Refurbished Smartphone Market to Surpass $109bn By 2027 – IDC

Worldwide ship­ments of used smartphones, including officially refurbished and used smartphones, will reach 309.4 million units in 2023, International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates.

The unit growth represents a 9.5% increase over the 282.6-million units shipped in 2022.

In addition, IDC projects that used smartphone shipments will reach 431,1-million units in 2027, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8,8% from 2022 to 2027.

Supply of used smartphones remains a critical challenge as re­fresh cycles, high price points, and macroeconomic challenges have all negatively impacted the new smartphone market.

However, demand for used smart­phones remains healthy and will continue to grow throughout the forecast period, just at a slower rate than previously forecast, thanks to the challenge of acquiring inventory.

IDC forecasts new smartphone shipments to decline 3,5% in 2023 as demand, inflation, and political unrest continue to impact the global economy. In contrast, the used market demonstrated fierce resilience to overcome these unforeseen circum­stances by displaying nearly 10% growth for the year.

Refresh rates for new phones in most developed markets have ex­tended past 40 months, which has caused a shortage of available inventory for the secondary market.

Trade-in programs continue to fuel the industry but only make up a por­tion of the total used inventory.