Refurbished mobile phones flying off shelves in pandemic

Delayed availability of new handsets and laptops due to supply-chain constraints and lower disposable cash due to the pandemic have pushed local demand for refurbished phones to new highs, with market trackers estimating the sales of such devices to roughly double in 2021, compared with 2019.

Jayant Jha, co-founder and CEO of web marketplace Yaantra, says refurbished phones in the Rs 4,000-Rs 6,000 bracket get “stocked out in less than 30 minutes”.

“Refurbished smartphone surge is higher than laptops and over the last one year, dependence on the handsets has grown manifold. We aim to reach 750 towns/cities in the next 12-18 months from 450 now,” said Jha, who heads the online platform that repairs and sells handsets.

Refurbished smartphones are handsets owned by someone else and then have been restored and sold in a working condition by a reseller. Like a new phone, these also come with warranty and payment options. Typically, a refurbished phone is 15%-20% cheaper than its original, depending on the brand and condition.

While the pandemic has propelled sales of smartphones with students and India Inc. depending on handsets like never before, logistics issues like closure of ports and chipset shortages are leading many customers to buy refurbished phones rather than wait for a new launch of devices or even a costlier laptop.

Research firm IDC said that consumers are now not opting for a Rs 30,000-worth laptop or Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 priced tablet.

“Handsets have more usability, features,” said Navkendar Singh, research director, IDC.

As per IDC estimates, compared with 20-30 million refurbished mobiles sold in 2019, around 40-48 million units are likely to be sold in 2021. It is important to note that most of this market is unorganised and the actual numbers could be higher, say experts.

Retailers say there is an aspirational tag attached to premium phones of Apple, Samsung and OnePlus. Customers want to buy their refurbished models which come at far lower price points than the original.

In a recent study by OLX, a consumer to consumer marketplace, iPhone emerged as the most preferred smartphone. Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, Realme and OnePlus were other brands preferred.

“All these brands together contribute 90% of the total demand on OLX, with Apple iPhone constituting a third of it,” said the online marketplace.

Chandu Reddy, director at handset retailer Sangeetha Mobile, said the company is aiming to diversify more in the refurbished handset market, get more products and payment options keeping in mind the consumers’ demands.

Yaantra said while earlier it would offer plain vanilla EMI options, the company now has tie-ups with non- banking financial companies (NBFCs), cashback offers and more options to make the payment terms even more affordable. Techregister