Xiaomi, Apple, Samsung Are Top 3 Pre-owned Smartphone Brands: Report

Cashify has unveiled its sixth annual “User Behaviour whitepaper” for the pre-owned smartphone market and the third edition of its User survey. The whitepaper captures the rise of refurbished, upcoming era of 5G smartphones and the impact of pandemic waves in the segment along with key trends and more. Alongside this, the user survey focuses on the factors determining consumer behavior towards selling pre-owned phones and the level of awareness on the correct disposal processes with dysfunctional phones.

India is a rapidly advancing market for refurbished phones and has been witnessing an upsurge for the past few years. According to the survey, 62% of the respondents changed their devices between 1-3 years, owing to upgrading their devices with better technology and features (54%), upgrading to a premium flagship phone (26%), and changing their older devices due to lagging issues during operations (15%). It further stated that out of the respondents who bought refurbished smartphones in the last two years, 85% of them said they’ll buy a refurbished device again. 70% bought a refurbished phone due to the affordability factor, 12% of respondents bought it as a spare device and 13% brought home a refurbished device as a gift for a loved one.

Further, the survey revealed that over 52% of consumers have 2 or more unused/old devices in their household. It is because 36% of consumers who did not get rid of their phones wanted to keep them as a spare phones for work and emergencies while 25% didn't receive a good price for their devices in the market. Nearly 10% of the respondents shared that they lacked knowledge on what to do with their old devices while only 3% shared their concerns on data security when selling their old devices. The survey shed light on the fact that even though 71% of respondents were aware of the concept of e-waste, only 48% understood the process of recycling their old devices. Strengthening the 3 R's in the nation, when Cashify asked if the

respondents would be interested in recycling their devices, 58% of respondents were keen on recycling their old devices while 27% of the respondents requested a monetary return, however, at least 15% of respondents were inclined to the opposite side of recycling their devices of which 4% were worried about data safety.

With Cashify closing the paramount e-waste loop with its re-commerce model, the Cashify Repair initiative helped repair over 61000 phones last year. The whitepaper/ study revealed that 40% of respondents repaired their phones due to screen issues, 25% due to battery concerns, 10% camera problems, and 25% due to other phone issues. New Delhi was the city that booked maximum repairs i.e. nearly 25% of the total repairs.

In terms of sales, the paper revealed that consumers aged 25-44 sold the maximum number of phones in the past year with 84% being male and 16% female.

The survey highlighted that overall 33% of respondents sold their old phones to websites purchasing pre-owned devices, 27% of respondents availed discounts by exchanging their old phones for new ones on e-commerce websites, and 6% of respondents sold their devices to a local shop while 16% respondents still hold on to their old phones. Some respondents also showcased pro-bono tendencies with 13% passing their old devices to their relatives and 4% donating their devices to the underprivileged.

Smartphone Brands

The study highlighted that Cashify registered a 154% YoY growth in the mobile buyback segment with the maximum number of people selling their second-hand phones in the fourth quarter of 2021. Xiaomi (25%), Apple (16%), and Samsung (15%) enlisted themselves as the top three brands whose used smartphones were the most sold by customers. The Apple iPhone 7 grabbed the top spot for buyback and the Redmi Note 5 Pro made it to the second spot followed by Redmi Note 4, Apple iPhone 6, and Apple iPhone X.

Top-Selling Brands

Xiaomi 25%

Apple 16%

Samsung 15%

Vivo 10%

Oppo 7%

Realme 7%

OnePlus 6%

Moto 3%

Others 11%

What do users like across brands?

● iPhones are the most favored brand by Delhiites with over 18% of iPhone users residing in Delhi. Up next on the list comes Bengaluru and Mumbai with 11% and 10% of smartphone users owning an iPhone

● Talking of the pre-owned smartphone market, Apple owns a large chunk of its share, as most people, buying a pre-owned iPhone is a more affordable option than buying the extravagantly-priced, new iPhone

● Delhi contributes 13% of Xiaomi’s user base followed by Bangalore and Mumbai.

● With Samsung being the second most-favoured brand for people buying a new or a pre-owned phone, it is indeed one of the dearest smartphone brands in India. Delhi is again a leader in Samsung users with Mumbai and Bangalore coming up next

● OnePlus is among the top 5 phone brands that people choose when looking to buy a premium phone at pocket-friendly prices

● Oppo is all set to hold its foot in the mid, premium, and ultra-premium range. While 26% of Oppo devices were sold by Delhiites, 7% and 6% were sold by people in Mumbai and Hyderabad, respectively

● Realme was the fastest-growing brand, 12% of Realme users belong to Delhi, followed by Hyderabad/Secunderabad, Mumbai, and Bangalore. The capital city of Delhi is the hub of Vivo users

City-based Trends

Carrying the trend from its previous year, New Delhi (18%) users sold the most used phones in 2021 with Bangalore (10%) and Mumbai (9%) filling the other top 3 spots. Ghaziabad, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow took the top 3 spots of up-and-coming cities in the segment.

Top Selling Cities

New Delhi 18%

Bangalore 10%

Mumbai 9%

Hyderabad/Secunderabad 8%

Pune 4%

Gurgaon 4%

Chennai 4%

Kolkata 4%

Noida 3%

Others 36%

Price Range Trend

The study revealed the brand-wise price trend history showcasing the top 3 brands - Apple with a price percentage drop of 12%-14% within 6-12 months, One Plus with a drop of 6%-9%, and Xiaomi with a drop of 21%-28%.

Truth Index

Cashify also revealed the Truth Index for cities, measured by the percentage of smartphone users who stated the actual condition of their devices most truthfully, while putting them up for sale online. Bangalore topped the index with 29%, followed by Hyderabad with 28% while Kolkata and Pune were the least truthful with 21% each.

Nakul Kumar, CMO & Co-Founder, Cashify, comments, “The trend across the country have pointed out the fact that despite the semiconductor shortage, India’s refurbished sector has seen an uptake in sales from 2021 till date. Users are constantly looking for lucrative deals for premium smartphones and metro cities are addressing the demand perfectly. While the average consumer is aware of the processes leading to the disposal of old devices and is willing to take the extra step, a small percentage of users are still reluctant to dispose of their old phones owing to data safety and their prior disposal methods. We hope that with our whitepaper and user survey, we shall succeed in making people aware of the pros of buying refurbished and encourage people to start selling their old phones instead of storing them in their drawers.”

Commenting on the whitepaper/survey launch, Mandeep Manocha, CEO & Co-Founder, Cashify, says, “Last year, just like its preceding year, presented a challenge for us. Several natural and man-made factors combined with the last waves of the pandemic had hit the market in unexpected ways. With this whitepaper, we have tried to cover every aspect including the highs and lows that impacted the smartphone business during this past year along with consumer sentiment on the e-waste management processes.”

Survey Methodology

Cashify administered an online questionnaire to its consumers. The company received responses from 8000 consumers across pan-India. The survey ascertains that due to the pandemic smartphone purchases increased, however with the economy and everything around coming to normal, the consumers have a lack of understanding about what to do with broken, unwanted or outdated devices.