Press Release
HYLA Mobile, the world’s leading provider of software technology and services for mobile device returns management and reuse solutions, today revealed the delayed impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on U.S. trade-in programs. According to HYLA’s Q2 2020 trade-in trends research, $225 million ($225,693,362) was returned to U.S. consumers as part of trade-in programs — a 50% decrease from the same quarter last year. Although HYLA’s data typically shows a seasonal dip in Q2 from Q1 by about 15%, this year saw a 57% decrease.
While U.S. operators, OEMs and retailers have facilitated fewer trade-ins owing to store closures and shutdowns, their values have stayed strong. The average price of a smartphone at trade-in has increased by 9% from $102.25 in Q1, to $111.47 in Q2. Furthermore, the highest trade-in value for a device recorded during the second quarter was $580.58, while the highest trade-in value recorded in Q1 was $560.97.
“In Q1, as the virus spread across the world, the secondary device market maintained its high demand. But our data now reveals the significant impact the pandemic has had on the smartphone market,” said Biju Nair, President & CEO of HYLA. “Due to sustained demand for pre-owned devices, their value is rising. Operators, OEMs and retailers need these devices to service their insurance programs and emerging markets need more affordable, high-quality devices.”
HYLA releases data on mobile device trade-in trends in North America on a quarterly and annual basis. By combining live market data with data from its analytics platform, it reveals trends on the trade-in value of devices, the top traded smartphones, as well as the average age of smartphones at the point of trade-in.
Key findings from HYLA’s Q2 trade-in trends data include:
o The top traded device in Q1 was the iPhone 7, followed by the iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 7 and the iPhone X, which made its first appearance in the top five traded devices. The top five traded devices accounted for half of all traded devices during the quarter
o The Samsung S7 was the most traded Samsung device in Q2 and has been the top traded Samsung device since Q1 2018. The iPhone 7 was the top traded iPhone for the sixth consecutive quarter
o This was the first quarter that variations of the iPhone 6 have not featured in the top five traded devices since Q1 2016
o The Galaxy S20 Ultra received the highest trade-in value of $580.58 at trade-in. In the three months since its launch, the device has depreciated by 59%
o The average age of a smartphone at trade-in continues to rise. The average age of an Android device was 3.13 years, up from 3.07 years in Q1. The average age of an iPhone at trade-in was 3.25 years (up from 3.17 years in Q1 2020), while the average age of an Android smartphone was 2.75 years (down from 2.77 in Q1 2020).
o Online device trade-ins increased 66% over the same period last year and 172% over Q1 of this year.
“With such strong trade-in activity taking place while retail stores were mostly closed, it is clear consumers are not hampered by conducting their trades online,” continued Biju. “Operators, retailers, and OEMs should harness this momentum and continue to build out their omni-channel trade-in platforms, giving consumers the ability to begin their trade-in transaction on one channel, and finish it on any channel they choose. We are also seeing increasing trade-in related promotions from all participants in the ecosystem, which encourages higher upgrade rates, drives device and accessories related sales, and replenishes the supply of devices that can be refurbished and redistributed.”
HYLA’s Q2 2020 trade-in trends infographic is available to download here: https://contacts.hylamobile.com/mobile-trade-in-industry-trends-q2-2020
