Producing a mobile phone is far from being ecological. Generally used for three years by the consumer, our smartphones are then thrown away, left in the back of cupboards or recently… resold to be reused. And the market is buoyant: according to a barometer entrusted by Recommerce, a company specializing in this sector to the Kantar Institute, one in four French people intends to turn to refurbished for the purchase of their next phone!
Kantar conducted the study on several thousand Europeans, including 750 people representative of the French population. In 2022, one in five telephones purchased in France were used or refurbished, compared to one in ten the year before.
“The higher-end the phone, the easier it is to resell it”
This upward dynamic does not only concern France, but all European countries, in particular Romania and Poland. In these two Eastern European countries, more than half of the smartphones changed last year were second-hand. “New business is down for the fifth consecutive year (-7%). The reusable market is gaining weight compared to new,” explains Benoît Gatel, Director of Strategy and Business Development at Recommerce.
Not surprising when you know that the price is the main reason for purchase for more than half of the French. Inflation weighs on their wallet, and resale is unsurprisingly seen as a solution by 37% of them. “The higher-end the phone, the easier it is to resell it. On average, for a two-year-old model, the dealer can recover between 30 to 50% of its initial value”, continues the strategic director. The sum is then reused for the purchase of a new mobile.
Beyond reduced purchasing power, ecological awareness is also at work. One person in four is thus motivated by recycling and reusing a refurbished item. “The French get tired of their phone after three years when their lifespan is much longer. We see some that have a second or even a third life! »
Persistent brakes
On the other hand, 29% of French people say they do not want to resell their device if the price offered is too low. In these cases, they will rather seek to keep it until it no longer works or use it as a backup device.
Along with price, the other barrier to selling is trust. “Buyers don’t necessarily know what the previous life of the phone they want to buy has been, what the state of the battery is. They don’t know where it comes from, if it has been modified… explains Benoît Gatel. There is also the question of personal data. From individual to individual or through a company, the concern persists. Will my data be erased and not hacked? »
For 37% of French people, the question does not even arise: new is the solution. And that’s good, because tomorrow’s nine will be the day after tomorrow’s opportunity.