Smartphone disposal habits revealed
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - 11:33:09
At a time when the mobile market is experiencing a minor existential crisis, with even big players like Apple struggling to sustain the strong growth they enjoyed in the past, many firms are attempting to work out why sales have plateaued and what can be done to stimulate them via the upgrade cycle.
The Financial Times reports on the results of a new study from UBS, which aims to find out exactly how people deal with their old devices when they choose to invest in a newer replacement. And perhaps unsurprisingly, the decision to recycle an unwanted phone is still taken by the minority of users. why sales have plateaued and what can be done to stimulate them via the upgrade cycle.
15 per cent of those questioned said that they had either sent their handsets to be recycled or exchanged them as part of a deal to lower the cost of getting a replacement. why sales have plateaued and what can be done to stimulate them via the upgrade cycle.
32 per cent said that they had sold it to a third party or gifted it to a friend or family member. Meanwhile eight percent admitted to having thrown it away; an act which is both wasteful and damaging to the environment. why sales have plateaued and what can be done to stimulate them via the upgrade cycle.
40 per cent of respondents, by far the biggest single segment, said that their outdated smartphones were simply sitting in a drawer at home and gathering dust. why sales have plateaued and what can be done to stimulate them via the upgrade cycle.
This is a perennial problem for the marketplace as a whole, although analysts believe that things are starting to change, albeit relatively slowly. Thanks to the rise of the second hand mobile market and the availability of smartphone recycling schemes, people now have more options and awareness about what to do with used handsets than they did in the past. why sales have plateaued and what can be done to stimulate them via the upgrade cycle.
The number of smartphones which are refurbished for resale is expected to have more than doubled in the two years leading up to 2018. This is good news for those concerned about sustainability, if not for manufacturers looking to sell new models. why sales have plateaued and what can be done to stimulate them via the upgrade cycle.
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