by Kate Pearce In a MIT Sloan Management article from February, Dan Hesse--arguably the most outspoken of all the US wireless executives in regards to sustainability and green issues--said that Sprint has made improvements in these areas, "although he does say that the last piece, getting the 'consuming public to care that a device is green versus it not being green' has been surprisingly slow." Source: Estimates from Bamboo Mobile, 2013.
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Since Monday is Earth Day, we thought a sneak peek of our latest report was in order. Over the last few weeks, Bamboo Mobile and team have examined online trade-in or buyback programs from 12 different companies. The new report is the first to include a rating system from Bamboo which is based on a scale from 1-4 with a 1 being poor and a 4 being excellent. (See the rating graphic below) Note: PandA stands for Perception and Analysis.
by Kate Pearce End user research we conducted at Compass Intelligence at the end of 2012 offers some insight into what drives consumer behavior when it comes to recycling a used phone. In a survey we asked over 1,000 people whether they had traded in, sold back or recycled an used mobile phone in the last year and about 18% said they had. However, when asked about the experience, nearly half of them stated that the incentives offered during the trade in were the most unfavorable part of the whole process. Source:Compass Intelligence, 2012 (Note: the ratings in the graph represent only the highest and lowest scoring provided by the survey panel respondents.)
by Kate Pearce
At Bamboo Mobile we are about to publish new market projections in Reuse and Recycling. Some of the information will include the total number of idle devices in the market; devices recycled; devices recycled by carrier and by channel and more. Here is a sneak peek. At the end of 2012, we found that there were about 324 million idle used devices in need of recovery in the market. Of those, we estimate about 14% were actually recycled or traded. by Kate PearceHave you ever asked friends how much they think their smart phones are worth and they say, “I don’t know, I paid $200 for it so I would say around 100 bucks.” Did you then try to get into a discussion on what they paid for their device and what it costs the Sprint and AT&T’s of the world are two very different numbers? If you have, it usually ends up, for me anyway, being a conversation where the person just brushes it off quickly and chalks it up to you being a nerd. (You should see the look they give me when I ask if they would consider buying a “used” or older model smart phone.)
by Kate PearceLast month, our parent company, Compass Intelligence, conducted a survey where over 2,200 business owners and IT decision-makers were asked questions about mobile phone recycling. Using some of the research gleaned from the survey, Bamboo Mobile created this info graphic below to capture preferences from the business decision makers. A couple of items to note:
For more information about this research, please contact Kate Pearce at [email protected]. You can also visit the Compass Intelligence website to find out more about the primary research services and market analytics at www.compassintelligence.com
As we celebrate America Recycles Day, Bamboo Mobile looks at what is slated to be a growing trend in the reuse and recycling area—original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) getting more involved in buying back old mobile phones and tablets. Now, we are not tackling all of the OEMs but decided to focus on comparing the two heavy weights in this category--—Apple and Samsung. With that being said, these two are being compared and contrasted every day. From device launches, to developer programs to court rulings, these behemoths are always going head to head. Here we examine device reuse and recycling programs from these companies and assess their capabilities: Source: Compass Intelligence, 2012 Overall, Samsung wins with its Trade Up program. Apple has too many limitations on its program. However, both companies could improve their programs to offer other types of incentives, make the trade in process more convenient, and work closer with the carriers to inspire customers to reuse and recycle. For more information on the Reuse and Recycling market or our primary research in this area, please contact Kate Pearce at [email protected] Click below to Download Table
In a recent survey, our parent company, Compass Intelligence, asked mobile phone users about their devices' trade-in value. We wanted to find out how customers perceive the value of their devices if they were to sell them back. Nearly 40% believe that their basic or feature phones are worth $5-$25, while another 32% of the customers think their phones would only fetch $5 or less. Only 9% of the respondents expect to receive more than $75 for a feature phone. However, smartphones users have higher expectations with 27% of the 452 polled thinking that they would get between $100-$200 for their devices. Also, nearly 40% of the mobile users say that their devices would be worth $75 or less if they sold them back or traded them in. As customers continue to migrate to smartphones (and shell out more money for mobile devices), understanding the resale value will become a greater focus for end users as well as recycling vendors. Perhaps this market will require a standardized "blue book" type of resource for customers to rely on when considering where to trade-in so as to get the best value. Here at Bamboo Mobile we plan to continue to gauge device pricing with our Device Value Index and other deliverables in development.
