Depop triples its campus footprint as student ambassador program fuels Gen Z dominance in the resale market

The landscape of retail is undergoing a structural shift, moving away from centralized digital advertising toward hyper-local, peer-to-peer engagement. Nowhere is this more evident than in the strategic maneuvers of Depop, the eBay-owned fashion resale platform that is currently executing an aggressive expansion of its campus-based marketing infrastructure. Having tripled its presence to over 300 college campuses since 2024, the platform is betting that the future of circular fashion lies not just in algorithms, but in the hands of its most influential cohort: the students themselves.

The scale of this operation is significant. This fall alone, Depop received a staggering 7,000 applications for just 600 available student ambassador positions, branded internally as "Campus Managers." This level of demand underscores the platform’s cultural cachet among Gen Z, a demographic that now drives the vast majority of its business. To capitalize on this momentum, the company has announced a roadmap of over 2,000 in-person events scheduled across the next 12 weeks, marking a pivotal transition from a digital-first marketplace to a hybrid community hub.

The Evolution of the Campus Manager Program

The role of a Depop Campus Manager has evolved far beyond the traditional, low-impact student brand ambassador models of the past decade. While many brands still rely on social media influencers to post discount codes and sponsored content, Depop is prioritizing tangible, high-touch interactions. These paid positions require students to demonstrate proficiency in event planning, community management, and marketing strategy.

Under the guidance of Depop’s corporate marketing team, these managers serve as the connective tissue between the global platform and local student bodies. Their duties include hosting "listing parties"—structured workshops where students learn how to photograph, price, and describe items for sale—and coordinating coaching sessions to help peers overcome the intimidation of starting a digital business.

Oskar Platts-Palmer, Depop’s global integrated marketing lead, describes this strategy as a move toward deep-rooted loyalty. "It’s a lot more than discount codes, freebies, and branded social posts," Platts-Palmer noted. "Our Campus Managers are the ones bringing Depop to life on their campuses. They run tabling events, team up with student organizations and communities, and help their peers start selling and build confidence running their own shop. That peer-to-peer connection is something we couldn’t create on our own, and they’re the reason a lot of students try Depop for the first time."

Chronology of the 2024-2025 Expansion

The current expansion marks the culmination of a multi-year strategy to institutionalize on-campus presence. Following the 2024 scaling phase, which saw the program reach its current 300-campus milestone, the company has begun its most ambitious outreach effort to date: the "Depop After Class" tour.

• Summer 2024: Depop finalized its recruiting cycle, filtering 7,000 applicants to select the current cohort of 600 Campus Managers.
• November 6, 2024: The inaugural "Depop After Class" event kicks off in Austin, Texas. This tour features a blend of pop-up marketplaces, live performances, and on-site product customization stations.
• Late November 2024: The tour is scheduled to transition to campuses in Fullerton and Berkeley, California.
• December 2024 – February 2025: The company plans to sustain momentum with a series of 2,000 localized events, ranging from intimate student gatherings to large-scale, open-to-the-public pop-up shops.
• Ongoing: Recruitment for the Spring 2027 class of Campus Managers has already commenced, signaling a long-term commitment to this marketing funnel.

Data-Driven Community Engagement

The reliance on Campus Managers is not merely a branding exercise; it is a vital data acquisition strategy. By embedding themselves in the campus ecosystem, Depop gains real-time insight into the evolving tastes, price sensitivity, and shopping habits of its core demographic.

More than 90% of Depop’s 7 million active users are under the age of 34, a statistic that makes the company a primary target for competitors but also reinforces its need to remain relevant to a shifting youth culture. With annual revenues exceeding $80 million, the platform’s acquisition by eBay in July for $1.2 billion provided the capital necessary to professionalize its logistics and physical footprint.

Analysts point out that while the platform has invested heavily in technical infrastructure—such as lowering shipping costs and enhancing delivery features earlier this fall—these digital improvements are only effective if the platform maintains its "cool factor." The physical events act as a hedge against the inevitable churn that occurs as student cohorts graduate and move into different life stages.

Competitive Context in the Campus Marketing Sphere

Depop is not alone in its pursuit of the college demographic. The competition for the "campus wallet" has intensified as brands recognize that habits formed in university often persist for decades.

Princess Polly and Revolve have long utilized campus-based programs to drive awareness, while brands like Madewell have experimented with student-specific retail partnerships. The strategy has also crossed industry lines; for instance, the beverage brand Poppi recently hired 250 paid student ambassadors to lead its fall marketing push, mirroring the organizational structure Depop has refined. Even the fast-fashion giant Shein has moved into the space, hosting its first-ever on-campus fashion show earlier this year, signaling that the battle for Gen Z attention is no longer restricted to mobile screens.

The Strategic Value of "High-Touch" Retail

Despite the digital nature of the marketplace, Depop’s leadership maintains that human interaction is the primary driver of platform loyalty. The "Depop After Class" tour represents an effort to synthesize the convenience of e-commerce with the social energy of a flea market.

For the students, the program offers more than just a paycheck. It provides a resume-building experience in professional marketing, logistics, and event coordination. Indeed, the success of the program is self-reinforcing; several current full-time employees at Depop’s corporate headquarters began their journey as Campus Managers during their undergraduate years.

"Being there in person also helps us build longer-term relationships with students," Platts-Palmer said. "It gives us a much better sense of what they care about, which shapes how we engage them going forward. We’ll always invest in tech to make secondhand easier to buy, sell, and discover on our platform, but it’s people and communities that have always been at the core of Depop and resale culture."

Implications for the Future of Resale

The shift toward physical campus presence suggests that even the most successful digital-native platforms are recognizing the limits of purely online acquisition. As the cost of digital advertising (CAC) rises and privacy regulations make targeted social media ads less effective, direct community building serves as a sustainable alternative.

By turning college campuses into nodes of its circular economy, Depop is effectively creating a self-sustaining ecosystem where new users are onboarded by their peers, coached by them, and encouraged to trade within a localized community. This "localized" approach to a global platform may serve as a blueprint for other e-commerce companies struggling to maintain a connection with younger, fragmented audiences.

As the "Depop After Class" tour progresses through the United States, the industry will be watching closely to see if this high-touch strategy can translate into increased transaction volume and long-term user retention. For now, Depop’s triple-down on the campus experience suggests a firm belief that in a world of digital noise, the most effective way to reach the next generation is to meet them where they live, study, and socialize.