Survey: 8 out of 10 Greeks leave smartphones that they do not use forgotten in a drawer

The Greek consumers to “leave” smartphones no longer use, with 83% of respondents to state that when he no longer uses a smartphone, he leaves it forgotten at homerecords the Survey “Circular Economy and Use of Smartphones” prepared nationwide by a sample of about 1,400 Greek consumers, aged 18-60 years, the E-Commerce Laboratory (ELTRUN) of the Athens University of Economics and Business on behalf of Pandas at the end of 2021.

At the same time, there is an increasing trend in the percentage of Greek consumers who seem willing to make a purchase of used smartphones in the future.

Frequency of buying a new smartphone

According to research data, in recent years, consumers, regardless of age, seem to change smartphones frequently, with an average of about 1 device per 1.6 years. And as the frequency of replacement of smartphones with newer models increases, so do the functional smartphones that remain unused in every home. According to the research findings, 4 out of 10 households have more smartphones than their members, while it is noteworthy that 7 out of 10 households consisting of 1 to 2 people, seem to have 3 or more functional smartphones in their possession.

Reasons that lead consumers to the smartphone market

As for the main reason that drives consumers to buy a new smartphone, 8 out of 10 (83%) said they do it when there is a significant damage or wear on their device, which requires high repair costs. At the same time, 6 out of 10 (60%) stated that they are buying a new smartphone, when the features of the existing device no longer cover their daily needs.

At the same time, while 15% of consumers say they have already bought a used smartphone, twice as many as -30% of consumers said they were interested in buying a used device in the future, which highlights the growth prospects of this market globally.

Why don’t consumers use their old smartphone after buying a new one?

Consumers decide to keep their old smartphone as a backup device that may be used at some point in the future by themselves (28%) or by relatives / friends (32%). In addition, a significant 25% cited emotional attachment as a key reason to keep their old device. However, 15% answered that they do not even know alternative ways of using old devices.

Smartphone sales and Circular Economy

According to the survey findings, 88% of consumers would exchange their old smartphone for a discount voucher, through which they could buy the new one at a better price, while 75% said they would like to receive the maximum price. At the same time, it seems that educating consumers and facilitating the process of selling used smartphones is extremely important, as 7 out of 10 say that a simple, fast, and secure process is the basic prerequisites for selling a smartphone.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that consumer education in the concept and value of the circular economy is just as important as providing incentives, as according to the results of the research, a significant percentage of 39% state that they are not familiar with the specific term.

Fanis Koutouvelis, Founder and CEO of Pandas said: “Every smartphone has value even when it ceases to be used by the user. The purpose of Pandas through the trade-in programs that it designs and implements, is to extend the life cycle of every smartphone that remains unused, offering a direct benefit to the user himself, to the partner companies, but also to our planet “.

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