According to Redseer report, the used electronic market in India will be worth $11 billion by FY26 and it is growing at a rate of 16% compounded annually.
Redseer has attributed this to a “new breed of tech-enabled startups and players [that] are fueling the growth of the used smartphone market in India”.
Siddharth Surana, Engagement Manager, Redseer Strategy Consultants stated, “The refurbished market today is providing a rich opportunity to both users and companies. The growing popularity of e-commerce platforms for used and refurbished smartphones is driving the market demand. Because of the rapid technological innovation in consumer electronics along with increasing tech-savviness, Indian users are frequently changing to newer devices.”
The firm found that the used smartphone market is seeing better margins for retailers as compared to the sale of new smartphones. In 2021 alone, new smartphones worth over $15 billion were purchased online in India, it said.
The report also added, “With the number of smartphone users reaching the 550 million mark, it is estimated that on average, a recommerce app user sells more than two smartphones from each household when the need to upgrade to new devices rises.”
The report underscored that the recommerce players are addressing the pain points that the traditional used phone market used to struggle with, such as lack of transparency in pricing, time-consuming buying process, poor product quality, among others.
Surana noted that also due to the pandemic, unorganized channels were disrupted by organized digital recommerce players which propelled the requirement of used electronics. “Used devices prove to be a more cost-effective alternative to consumer’s growing needs.”
