As an effective means of communication, the smartphone market in India has seen tremendous growth, despite the slow economic progress in a post-covid era. In fact, with 62 per cent of Indians changing phones every one to three years, there’s a growing need for more sustainable practices. This is evidenced by the fact that smartphones form over 12 per cent of the global e-waste. With over 52 per cent of Indians keeping two or more unused smartphones in their homes, there’s a distinct lack of awareness about phone recycling or reselling. Nonetheless, there’s some good news to savour, with Cashify’s 154 per cent YoY growth in the mobile buyback segment. Most of these buybacks were through smartphone consumers who sold their unused phones in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The significant chunks of these buybacks were dominated by the likes of Xiaomi, Apple, and Samsung. About 25 per cent of the phones sold to Cashify were from Xiaomi, while Apple’s 16 per cent and Samsung’s 15 per cent completed the major segments. The national capital, Delhi, is still at the top with 18 per cent of phones sold to Cashify, while Bangalore and Mumbai followed with 10 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively!
Also read: Cashify White Paper Summary 2021
Smartphone Buybacks
A major factor influencing the average price and buybacks of smartphones is how frequently the OEM manufacturers new smartphone models. With Xiaomi, Apple, and Samsung releasing new phones every year, it’s no surprise that they’re at the top of the buyback market. As stated earlier, Xiaomi, Apple, and Samsung topped the buyback charts with 25 per cent, 16 per cent, and 15 per cent, respectively. Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 9 Pro was the major buyback model, with 16 per cent. Apple’s iPhone 7 formed the primary buyback model for Apple buybacks, with a whopping 23 per cent. For Samsung, both the Samsung Galaxy M30s and Galaxy A50 formed 16 per cent of Samsung’s buybacks.
Buyback Cities
This year, there’s been a massive growth in the number of cities selling their old phones to Cashify. In total, nine cities accounted for 64 per cent of buyback sales. These are Delhi, Mumbai, Noida, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Bangalore, and Chennai. According to Cashify’s 2021 Analytics, other cities such as Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Surat, and Jaipur have the potential to be Cashify’s newest buyback customers!
This shows that there’s a healthy demand for refurbished smartphones. Although these smartphones have been used, 95 per cent of smartphones sold to Cashify could’ve been bought “as-is”. This meant that only 5 per cent of the buyback smartphones needed extensive repairs. Considering these statistics, refurbished phones are a great alternative to buying new phones at exorbitant prices, especially if you don’t want to spend too much money.
Price Range Trend
Since there’s a noticeable semiconductor shortage worldwide, the prices of smartphones have increased by an average of INR 1,500. This has been particularly difficult for low-tier vendors, as the costs of each component have increased by an average of 20 per cent. Nonetheless, since smartphones have a depreciating market value post-purchase, the price drop trend for vendors like Apple seems to have accelerated ever so slightly. Apple’s smartphones have a price percentage drop of 12 to 14 per cent after the first six months or so. However, Xiaomi phones have seen the highest price drop percentage, with a considerable 21 to 28 per cent.
Truth Index
For their 2022 survey, Cashify has also revealed the Truth Index of the major buyback cities. Basically, the Truth Index is the percentage of buyback customers who stated the condition of their phone with the utmost truth when they were putting them up for online sales. Bangalore topped the Truth Index percentage in the country, with 29 per cent of users stating their phone’s condition truthfully. Hyderabad was close on Bangalore’s heels with a 28 per cent Truth Index. At the other end of the spectrum, buyback customers in Kolkata and Pune were the least truthful, with their Truth Index coming at 21 per cent each.
Also read: Cashify White Paper 2020
Some User Trends And Behaviour
With so many smartphone brands operating in the Indian smartphone industry, it’s interesting to see user behaviour across these brands. As such, Cashify conducted a survey with 6000 respondents in multiple cities to gain a better understanding of how consumers operated. The survey results give us more food for thought on understanding consumer behaviour when it comes to the biggest brands in the country.
Apple
Delhi has always been a favoured location for Apple, with over 18 per cent of iPhone users being a testament to the fact. Bangalore and Mumbai are next on the list of Apple owners, coming in second and third place correlatively. Bangalore registered 11 per cent of iPhone owners, and Mumbai came in with about 10 per cent. Moreover, since the prices of Apple products are usually at the premium end, Apple’s pre-owned market share is understandably huge.
Xiaomi
Xiaomi is one of the most popular brands in India, and this is proven by the 24 per cent shipment share all over the country. Additionally, the company registered a massive 258 per cent YoY growth. This is primarily due to its developments in the premium segment, which houses phones priced over INR 30,000. Due to its popularity, Delhi contributes the highest consumer share for Xiaomi, with 13 per cent across the country.
Samsung
Next, we move on to Samsung. This brand has been a pioneer in smartphone launches and sales in India. So, it’s no surprise that it still holds a sizeable market share across all segments. To this day, Samsung remains the second most-favoured smartphone brand in India. This is regardless of whether consumers purchase a new or refurbished phone.
Others
Brands such as OnePlus and sibling company Oppo are also holding down the line. OnePlus is one of the most favoured brands when people want to buy a premium phone at an affordable price. Furthermore, Oppo has gained some serious traction with the mid-range, premium, and ultra-premium segments. Delhi remains a top target for Oppo, with 26 per cent of their sales coming from the nation’s capital. This is closely followed by Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Lastly, let’s take a look at Realme. The brand was founded in 2018 and has since become the fastest-growing brand in the country. To this day, it’s shipped over 50 million units! With 12 per cent of the company’s user base in Delhi, the capital has become a hotspot for smartphone brand competition.
Final Remarks
Overall, this has been an excellent year for refurbished smartphone sales. A small percentage of users still need to be made more aware of the benefits of buybacks and refurbished phones. However, there’s been considerable growth in both the new and pre-owned smartphone sales sectors. With Cashify’s White Paper 2022, we aim to increase the awareness surrounding recycling and refurbishing older phones instead of squandering workable technology. For a detailed look into the survey results, feel free to check out the official Cashify White Paper below!
Cashify White Paper 2022
Plan to sell your old phone or recycle your old phone? Check out Cashify’s buyback deals and offers!
