The iPhone is the fastest-growing brand in the global secondary smartphone market
In 2022, as in 2021, Apple and Samsung were the top two smartphone brands in the refurbished smartphone market
Interestingly, Counterpoint says that the demand for refurbished smartphones is coming from new smartphone buyers in mature markets and from feature phone users switching to smartphones in emerging markets. Supplies of refurbished smartphones are increasingly coming from specialized retailers focusing on the sales of these devices. But also involved these days are some carriers and phone manufacturers who are now offering refurbished phones for sale.
The Average Selling Price (ASP) of smartphones in the secondary market picked up last year as a larger share of sales in this market consisted of refurbished flagship and premium models. The ASP of new smartphones has been going up which has led consumers to hold on to their new phones for longer periods of time which has led to a shortage of phones to sell in the secondary market.
Over the last few years, sales of refurbished smartphones have outperformed sales of refurbished models. In 2019, sales of new phones declined 2% compared to a 1% decline for refurbished smartphones. The next year, new phone sales declined by 12% while sales of refurbished models rose 5%. Both new and refurbished handsets had sales gains in 2021 of 5% and 14% respectively. Last year was a return to 2020’s numbers with new sales down 12% and refurbished sales up 5%.
5G phones made up 13% of the secondary market last year and is expected to rise this year
As for 5G, Counterpoint Senior Analyst Glen Cardoza said, “…demand for 5G is increasing, especially in mature markets like the US, Europe, and Japan. In 2022, 5G made up 13% of global refurbished sales.” This year, Counterpoint forecasts 5G phones to grab a larger portion of the secondary smartphone market and as a result, 4G phones could lose more of their value at a faster rate.
