U.S. consumers were the financial beneficiaries of record-breaking device trade-in for Q4 and the full year of 2023. The Assurant Q4 Mobile Device Trade-In and Upgrade Industry Trends Report reveals that $1.6 billion was returned to consumers through trade-in – a 25% increase over the same quarter the previous year. The 2023 report shows an impressive $4.3 billion paid out to consumers, which was 13% higher than what we saw in 2022.
5G Devices Making a Strong Showing
For the last seven quarters, the iPhone 11 has been the most turned in device through trade-in and upgrade programs. Though it has maintained that position, the other devices in our Top 5 list for the fourth quarter are all 5G-enabled and account for nearly 71% of the total from the list. For the full year, 5G devices made up slightly over half (51%) of the top five devices turned in.
Strong Trade-In Values
At any given time, consumers can find a trade-in promotion from a carrier, OEM, retailer, or MSO, which can be up to $1,000 off a new phone purchase. Most of these high-value promotions are tied to such things as becoming a new customer, having a more expensive monthly plan, or trading in a qualifying device. While many customers won’t be eligible for those specific promotions, they can still receive the core trade-in value of their device. We’ve been tracking these core average trade-in values on a quarterly basis for several years. For the fourth quarter, iPhones reached their highest average value on record at $218. This is up from $186 the previous quarter and $164 from the same quarter the previous year. Android devices saw an average trade-in value of $96 – the highest it’s seen since 3Q 2021.
Trade-In Age
Throughout 2023, we saw the average age of devices at trade-in hover around 3.5 years. The fourth quarter was similar with the average age at 3.45 years. Specifically, iPhones were at 3.5 years while Android devices were at 3.27 years.
Year after year, we see the popularity of trade-in programs grow with consumers as well as the industry overall. We look forward to seeing how 2024 performs.
For more insights, download our infographics.
2023 Annual Mobile Trade-In and Upgrade Industry Trends Infographic
Q4 2023 Mobile Trade-In and Upgrade Industry Trends Infographic