Sales of used smartphones are on the rise

The popularity of refurbished smartphones has grown in the global market. This is reported in a report by Counterpoint Research.

Shipments and sales of refurbished smartphones are up 15 percent in 2021 compared to 2020, according to the company. Experts attributed the increased interest in this segment to the high cost of flagship phones – consumers began to purchase refurbished devices more often in order to save money.

A refurbished smartphone is a used device that has been returned by a previous owner and refurbished for resale. Most often, consumers purchased such devices from Apple and Samsung. The average sale price (ASP) increased slightly over the year as users became more active in choosing affordable 4G-enabled smartphones.

Experts called trade-in the main source of refurbished smartphones, a procedure when a consumer gives away an old thing in exchange for paying for a new one. Over the year, the global trade-in market grew by ten percent, with the most active purchases of old phones in China, India, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa.

At the end of March, Counterpoint experts said that sales of expensive smartphones in 2021 grew by 24 percent and reached a record high in the history of statistics. Demand was stimulated by the availability of premium phones in developed countries and the desire of users to purchase a device with 5G.