Refurbished Smartphone Sales Growth Slows in 1H25

Global refurbished smartphone sales increased only 3% in 1H25, according to Counterpoint Research. It is a slowdown from the year-ago period, as further growth was limited by difficult conditions in many mature markets stemming from supply constraints, price uncertainties, and increased regulation.

The slowdown occurred despite stable demand for recently refurbished models and robust performance of emerging markets during the period. The US market was the worst hit by Trump’s tariffs. Most businesses stocked up on devices and components to avoid uncertainty in trade and to keep prices as unaffected as possible. However, global secondary markets absorbed most uncertainties quite well. Trade routes seemed to be working cohesively throughout the last two months of 1H25 to make sure bulk-selling models and their components were available before prices increased or devices became unavailable.

Most mature markets saw a decline in refurbished sales as consumers held on to their smartphones and supply issues became more pronounced. In contrast, Japan continued to grow consistently since last year, although at a slightly slower rate. The US and major European countries showed either muted growth or a decline. Meanwhile, most emerging markets performed well. On average, mature markets saw a flat 1% rise, and emerging markets registered 4% growth. The growth was due to the popularity of Apple iPhones, with global refurbished sales increasing 7% during the period. Samsung’s share increased by 4% in mature markets, but was dwarfed by Apple’s 12% growth in emerging markets.

The keen focus on trade-ins has resulted in increased inflow, but big players are amassing the larger, more premium share. Most iPhone users now are repeat Apple owners, and one in every three iPhone users in the US traded in or sold their previous iPhones before buying a new one. This metric is lower for other big markets like the UK, China, and India. 5G smartphones accounted for 57% of the global refurbished sector in 1H25, a 65% rise from the year-ago period. This share will likely grow significantly by the end of 2025.

“Established businesses across markets are now competing with many companies, and margins are running thin. Trade-in volumes are tougher to achieve. Many exporting markets have reduced volumes going out, so importing countries do not have much choice of devices to import. In these situations, companies lower the cost of doing business, and as a result, ‘As Is’ volumes have been steadily growing. Even in 1H25, ‘As Is’ devices rose 10%, outpacing refurbished smartphone growth. We expect this trend to continue over the next few years,” said Jan Stryjak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research.

The global refurbished market will likely be more resilient to macroeconomic uncertainties in 2H25 if trade routes are not significantly affected. Additionally, trade-in initiatives will likely ease supply issues. Demand for newer models like the iPhone 13, iPhone 14 series, and Samsung S series is expected to grow at least in mature markets.