Greeks often change smartphones

By Fotis Fotinos

Greeks “love” technology, Greeks “love” smartphones and in fact, change models every 1.6 years. At least this is what emerges from the “Circular Economy and Smartphone Use” survey conducted on a sample of approximately 1,400 Greek consumers, aged 18 – 60, by the Electronic Commerce Laboratory (ELTRUN) of the Athens University of Economics and Business on behalf of Pandas at the end of 2021.

According to the research data, in recent years consumers, regardless of age, seem to be changing smartphones frequently, with an average of about 1 device every 1.6 years.

And as the frequency of replacing smartphones with newer models increases, so do the functional smartphones that remain unused in every home. According to the research findings, 4 out of 10 households have more smartphones than their members, while it is noteworthy that 7 out of 10 households consisting of 1 to 2 people seem to have 3 or more functional smartphones in their possession.

Reasons that drive consumers to buy smartphones

In terms of the main reason consumers buy a new smartphone, 8 in 10 (83%) said they do so when there is significant damage or wear to their device that requires high repair costs.

At the same time, 6 out of 10 (60%) stated that they proceed to purchase a new smartphone, when the features of the existing device no longer cover their daily needs.

At the same time, while 15% of consumers report that they have already bought a used smartphone, twice as many – 30% of consumers, expressed interest in buying a used device in the future, which highlights the growth prospects of the market in question at a global level.

Consumers don’t make use of the old smartphone after buying a new one

Consumers decide to keep their old smartphone as a backup device that may be used at some point in the future by themselves (28%) or by relatives/friends (32%).

Additionally, a significant percentage of 25% cited emotional attachment as a key reason for keeping their old device.

However, 15% answered that they don’t even know alternative ways of utilizing old devices.

According to the survey findings, 88% of consumers would trade in their old smartphone for a discount voucher that would allow them to buy a new one at a better price, while 75% said they would like to receive the maximum cash value.

At the same time, it seems that the education of consumers and the facilitation of the process related to the sale of used smartphones is extremely important, as 7 out of 10 report that a simple, fast, and safe process are the basic conditions for them to proceed with the sale of a smartphone.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that educating consumers on the concept and value of the circular economy is just as important as providing incentives, as according to the results of the survey, a significant percentage of the order of 39% declares that they are not familiar with the specific term.