Wigan named the second hand capital of the UK

April 21, 2010 - PRLog -- The UK’s fastest growing second hand website, www.Preloved.co.uk has today revealed that North West city Wigan is the second hand capital of the UK. Preloved.co.uk analysed site statistics to find the number of visits from each UK city and discovered that in March 2010 there were 13,872 from Wigan, equating to 17% of the city’s total population.

Visitors from Wigan also spent 30% longer on the site than the national average, and viewed 37% more pages.
Amongst all searches for second hand items, those from Wigan searched most frequently for caravans. This was closely followed by cars, sofas and then fish tanks.

Birmingham came in second with 15% of the city’s population visiting the site during the month of March. The capital came in at number four with 11% of its 8 million strong population visiting the site in the last month.

Londoners were keen to grab a second hand laptop, with bikes and pushchairs also being particularly popular.

The cities most likely to buy second hand, based on the number of visits to Preloved per head of population:

1.   Wigan – 17%
2.   Birmingham – 15%
3.   Rotherham – 15%
4.   London – 11%
5.   Manchester – 10%
6.   Bolton – 9%
7.   Nottingham – 9%
8.   Glasgow – 8%
9.   Leeds – 8%
10.   Bristol – 7%

Scousers came bottom of the list with only 4% of the nearly half a million Liverpudlians visiting the site during the month of March. Of those from Liverpool who did use the site, the Apple iPhone was a particularly popular search.

Edinburgh was the third least likely to buy second hand with only 5% of the total population of the city visiting the site. Of those that did, wedding dresses were a popular second hand buy.

Ian Buzer, Managing Director of Preloved.co.uk said;

“These statistics are interesting as it enables us to grasp which cities are the most second hand savvy and what things people in different places like to buy online. It’s fascinating to see that the people of Wigan have an unusually high affinity to caravans and fish tanks. We feel that by releasing the figures, it will help the public see what kind of things are popular online, which helps if anyone wants to raise some extra cash by selling their unwanted clutter.”

He continued;

“Not only was Wigan the city that visited the site the most frequently, it was also the one that submitted the most classified ads. At Preloved we are trying to encourage buying and selling within local communities as it is safer and more fun to meet with local people. The fact that places such as London, Glasgow and Bristol are so active on the site should encourage others in these cities to explore what people in their area have to offer.”

The statistics showed that, combined, there were nearly 3 million visits to the site during March, which equates to 5% of the UK population.

Link: http://www.Preloved.co.uk
ENDS

For more information, please contact Gabrielle Lofthouse, 10 Yetis Public Relations Agency, gabrielle@10yetis.co.uk or call 01452 348 211.

Notes to editors:

Preloved was founded in 1998 and has grown to become one of the largest classified ads sites in the UK, with hundreds of thousands of second hand items for sale as well as thousands of product reviews and a highly populated and active forum.

The site prides itself on the fact that all private ads are completely free to post including a photo, with absolutely no listing fees, no selling fees and no catches, giving sellers and credit-crunched Brits a free and simple way of clearing their clutter. Popular sections on the site include; but are not limited to, baby clothes and equipment, children’s toys, furniture, vehicles, caravans and wedding dresses.