Refurbished phones face market pressures despite growth in festive season

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Cashify recorded a 25 per cent uptick in exchange volumes, while the total value of exchanged devices rose by 40 per cent

By Vallari Sanzgiri

Updated - October 29, 2026 at 06:00 AM.

Demand for refurbished iPhones is shifting towards the iPhone 15, 16 and 17. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

India’s refurbished smartphone segment has mirrored larger industry trend, falling short of festive season expectations for trade-ins despite quadrupling numbers.

Persisting market pressures in the smartphone market had led industry players to expect significant performance from the refurbished market, with cost-conscious buyers expected to move towards second-hand buys. However, while refurbished sales more than doubles, the segment did not entirely meet expectations, Nakul Kumar, Co-Founder and CMO, Cashify told businessline.

“The festive period was good for us, with exchange volumes up 25 percent anually. We had expected a bigger spike in trade-ins, but muted new-phone sales meant fewer consumers upgraded during the festive rush. We now expect trade-in activity to spread across the quarter rather than peak in a single week, so we do not anticipate a material impact on our overall quarterly performance,” he said.

While Cashify saw a new cohort of customers entering the refurbished category,smartphones priced above ₹50,000 saw the strongest growth across both trade-ins and refurbished sales. This is as opposed to their earlier estimates of interest in the ₹20,000–₹45,000 range.

Exchange Volumes

Cashify recorded a 25 per cent uptick in exchange volumes, while the total value of exchanged devices rose by 40 per cent, and the average trade-in value reached ₹15,105.

At the brand level, Motorola and Google recorded growth of 79 per cent and 74 per cent, respectively, in festive upgrade and trade-in activity. Samsung recorded the largest increase in volume. Demand for refurbished iPhones is shifting towards the iPhone 15, 16 and 17. However, as the festive season progresses, the relative momentum across brands may evolve, as per Cashify estimates.

September and October account for 21 per cent of Cashify’s annual trade-ins, while October to December accounts for 32 per cent. Further, Tier 3 and smaller markets grew faster than the six metros. Compared with the previous festive season, these markets grew 49 per cent, against 39 per cent across the six metros.

Refurbished Cushion

When asked about the higher but below expectations performance of the segment, Shubham Singh, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research said, “Refurbished is acting as a cushion for the Indian smartphone market rather than completely decoupling from its trends. Consumers are increasingly choosing refurbished devices for affordability, especially as new smartphone prices rise. However, both markets are influenced by the same underlying factors, including consumer purchasing power and upgrade cycles.”

He reiterated that with refurbished volumes growing 13 per cent annually in H1 2026 and projected to grow 16 per cent in the second half the segment is clearly gaining traction. This is especially significant considering an 13 per cent decline in new smartphone volumes, as per research data.

“Converting consumers who are delaying upgrades or trading down into refurbished buyers may not fully offset the new market slowdown, but it can support overall demand and extend the smartphone replacement cycle,” he said.

While five years ago, Cashify had moved its clientele upto the ₹15,000-25,000 slab to compete with new phones. However, with the market changing and average selling prices going up, the company is reconsidering its long-term plan moving forward.

Published on October 29, 2026

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