In less than a year, the number of used smartphones that Svyaznoy and Euroset buyers exchanged for new devices under trade-in programs has grown more than 65 times. This follows from the materials of the merged company. In the second quarter of 2017, about 1,500 devices were brought to the showrooms of two retail chains for exchange, and in April – June 2018 – almost 100,000 units. It was in the second quarter of this year that there was a sharp increase in the popularity of trade-in: compared to the first quarter, buyers handed over 8.3 times more devices, according to Svyaznoy-Euroset materials.

The commercial director of Svyaznoy-Euroset, Dagmara Ivanova, explains the growing interest in trade-in by the expansion of the geography of the service and the increase in the number of electronics brands that can be exchanged. In July 2017, trade-in was launched in 113 Svyaznoy stores; only Apple smartphones were accepted for exchange. Now there are 5,500 points and the retailer accepts devices from eight brands: in addition to Apple, these are Samsung, Huawei and Honor, LG, Xiaomi, Nokia and Sony, says Ivanova. You can exchange not only your old smartphone for a new one at an additional cost, but also buy a tablet or laptop at trade-in, she reports.

From the materials of Svyaznoy-Euroset it follows that in the second quarter of this year, on average, each store in the network accepted 1.8 smartphones for trade-in. In fact, in some salons, customers may not use the service, but in some (in particular, in Moscow and St. Petersburg), each month they can bring 350 devices for exchange with an additional payment, explains Ivanova.

Over the year and a half of trade-in work at M.video, the number of devices delivered has increased tenfold, says M.video-Eldorado representative Valeria Andreeva. This is due to the growing popularity of the service, the growing number of stores where the service operates, and the expansion of the range of devices, she lists.

Vympel launched trade-in in December last year. In the second quarter of 2018, compared to the first quarter, the number of exchanged smartphones increased 3 times, says a representative of the operator. According to him, you can rent out almost all iPhone models, many Samsung models, and more recently also LG, Sony, Huawei and Honor smartphones, as well as iPad tablets with a SIM card. The average discount when purchasing a new device is 8,000 rubles, says a representative of the operator.

MTS launched trade-in in September 2017. In the second quarter of 2018, compared to the first quarter, the number of accepted devices approximately tripled, says MTS representative Alexey Merkutov; since February 2018, you can return a smartphone to trade-in in the vast majority of showrooms MTS. On average, the discount for exchange with an additional payment is about 10,000 rubles, he says. Representatives of VimpelCom and MTS do not report the number of old devices exchanged for new ones with an additional payment.

The re:Store trade-in chain of stores has been operating since last July; about 10% of smartphones are sold under this scheme, says Inventive Retail representative (owns the chain) Lyudmila Semushina, it is safe and saves the buyer’s time.

Trade-in makes it possible to buy new smartphones with a guaranteed discount and saves the time needed to independently sell a used gadget, Merkutov lists.

Trade-in, on the one hand, is a convenient transaction format “here and now”, which, unlike hand-to-hand purchases, provides the seller and buyer with complete security, Andreeva believes.

General Director of Acer in Russia Dmitry Kravchenko considers trade-in a good marketing tool that encourages consumers to buy new electronics. Previously, sellers of household appliances and electronics offered customers recycling of old devices, he recalls. But so far, trade-in does not have a noticeable impact on electronics sales - they are much more influenced by affordable lending and installment programs, Kravchenko concludes.

Selling old smartphones in trade-in is gaining popularity in Russia