The online marketplace Ricardo reflects on another impressive year, with over 6.5 million items sold. The trend towards sustainable consumption continued to grow in 2024. Leading the way was the “Household & Living” category, which saw a 26 % increase compared to the previous year, with approximately 620,000 second-hand items sold. Ricardo also scored technological achievements in 2024: The AI-based technology “Ricardo AI”, launched in summer to simplify buying and selling, made a strong debut. In December, for instance, over 25 % of all listings were created with the help of artificial intelligence – via the app, an even more impressive 41 % of listings were generated using “Ricardo AI”.
An annual analysis of the online marketplace Ricardo confirms the ongoing trend towards sustainable consumption in Switzerland. In 2024, buying and selling second-hand items on Ricardo saved approximately 156,500 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. Even amidst the global “fast fashion” and Temu consumption craze, Ricardo users remained loyal to their online marketplace for second-hand goods. A total of 444,191 active sellers (+ 4 % compared to the previous year) met 744,341 buyers (+ 1 %). Consistent with the previous year, 71 % of the items sold on Ricardo in 2024 were second or third-hand. This represents approximately 4.6 million second-hand items that found a new lease of life through Ricardo. Among these, 620,244 used products came from the Household & Living category (+26% compared to the previous year), 610,076 from the Clothing & Accessories category (+ 13 %), and 213,932 from the Books & Comics category (+ 22 %). In 2024, the most searched terms on Ricardo included Rolex, sofa, excavator, Lego, and caravan. The top search term in November 2024 was “Dubai chocolate”.
AI-Based Technology “Ricardo AI” on Track for Success
Another milestone in 2024 was the development of the AI-powered technology “Ricardo AI”, which was rolled out in the summer across the web as well as Android and iOS apps. With “Ricardo AI”, searching, finding, buying, and selling items has become even more intuitive and efficient. Simply uploading a product image enables users to view similar Ricardo items for purchase, thanks to artificial intelligence, or to generate automatically crafted listing descriptions for selling products. The new technology quickly gained traction: By December 2024, the AI-powered search to display similar Ricardo items had been activated approximately 537,000 times. That same month, 41 % of all listings created via the app were generated with AI support.
(For further information about “Ricardo AI”)
RicardoForGood: Over Half a Million Swiss Francs Raised for Charity
Thanks to the RicardoForGood initiative, various charity organisations such as SOS Children’s Villages, A Million Dreams, Pink Ribbon, Make a Wish, and others auctioned unique items or experiences with Swiss personalities for a good cause last year. These efforts raised a total of CHF 517,578 – a 25 % increase compared to the previous year. For example, an original Stöckli racing ski signed by Marco Odermatt was auctioned in support of A Million Dreams. Additionally, Swiss offered several design objects crafted from old Airbus parts as one-of-a-kind items from the “Swiss Recraft Collection”, with proceeds benefiting SOS Children’s Villages.
(For further information about RicardoForGood)
Mojca Fuks
Senior Corporate Communications Manager & Media Spokesperson
About Ricardo
Founded in late 1999 in Baar (ZG), Ricardo has grown over the past 25 years to become one of the most popular online marketplaces for secondhand goods in the Swiss e-commerce market. Ricardo is part of SMG Swiss Marketplace Group AG.
www.ricardo.ch
