Covid has boosted sale of pre-owned phones, finds Cashify survey

19th June 2021
Covid has boosted sale of pre-owned phones, finds Cashify survey

June 19, 2021: Cashify, India’s leading re-commerce marketplace, has released their fifth annual “User Behaviour whitepaper” for the pre-owned smartphone market.
The whitepaper/study captures the impact the lockdown and the Indo-China conflict had on  the segment, the factors influencing consumer behavior, and the key trends and drivers of  growth in  the pre-owned smartphone market during the last year. It also reveals the differences in user behaviour across cities and brands in India.
The study confirmed that despite the nationwide lockdowns, the 2020  third quarter smartphone shipments in India were at 53 million units which made  it the highest-ever shipment in a quarter. Xiaomi topped the chart as the most sold smartphone brand by its users.
In the pre-owner market, Mi stood as  the number one selling brand with a 26% share followed by  Apple (20%) and Samsung (16%) in  the third position, followed by Motorola (6%), VIVO(6%) and Oppo(5%). The consumers’ choice of online retailers reveals  how even offline-centric brands like Vivo and Oppo have been forced to scale up their online presence.
The paper listed Delhi (23%), Mumbai(13%), Bangalore (11%), and Hyderabad(7%) as the top 4 for sales of pre-owned smartphones. Satellite towns such as Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Ahmedabad and Lucknow have also shown robust growth and   secured top spots in the upcoming city category.
Among other insights emerged from the whitepaper/survey, a majority of Indians preferred buying smartphones over laptops, 84% of them upgraded their smartphone within 14-18 months of purchase. No-cost EMI option and replacement warranty were the top criterions for purchase.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has digitally transformed our places of work and education. The companies that were resistant to the concept of a distributed workforce were forced to allow work from home so that work could still go on  while taking precautions to stop the virus spread. The education sector is a good case in point: universities and schools have been delivering distance learning as a feature for some time.  One of the most important reasons for upgrading for most smartphone users has been  the need to have a smartphone with high speed network connectivity (3G to 4G) and supporting apps for online classes and  work from home. And those who couldn’t afford a new smartphone were seen opting   for refurbished devices with Mi being the most popular among this segment.
Cashify also revealed the Truth Index for cities, measured by the percentage of smartphone users who stated the actual condition of their devices most truthfully, while putting them up for sale online. Hyderabad and Chennai topped the index with a score of 31%, followed by Bangalore at 30%. Gurgaon was the least truthful with a score of 26%.
Says Nakul Kumar, COO & Co-Founder, Cashify:“A major migration from offline to online took place last year. Locked within their houses, everyone had to make do with whatever was accessible online. Work, studies and shopping all shifted to digital.”
“As lockdown restrictions eased and people started stepping out, our focus again was on expanding our touchpoints with smartphone users. Be it selling or buying, a majority of Indian smartphone users have come to trust platforms and services such as ours to derive maximum value out of their pre-owned smartphones. The Recommerce industry saw a surge in Q3 of 2020, for those who still preferred offline, we also launched over ten Cashify Stores in the second half of 2020 all over India. The brand has seen a definite surge in 2019-20.”
What users like across brands
iPhones are most favoured by males as they have 71% percent men users, higher than other major brands. It is mostly used by consumers in the age bracket of 25 to 34 years.
Samsung smartphones are mostly used by consumers within the age bracket of 25-34 years, as 34 percent users fall in this age group. About 82% users of Samsung smartphones in India are male. Samsung India enjoys the highest number of users from Delhi, about 14%. Next on the chart are Bengaluru and Hyderabad
Occupying the largest chunk of market in the  Rs  30,000+ segment, OnePlus clocked up a whopping 35% market share by the end of Q3 2019. The top user base of OnePlus is based out of Delhi, as 14% users are from the city. Mumbai and Bengaluru come next . Male users form 86% of users, and 14% are within the age group of 25-34 years.
Oppo’s major user base comes from the male demographic with over 80% of Oppo users being male. Although certain specs the brand boasts of do make it popular among females, its female user base in 2020 was just about 20%. Speaking of age, the maximum number of Oppo users come from the 18 to 25 year age group, which is about 36%. We also see about 33% of the brand usage coming from people within the age group of 25 to 34 years. Oppo, in India, has the highest user base from the city of Delhi, around 14%. Next on the list are Bengaluru and Mumbai.
Xiaomi enjoys a majorly male-dominated market with 85% percent male and 15% female users in India. Most of the Xiaomi user base in India comes from the 18 to 24 years age group, surpassing the 25 to 34 years bracket. The brand has the highest user base in New Delhi, as 14% of Xiaomi smartphone consumption comes from the capital. Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Key Insights
People sold their second hand phones at the average price of ₹4,217 in 2020
47% of the responded bought refurbished phone from online reseller
Smartphones around the age of 3 years got sold the most by users
Nearly 62% smartphone issues are screen-related, battery issues come next with about 21%
80% of the males sold their smartphones while only 20% of the females sold their smartphones in 2020
The number of smartphone repairs is the highest in Delhi which is over 35% in the entire country
Delhi (23%), Mumbai (13%), Bangalore (11%), are leading the sales/need for pre-owned smartphones
Satellite towns of Delhi lead the pack in the upcoming city with Faridabad and Ghaziabad taking the lead
Despite the smartphone market exiting 2020 at a decline of 1.7% with the shipment of 150 million units, the coming year seems promising. 40% feel that work from home and new education mandates make it crucial for individuals to own gadgets equipped enough to meet those needs.
No-cost EMI option, replacement warranty and  contactless delivery are the top criterions for purchase of refurbished gadgets
50% chose affordability as a primary reason for buying refurbished gadget instead of a brand new one
Founded by Mandeep Manocha, Nakul Kumar, and Amit Sethi, Cashify is a re-commerce market-place, which offers an online platform to sell old, or used electronic gadgets - primarily smartphones, followed by laptops, tablets, desktops and Gaming Consoles.