Upscale AI: Online luxury consignment shop Reluxify puts high-tech twist on resale process

An Ottawa-based consignment shop is harnessing the power of AI to streamline the buying process for sellers and push the luxury resale industry forward. Uju Nweze, founder of online luxury consignment store Reluxify, told OBJ last week she is looking to modernize the luxury resale experience by “increasing speed, authenticity and transparency for both buyers […]

An Ottawa-based consignment shop is harnessing the power of AI to streamline the buying process for sellers and push the luxury resale industry forward. Uju Nweze, founder of online luxury consignment store Reluxify, told OBJ last week she is looking to modernize the luxury resale experience by “increasing speed, authenticity and transparency for both buyers and sellers.” “I am building out my product road map for what resale looks like in 2025 and beyond, not 2015. I think other luxury consignment boutiques are stuck in the past, in the old ways of doing things. I’m building for now and the future,” Nweze said.  Nweze started Reluxify in 2023, looking to share the confidence she gained from owning luxury items with others and wanting to give used items a second life.  In a bid to innovate, Nweze said she launched client surveys to understand how Reluxify could better serve its customers. “I have a marketing background, and one of the most important aspects of marketing is understanding your customers’ pain points,” Nweze said. “Coming into an industry that’s pretty saturated, I wanted to make sure Reluxify has a very clear differentiator that solves pain points,” she said, adding that she surveyed 39 buyers and sellers. Of those surveyed, 86 per cent said they felt that traditional boutiques never gave an explanation for how they set their prices, and sellers waited an average of six days before getting a quote for their item. The solution was RAI, pronounced “ray,” an AI tool that allows sellers to get a quote on their item in about 30 seconds, according to Nweze. “I worked with a product manager and my brother, who is a developer. We created RAI to tackle every single pain point by making pricing instant, data-backed and crystal clear for sellers,” she said. RAI, launched earlier this month, asks sellers to upload photos of their items from different angles to verify authenticity as well as the condition of the merchandise. Then, sellers answer a few additional questions on the item’s condition and they get an initial quote.  The platform compares the uploaded photos with recent online listings for similar items across “the top reselling platforms in North America, as well as consignment boutiques in Canada,” Nweze said, adding that an item’s original box or dustbag can increase its value by 10 to 15 per cent. “It’s the first-of-its-kind in Canada’s luxury consignment market … It really just helps (sellers) feel more informed and not gamed by the system,” she said. Once a seller accepts the quote, they receive a free shipping label to send the item to Nweze and her team in Ottawa. From there, the item is reviewed by the Reluxify team and finally, it’s verified by Entrupy, a third-party AI-powered authentication tool. 

With RAI as the first line of the authentication process, Nweze said that accuracy was key.  “Our goal was to ensure 85 per cent or higher accuracy,” she said, adding that the AI-generated quote can be adjusted on the back end of the website if it is not up to par. Another concern that Nweze wanted to address when creating the tool was data privacy.  “With RAI, we only collect what’s needed to generate your quote and to contact you. None of that data is sold or shared externally. All of the photos are deleted after 30 days and our data is stored securely through Amazon’s AWS infrastructure,” she said. Since its launch, Nweze said she’s already had 82 sellers use the tool, many of which were interviewed in Reluxify’s client surveys. Some of the most popular items being authenticated by RAI in its early days are from well-known brands such as Gucci, Chanel and Louis Vuitton, with items from Louis Vuitton’s collection in collaboration with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami making a notable appearance. Nweze points to a June 2025 report by Bain & Company, a Boston-based management consulting company known for its analysis of the luxury market, as a reason to be hopeful for the future of the luxury resale industry.  The report says that, despite some short-term issues such as economic uncertainty and cultural shifts, luxury’s long-term future looks promising. It suggests that 300 million new consumers will enter the luxury market over the next five years, mostly consisting of Gen Z and Gen Alpha.  Still, the report said luxury retailers will need to “rethink how they engage younger consumers, avoid over-reliance on top spenders, and build emotional connections that go beyond transactional loyalty.” “To guarantee future profitability and operational resilience for luxury businesses, technology – especially the use of AI – along with advanced clienteling, supply chain modernization, marketing technology, and more sophisticated pricing analytics, will be essential levers,” the report added. Launching RAI was Reluxify’s way of pushing the luxury resale market forward, Nweze said.  “The industry is stuck in older workflows. Buyers expect authenticity and fair prices and sellers want speed and transparency. So, AI just lets us catch up to what consumers in the industry already need. It’s an exciting time for businesses to innovate,” she said. RAI might have just launched, but Nweze is already trying to come up with the next big thing for her business. “I wouldn’t be surprised if other consignment boutiques follow suit and build their own instant quote tool because it’s something that’s just absolutely needed in the industry,” she said. “My ultimate goal is to modernize the pre-loved luxury buying and selling experience … (There’s) definitely lots more to come.”