Recycling and reusage of consumer tech - Statistics & Facts

Refurbished consumer electronics devices

Nowadays, consumers can buy most electronic devices refurbished. Refurbished smartphones are the most common, with over 251 million units shipped globally in 2021, a year when the refurbished smartphone market was worth roughly 50 billion U.S. dollars. In the same year, Latin America and India led this market, registering the highest market growth. The refurbished PC market has also been growing and is expected to increase further in the coming years. As observed in the smartphone refurb market, the big market players – like Apple, Dell, and HP – offer refurbished versions of their products for lower prices.

Special focus: refurbished smartphones in the United States

Although the United States plays a big role in the refurbished smartphone market, Americans appear to prefer to buy new phones instead of refurbished ones, particularly because they worry about the quality of their smartphones. Those who do buy refurbished devices usually prefer Apple iPhones rather than Android smartphones. Indeed, in the United States, iPhones are the most popular refurbished smartphones, especially the iPhone XR and the iPhone 11.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.