A recent survey of 1,750 U.S. adults conducted in collaboration with OnePoll reveals interesting findings on how often Americans are overspending on buying the latest tech, often without knowledge of the features that they’re paying a premium for. Additionally, many aren’t aware of the drastic loss of a phone’s value the moment it’s out of the box.
THE TRUE COST OF TODAY'S UPGRADE CULTURE
THE DESIRE FOR NEW TECH IS HIGH, BUT OUT OF REACH FOR MANY
Nearly 3 out of 4 Americans say having new technology is important to them
50% of Americans say it’s “very important” to have the newest cell phone model
70% of Americans admit they can’t afford brand new tech
REASONS FOR CONSUMER’S NEED FOR ‘BRAND NEW’ ARE UNCLEAR
64% don’t find newer models to be noticeably different to older ones
42% of the people interested in the iPhone 12 aren’t even aware it will be 5G compatible
28% of Apple phone users think they already have a 5G enabled phone
"In many cases, consumers who happen to need an upgrade end up overspending on the latest device release simply because it’s expected, yet many are spending top dollar for features they don’t want or need. They could likely upgrade to a slightly older device with few noticeable differences and steep savings."
- Liam Howley
SAVVY CONSUMERS SAVE BY TIMING THEIR PURCHASES RIGHT
Cell phones lose an average of 40% of their value within the first month of their release according to Decluttr's Annual Phone Depreciation Report. If consumers chose to upgrade to a slightly older, refurbished phone rather than buying new, they could save a great deal.
The below chart shows how much they could expect to pay for various devices:
*Prices were based on refurbished cell phones available on the Decluttr Store as of August 2020 and may have changed since.
BEYOND MONETARY SAVINGS, THERE’S AN ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT
Millions of smartphones are produced globally each year, requiring mining of rare materials and producing huge quantities of toxic waste. It’s also one of the many reasons that older devices end up in landfills. The more we continue the cycle of buying brand new, the more we contribute to the problem of e-waste, which comprises 70% of the world’s hazardous waste.
It’s also important that consumers are trading in their old tech and phones (check out our Sell My Phone or Trade In iPhone pages for more information), to not only make money back for themselves, but to ensure their devices don’t end up in landfill and add to the problem.
The Traditional Lifecycle of a Phone