Old-school gadgets are making a comeback as younger shoppers fuel a retro revival
They’re back! Old-school “legacy gadgets” from the ‘80s, ‘90s and Y2K, such as Polaroid cameras, Walkman, Discman, Game Boy, flip phones and iPod are being brought back by popular demand, courtesy of Gen Z.
Younger consumers are actively embracing — and fueling — a retro revival across several product categories, from fashion and beauty to music and technology.
Kori Fuerst, co-owner of Retrospekt, is keenly aware of this trend because her business also depends on it. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company specializes in acquiring, restoring and refurbishing retro technology.
“People kind of make fun of the interest in something old, but I think it's amazing,” Fuerst, said in an interview with Bagable.com. “A lot of our customers are Gen Z and their level of interest and curiosity about history and the science behind technology, such as analog and how it works, is amazing. I’m very protective of that.”
Retrospekt, which sells direct to consumer and wholesale, operates a 15,000-square-foot warehouse in Milwaukee. Fuerst describes the space as a one-stop-shop setup.
“It’s our headquarters and warehouse all in one. We do everything here — marketing, customer service, order fulfillment and refurbishing,” she said.
The warehouse stores more than 15,000 individual items. “We're always sourcing. We have two full-time purchasers that scour the internet all day long looking for vintage electronics on eBay, Mercari and other online marketplaces,” Fuerst said.
As the business ramps up for the holiday shopping rush, its biggest sales period of the year, Fuerst highlights some of the most sought-after throwback gizmos.
“The refurbished Sony Walkman are pretty desirable. Portable CD players are holding pretty steady on our site. IPods, Game Boy, those early 2000s digital cameras, camcorders and VCR/VHS players are popular,” she said. “What's been really fun in the last year or two is seeing the Y2K trends reemerge.”
“So many of these vintage electronics that we sell make really good gifts because they're unique to the younger generation,” Fuerst said. “From a sustainability standpoint, a lot of people like that they're used and they're not buying something newly manufactured.”
On the other end of the age spectrum, Fuerst said Gen X and Boomers customers are shopping for vintage devices because they want to re-experience the gadgets they grew up with..
“Older folks tell the younger generation of the early days of tech, record players, Walkman etc. It peaks the curiosity of these younger shoppers.” —Tim Bajarin, president of market research firm Creative Strategies Inc.
Nostalgia can be a shared emotion across age groups, explained Tim Bajarin, president of market research firm Creative Strategies Inc. and a leading consumer technology expert.
“Nostalgia is strong when it comes to past tech gadgets. Many who grew up with Atari Pong, Nintendo and early game machines remember the good time they had with these system that were simple to use and gave them hours of fun,” Bajarin told Bagable.com.
“While an older generation likes tech progress and new gadgets, they often long for the memories of the past and the less complicated gadgets of their youth,” he added. “At the same time these older folks tell the younger generation of the early days of tech, record players, Walkmans etc. It peaks the curiosity of these younger shoppers.”
Protectors of the obsolete
Fuerst and her husband, Adam, both millennials, met in college where neither one studied technology.
“Adam is an occupational therapist and I have a Master's degree in speech language pathology,” Fuerst said. “This is very much a classic story of a hobby turned into business.”
She credits Polaroid brand’s decline and subsequent revival for the initial success of Retrospekt. As college students, the couple liked shooting photos using instant film. But when Polaroid announced in 2008 that it would no longer make instant film, a moment of panic ensued.
“Almost immediately packs of film were popping up on eBay for $30 to $40 when the original price was $10. Adam and I were college students. We couldn’t afford that,” Fuerst said.
To find more instant film on the cheap, they would hit thrift stores and scoop up old instant cameras that still had unused film in them.
“People were donating their cameras because instant film was done and we would buy them for like $2,” Fuerst said. It led to them amassing a “giant” collection of instant cameras.
They started selling the cameras online and landed steady business with a large customer.
Then a pivot occurred when, as Fuerst explained, the same customer asked “if we would like to also refurbish the vintage cameras we found and sell them the finished working product.”
Over time, the business expanded into refurbishing and selling other vintage electronics like turntables, clocks, VCRs and VHS and headphones directly to consumers in 2019.
Although the retro gadget might look the same and work as well at it did decades ago, don’t expect its price to be stuck in the past.
Prices for refurbished Sony Walkman from Retrospekt range from $149 to as high as over $1,000 for first-generation models. Vintage folding Polaroid cameras cost nearly $400, and up, while the lowest price for a retro Game boy is $149.
“There's a lot of work that goes into refurbishing. If we're talking about Sony Walkmans, if the plastic is chipped or someone carved their name into it, which is surprisingly common, those are all pieces that get discarded,” Fuerst said. “Replacement parts aren’t always available, so we have to buy several different devices to get one part to refurbish a fully-functioning cassette player. Then there are some models, just from a collectability standpoint, that are surprisingly expensive.”
Today, Retrospekt employs a team of 45 people who call themselves “protectors of the obsolete.” The company is expected to reach $8 million in annual revenue in 2024.
“Vintage refurbished electronics are a huge part of our business. But we also manufacture our own products,” said Fuerst.
The newer products are still vintage-inspired, such as a clear case Retrospekt cassette player, or a co-branded Polaroid 600 Hello Kitty Perfectly Pink instant film camera that uses refurbished, vintage Polaroid internal components from the ‘80s and ‘90s, but housed in a new exterior that’s designed and built by Retrospekt and officially licensed by Polaroid and Sanrio.
“I was born in 1990, so I kind of got both sides. “I had a boombox growing up but then I also had the big CD stereo player and other modern technology,” said Fuerst.
“I think there is something really powerful about the tangibility— the actual physicality of these objects that you can hold. This is something Gen Z, and certainly Gen Alpha, hasn’t grown up with at all,” she said. “Everything's been on a screen for them, which is great. But, these retro devices offer a novel experience for younger people.”