An app that lives on your phone, so I put it on the street.
THE BRAND
Second-hand marketplace founded in Lithuania in 2008
THE BRIEF
A concise strategic marketing plan for the Marketing Director, plus a reflection
MY ROLE
Sole author, using the SOSTAC framework from audit to control
THE BIG IDEA
Out-of-home ads to reach new demographics and categories beyond fashion
01 · THE AUDIT · PESTLE
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A 2025 revision of extended producer responsibility brings new rules for used textiles and textile waste. For a major marketplace like Vinted, that’s both an opportunity and a threat.
Valued at €3.5bn by 2022, with 105 million registered users and 32.8 million downloads. Shopping online became the main way to buy.
Under the theory of planned behaviour, Vinted’s UK success depends on buying second-hand being socially accepted and easy. Its core audience, Millennials and Gen Z, are cost-conscious buyers.
Vinted Go gives Vinted control over deliveries and cuts its carbon footprint. Generative AI is the risk: buyers can fake product faults and sellers can fake products, and both hurt trust.
Since January 2024, platforms must report what UK sellers earn. Anyone earning more than £1,000 has to register for Self Assessment with HMRC.
That’s why I recommend bringing Vinted Go from Portugal to the UK, along with local parcel grouping.
02 · SWOT
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
Porter's warning applies: Vinted competes on operational effectiveness, with low transaction costs and sustainability, and rivals can imitate both. Its physical lockers are the one thing that's hard to copy.
03 · OBJECTIVES · THE 5Ss
SELL
revenue, by scaling home and electronics
SERVE
dissatisfaction, through AI-assisted support and shorter waits
SPEAK
positive feedback, with free bumps, returns and postage
SAVE
of UK parcel volume moved to Vinted Go lockers
SIZZLE
brand recognition, through an influencer-led "new again" campaign
04 · THE STRATEGY
Out-of-home advertising makes a brand feel legitimate (signalling theory). Placed next to rival shops, it acts as a proximity interceptor that reminds shoppers they can get the same item for a fraction of the price (contextual priming). Every poster carries a QR code, so the offline ads can be measured like online ones.
Places like Peterborough and Ipswich: lower ad costs and a better route to Gen X.
Reach Gen X sellers of vintage items when they're moving house or decluttering.
Experimental placements and creative ad copy beside competitors' stores.
budget split: the 70 · 20 · 10 rule (Kotler)
SEGMENT
Geographic segmentation: rural ads for Gen X sellers, urban ads near competitors to win buyers.
TARGET
Differentiated targeting. Vinted is already strong online, so the gap is in its demographics.
POSITION
Beyond its core of women aged 18–45: Gen X and Gen Alpha, buying more than just fashion.
05 · CONTROL
QR scans and geofencing data show sign-ups and peak engagement times by location. Test cities isolate the effect of the ads, and a feedback loop moves budget to the placements that perform best.
fig. 1 — the key metric
WHAT I TOOK AWAY
"If a new strategic plan was needed, I would focus on diving into their Vinted Go lockers as that has a huge potential to increase their customer satisfaction and loyalty."
As a frequent Vinted user, I enjoyed this one. It taught me discipline with a word count and showed me how much consumer research goes into a single strategic decision.
That's where the second Vinted case study picks up →