflect the Wallapop philosophy, based on three central pillars. The first is thechance, intended both as a saving on the desired goods, and as a profit by reselling products that we no longer use. The second is the sustainability, concretized in promoting a culture of reuse, as opposed to continuous consumption. Finally we find theaccessibility: Wallapop is simple and quick to use in all its functions.
Tancredi gives a second life to an iconic piece by the Rector
The spirit of Wallapop materialized in this launch with a very special operation. For the occasion, in fact, the young artist Tancredi took up the challenge of recreating a legendary piece like Splendid shining. In fact, the Zillennials interviewed confirmed that they have an interest in Italian music (a passion often inherited from their parents) and its classics. And so Tancredi gave a second life to this passage from the Rector, in an original reinterpretation of the philosophy of Wallapop.
The artist commented on the operation as follows:
“I am honored to have been involved with Wallapop to give a second life to one of my favorite Italian dance songs. Since I was given the opportunity to customize the text, I wanted to do it following what the Rector wanted to communicate but contextualized in our days “.
Even the same Rector shared the enthusiasm for this return in a new form of his great success:
“I am really happy that a talented young artist wanted to take up our challenge, transforming one of the most important songs of my career into a beautiful ‘second hand song’, which even the younger generations will be able to appreciate”.
A few words with Giuseppe Montana, Head of Internationalization of Wallapop
During the evening we also had the opportunity to speak with one of the people more involved in the Italian launch of this platform. We could like that learn more about this service, its values and its approach to our country. Here’s what he told us …
The claim of this event is “You are a wallapoper. And maybe you didn’t know it “. What is the identikit of a wallapoper?
Anyone willing to get rid of the products they no longer use. We are surrounded by products that we do not use and we have the opportunity to give them a second life and thus nurture a sustainable consumption model. Extend the life of a product and reduce waste in general. On the one hand, it facilitates this model of sustainability, giving a new history to products that we no longer use. On the other hand, it gives the possibility to save on the purchase of products, often almost new.
So the identikit is anyone who wants to contribute to a responsible consumption model and who wants to get an economic feedback from the products they no longer use that can give a new life.
This concept of sustainable consumption is one of the core values of Wallapop, even more than savings perhaps. Confirm?
Yes, let’s say that in general sustainability is intrinsic in the Wallapop project itself. Because in fact, by facilitating the sale you contribute to the environment and responsible consumption. Consider that Wallapop was born in 2013 in Spain, it currently has 15 million users, a huge community. Over the eight years, from 2013 to today, it has facilitated the purchase and sale of approximately 180 million products.
A huge volume that has certainly contributed to sustainability, also giving a considerable economic contribution to those who have used the application by selling or buying goods.
Let’s imagine a practical case: I have a board game that I am no longer using. I want to take it off the shelf where it is gathering dust. What should I do?
Nothing simpler. You download the Wallapop application and upload the product in less than a minute on the platform, taking one or two photos, adding the price you want and a few lines of description. In no time your ad is online and can be purchased. On the other hand, the buyer looking for the product he wants, filtering by category or in the search bar, can buy it with a few simple clicks.
We have a geolocation system so if I am looking for your board game and you are within the search range that I have set, we can also meet in person and thus make the purchase. If, on the other hand, the product is remote, so you find something that can even be thousands of km from you, you can use Wallapop Spedizioni. You have the option to purchase the product and have it shipped directly to you. There is a double possibility then: to meet in person when it comes to products located near where you live, but also to have it shipped to you.
Is this shipping service managed directly by Wallapop?
No, we have made a partnership with Poste Italiane. How does it work in practice? I have sold a product, I print the label generated directly by the application, the attachment to the product, I go to an Italian Post Office to deliver it – there are thousands of them all over the country, even in the most remote corners, so it’s very comfortable. On the other hand, the buyer can decide either to go to the nearest post office and collect it or he too can receive it directly at home, sitting on the sofa. This obviously is a considerable convenience for shipping.
A particularly curious object sold on Wallapop that you have encountered in your experience?
You know, when we opened the Italian market less than two months ago in September, we obviously monitored the first transactions, to understand what the trend was. We saw for example that the Collectibles category was very popular. I remember that I had just looked with the intention of understanding “What are the Italians buying?”. This is because at an early stage the catalog was Spanish, so I was curious to understand what the interests of the public were.
There was this Collectibles category that was particularly rich. I remember a Barbie from the 70s, there were a lot of Playmobils, because in Spain they are big fans of these toys, and then there was a historical Spanish coin. There is really everything: very vintage in collectibles, there was also an ancient pendulum clock. Then you can sell anything, but these are some of the ones that impressed me the most when we opened the Italian market.
Perhaps also because a platform like Wallapop helps to bring together niches …
Yes, in products that come from other countries in particular. Maybe you try to get closer to the culture of the other nation, looking for specific things. The catalog we have now is growing a lot and therefore you can find everyday products, of any type and category. It is very instructive for us to understand the difference between the Italian market and the others, what they buy and sell in Italy and what they can buy in the corridor between the two countries.
Is there a verification and control system to protect buyers and allow safe buying and selling?
Yes, it is an aspect on which we focus a lot. Consider that about 10% of Wallapop employees are engaged in quality control on the products that are inserted. There is not only this process, sometimes even manual, but there is the community itself that reports announcements of dubious origin or that do not reflect the rules of our platform. There is constant monitoring of the quality of Wallapop products.
And you, you are regular customers of the second-hand world? Tell us about your experience and if you want to know more about Wallapop, you can visit its official website.