US Consumers Drew $3.1B From Smartphone Trade-Ins in 2021: Assurant

Mobile device trade-in and upgrade programs returned an estimated $3.1 billion to U.S. consumers in 2021, up by about $1 billion from 2020 and topping the $2.4 billion returned to consumers in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic year of 2019, reported Assurant Tuesday. An estimated $1.1 billion was returned to U.S. consumers through trade-in and upgrade programs in Q4, up 40% sequentially from Q3 and a 34% year-on-year increase, it said. Other findings for 2021: (1) iPhones led the top five devices turned in through trade-in and upgrade programs; (2) The Samsung Galaxy S9 was the top-traded Android device; (3) The average trade-in value for an iPhone in 2021 was $199, while the average trade-in value for an Android smartphone was $98.