In contrast to recent revenue and shipment declines in the new smartphone market, with minimal growth expected over the next few years, the used market shows no signs of slowing down across all parts of the globe, according to research from IDC.
In its Worldwide used smartphone forecast, 2020-2024 report, an overview and five-year forecast of the worldwide refurbished phone market and its expansion and growth, the analyst defines a refurbished smartphone as a device that has been used and disposed of at a collection point by its owner, sent off to a facility for reconditioning and eventually sold via a secondary market channel. It stresses that a refurbished smartphone is not a “hand me down” or gained as the result of a person-to-person sale or trade.
Based on that definition, IDC expects worldwide shipments of used smartphones, including both officially refurbished and used smartphones, to have reached a total