For more information on the Reuse and Recycling market or our primary research in this area, please contact Kate Pearce at [email protected] As the industry continues to evaluate and monitor the mobile device lifecycle (especially with the major device launches-Samsung Galaxy III and Apple iPhone 5-over the last few months), we want to try to shed some light on mobile phone recycling, particularly in regards to end user awareness and participation. For instance, do people really know about the buyback and trade-in options or basic phone recycling programs and are they using them? Survey information we've gathered indicates that end users are increasingly more aware of the programs offered by wireless carriers, retailers, device makers and others. In fact, research completed by our parent company, Compass Intelligence, shows a 17 point increase in awareness since the first of this year when asked about trade-in programs. Source: Compass Intelligence. Note: Arrows denote statistical significance. Now where it gets interesting is when we ask about whether they have actually recycled or sold back a used device. For instance, at the beginning of 2012, we asked end users whether they participated in a buyback or recycling program in the last six months, and 28% said they had traded-in at least one device. Fast forward to our latest preliminary numbers which show only 19% stated they had done so in the last six months. Source: Compass Intelligence. Note: Statistical significance found when comparing Column A to B & C only. A likely reason for the decrease in behavior may be attributed to the end-of-year holiday season which traditionally is a popular time for device upgrades and purchases. Sample size is also a factor. These things could skew the numbers a bit higher and the actual participation rate remains even at around 20%.
So if over 60% of end users state they know the programs exist, then why are only 20% of end users participating? Some survey participants said they were not offered rewards or incentives to trade-in or recycle, while others planned to keep their old devices as a data backup or in case something happened to their new phones. In a nut shell, program awareness is growing but participation remains steady. Carriers and others are doing a better job of communicating and marketing their programs, now they just need to make the “sale.” Obviously, that’s the difficult part – they need to find the right combination of enticements (offers) and encouragement (the ”eco-friendly” story) for customers to make it second nature to turn over those gently-used and end of life mobile devices to either 1) extend the life of the device or 2) to ensure they are recycled to prevent harm to the environment. Kate Pearce is a Research Strategist and Sr. Consultant at Compass Intelligence where she participates in custom consulting projects and develops content for the device reuse and recycling subscriptions and other device-related research. The iPhone 5 is one of the most anticipated device launches for 2012. With that said, Bamboo Mobile has decided to provide some historic context for the big event and also give some insight on expected phone sales along with how many of those old devices will be recycled over the launch weekend. So, based on industry estimates and historic iPhone sales, we expect about 8 million new iPhones to be sold this weekend. Apple says they have already secured 2 million pre-orders which is double the amount for the iPhone 4S. The launch, however, is not the only thing to keep your eye on. Here at Bamboo we are anxious to see how many folks capitalize on the lucrative offers in the market for gently-used devices (especially used iPhones--an iPhone 4 S can fetch up to $400 in gift card or cash incentives). Based on our primary research and other sources, we predict over 1.4 million used devices will be sold back over the weekend, which is a large increase (200%) from the last launch. Source: Bamboo Mobile, 2012 While we do understand that some end users will keep and repurpose their old devices (especially iPhones), we expect a large boost in devices sold back to carriers, vendors and others since the last iPhone launch due, in part, to the proliferation of buyback vendors, increased awareness in programs that provide decent incentives and the fact that many users will be deactivating gently used devices that still have value and the ability to be resold. With that said, let the lines form and the iPhones fly off the shelf. Also, don't forget to check out our Used Device Value Index to find out more about program vendors and how they stack up against each other in payouts. Note: Here at Bamboo Mobile we will be offering insight into the reuse and recycling market, including tracking results, providing context, and analyzing the impact...one gently-used device at a time. Kate Pearce is a Research Strategist and Sr. Consultant at Compass Intelligence where she participates in custom consulting projects and develops content for the device reuse and recycling subscriptions and other device-related research. |
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