Mi becomes top-selling brand in pre-owned phone market: Survey

Cashify, India’s ‘re-commerce’ marketplace, unveiled their fourth annual user behaviour study for the pre-owned phone market. According to the survey, Mi is the top-selling brand in the pre-owned market with a 27 per cent share, followed by Apple and Samsung (16 per cent each) tied in the second position, and Motorola (12 per cent).

The study revealed that among cities, Delhi (18 per cent), Bengaluru (13 per cent), and Mumbai (12 per cent) lead in sales of pre-owned smartphones.

Despite the generally slowing economy, even before Covid, the 2019 Q2 smartphone shipment in India was estimated at around 36.9 million units, a growth of 9.9 per cent year-on-year and 14.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

For the full year, India grew by 8 per cent, reaching a total of 148 million smartphones. Among the major reasons for upgrading by most smartphone users are high-speed network connectivity (3G to 4G), support for gaming and mobile camera specs, among others.

Market share

Nearly a fifth (19 per cent) of users upgrade their devices within the first year, and 44 per cent within 1-2 years. The life span of mobile device ownership is continuously reducing.

iPhones are most favoured by females, with the brand having 29 per cent women users.

Samsung smartphones are mostly used by consumers within the age bracket of 25-34 years, with 63 per cent of the brand’s users falling in this age group.

Occupying the largest chunk of the market in the ₹30,000-plus segment, OnePlus clocked up a whopping 35 per cent market share by the end of Q3 2019.

The top user base (15 per cent) of OnePlus is based out of Bengaluru. Mumbai comes next with 12 per cent and New Delhi is third with 11 per cent.

Commenting on the survey, Nakul Kumar, COO & Co-Founder, Cashify, said in the official release: “Numerous launches, more brand options, new price points and the overall aspirational value of an upgrade, are some of the factors that led the second-hand smartphone industry to widen its turf during 2019-20.”

He added: “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 re-commerce industry has seen a definite surge in 2019-20, as more people are opening themselves up to selling and buying used devices.”

Purchase patterns

According to the study, during Covid-19, 36 per cent of the respondents invested in refurbished gadgets due to the need for remote working, followed by requirements by family members.

The survey suggested that price/affordability was the key criterion for buying refurbished smartphones during Covid- 19, indicating that the consumer has become cautious due to unprecedented times.

The study captures the behaviour and preferences of users in the segment and focusses on variables that affect the buying and selling decision of users.

Cashify analysed the buying and selling data of over one million users on its platform in the year 2019-20. The study also revealed key trends and drivers in the growth of the pre-owned smartphone market during the year.