KITCHENER -- Two Kitchener thrift shops have shifted gears during the pandemic and have found plenty of success on Instagram and TikTok.

Rebyl Goods co-founders Cheryl Lee Ogasawara and Rebecca Steiner have put a pause on their usual in person pop-up events and used the time to utilize their social media.

"We've gotten to know so many of our customers and our followers," said Steiner. "That really feels like we're starting to make a personal connection, and that feels like a positive thing coming out of covid."

The two have been able to use Instagram's reels feature to showcase items they've curated.

"One of our favourite things is being able to inspire people to embrace difference pieces that might be hard to see the beauty of otherwise," said Ogasawara.

Rebyl Good says they source 99 per cent of their products from other local thrift stores, with many of them being social enterprises.

The duo's goal is to always support local and keep as much as they can out of landfills.

The Clothing Exchange owner Bobbie Kennedy has shifted to TikTok to reach a new audience and show customers how each item can come together to create a complete look.

"The TikTok's are for the younger crowd," she said. "I'm kind the kind of person and business woman that I want all women to feel beautiful, so the TikTok's attract the teenagers. I do it for them."

With uncertainty around when in person shopping will return, Rebyl Goods and Clothing Exchange both say they will continue to tote thrifty trends on timelines.