ST. LOUIS — Thrift store shops are seeing a big boom right now thanks to inflation.
According to CNBC, experts say the average person saves close to $1,800 a year just by buying secondhand.
And thrift stores have also upped their games as well -- with donations down and demand up, many have felt an urgency to fill shelves any way they can.
If you go to the Salvation Army on any given day, you may see new items being put out on the shelves multiple times a day.
"My customers are able to get the best of both worlds," said Richard Vire, the Salvation Army thrift store manager in Forest Park.
Vire says customers may not know the non-profit is buying new items from stores like Costco and Target to sell on the floor at a fraction of the retail price. It's a tactic the Salvation Army started doing during the pandemic when donations dwindled.
"The economy has kind of made thrift stores the new department store, said Vire. "Here you can find things at a fraction of the cost no matter what you're looking for."
Vire says furniture is a great thing to buy at the stores because when they buy it new from big box stores, they assemble it and have it ready to go -- that way you as a shopper know what it looks like and can see that all the parts are intact.
Shoppers can also tell an item's history by the tags.
Items that are bought brand new and sold at Vire's store are marked with red tags along with the original store tag. Donated items are marked with handwritten tags and color-coded by the day they arrive.
And then each week, a certain colored tag of donated items gets put on a steep discount, more than 50 percent off. That means every four or five weeks, the items that don't sell are taken off the floor and either moved to another location, sold at auction or recycled.
"There are so many amazing things that you can purchase," said Vire. "But after five weeks, I mean, we've got to give it to somebody else and give them a shot."
Seasoned shoppers have their own strategies, but shopping early and often tends to be a lasting tip.
"I love to shop secondhand," said a woman named Joanna. "I'm a big thrifter and have been for more than 10 years."
Joanna said she loves shopping secondhand because she can get high-quality pieces in a sustainable way.
"Even if I'm not looking for something in particular, I always like to look at everything because you may find a treasure," she said.
Proceeds from the Salvation Army thrift store help with drug and alcohol rehabilitation services.