Summary

Used and Refurbished Smartphone Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.61% during the forecast period 2021 to 2026. The market is driven by improvements in methods of collection, grading, repairing of smartphones, and its online/offline selling.

Key Highlights
Refurbished and used devices continue to provide cost-effective alternatives to both consumers and businesses that are looking to save money when purchasing a smartphone. Customers can get upto USD 350 discount on Apple iPhones. For Instance, Apple Inc., on its official website, is offering refurbished iPhone X 256GB, which was originally released in September 2017, at a price point of USD 699 (a discount of USD 350 over its original price).
A higher percentage of refurbished devices are sold with warranties. Also, phones can be insured with proof of purchase. This greatly helps overcome consumer hesitancy to purchase refurbished devices. For instance, Samsung sells certified pre-owned devices, typically at least one model-year-old, at solid discounts. The big upside of directly buying from Samsung is getting a full one-year warranty.
Third-party vendors/platforms, such as T-Mobile, Verizon, Amazon, etc., provide attractive offers to customers for refurbished smartphones. For instance, Amazon has a "renewed" refurbished electronics section where customers can find many last-generation devices at solid discounts. Amazon Warehouse is often a better choice for discounted phones. It doesn't technically have "refurbished" phones, but instead sells opened-and-returned brand new (or gently used) products.
The impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 may boost the cheaper refurbished smartphone segment, which had been shrinking for the past few years, as consumers cut back on discretionary spending and buy phones only for immediate needs. Even if sales reopen fully across retail channels, significant demand may not pick up until later this year.


Key Market Trends

Growing Popularity of E-Commerce Platforms for Used and Refurbished Smartphones to Drive the Market


The growing popularity of e-commerce platforms for used and refurbished smartphones is expected to drive the market demand. Mobile specialists such as Carphone Warehouse and Direct Mobiles stock a huge range of refurbished iPhones. Alternatively, popular sites such as Amazon and eBay also offer a wide variety of refurbished smartphones.
Verizon has certified pre-owned devices, and it only sells pre-owned Samsung phones. Buying certified from the carrier gives the customer a bit of security, as Verizon offers a 90-day warranty period.
OLX, an Indian online marketplace for used products, saw over 1.4 million pre-owned smartphones being listed in September 2018. According to the company, in 2019, Apple is the most commonly listed brand, with 19% of the total listing on the company's website.
Best Buy sells refurbished pre-owned, and open-box phones from a variety of companies at discounts ranging from 10-30% off. Open-box deals are most popular as they're typically devices that have just been purchased, opened, and returned, not even used. Because of this, customers can often find the latest models of phones for sale, rather than just old models.


Asia-Pacific is Expected to Register a Significant Growth Rate


Asia-Pacific is one of the significant markets for refurbished smartphones, owing to the highly developing telecom sector and large customer base. Furthermore, the region is increasingly investing in the mobile network. Countries, like China, India, Japan, Australia, Singapore, and South Korea, are increasingly investing in the development of the domestic telecom market, which is also expected to drive the refurbished smartphones market in the region.
In September 2019, Paytm Mall, with its unique O2O (Offline to Online) model, announced the launch of certified refurbished phones of popular brands such as Samsung, iPhone, Oppo, Xiaomi, Oneplus, Vivo & Motorola. These smartphones come with 70% savings and warranty ranging from 6 to 12 months. Some of the top refurbished products available on Paytm Mall include iPhone X, OnePlus 6T, Redmi Note 5 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S9 alongside others.
Demand for used and refurbished smartphones at entry-level price point will be driven by demand in developing countries like India and Indonesia, where smartphones are penetrating even to rural areas as local governments are pushing for digital and mobile economy. For instance, the Digital India program is a flagship program of the Government of India with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society.
All these developments in the region are expected to drive the demand for refurbished smartphones during the forecast period.


Competitive Landscape

Used and Refurbished Smartphone Market is consolidated in nature as the market is currently dominated by Samsung and Apple Smartphones. Major players include Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Apple Inc., Amazon.com, Inc., among others. Few recent developments are:


May 2020 - Woot, Inc. launched a sale of refurbished smartphones, pricing some as cheap as USD 39.99. The company is offering some newer smartphones, like Google Pixel 2, which starts at USD 99. Refurbished iPhones offered for sale on the company's website include iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.
February 2020 - Samsung Electronics launched its Galaxy Z Flip with a 6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED Infinity Flex display for USD 1380. Powering the Z Flip is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ processor with 8GBs of RAM. It runs Android 10 with the Samsung One UI on top, comes with 256GB of internal storage, and features a 3,300mAh battery. Additionally, AT&T, BestBuy, and Sprint will also offer the Z Flip on their websites.


Additional Benefits:

The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
3 months of analyst support

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