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Getting more from every device: why trade-in is becoming increasingly important across Europe
Consumers across Europe are rethinking how they buy, use and replace their smartphones and connected devices. As devices are kept for longer and affordability remains an important consideration, trade-in, refurbishment and recommerce are becoming increasingly valuable parts of the device lifecycle.
For mobile operators, retailers and manufacturers, this shift creates an opportunity to help customers unlock more value from the technology they already own – while supporting upgrades, customer loyalty and a more circular approach to connected devices.
Consumers are keeping devices for longer
Assurant’s latest Q2 2026 Mobile Trade-In and Upgrade Industry Trends Report provides a useful indication of how device ownership is changing.
In the US, mobile trade-in programmes returned $1.43 billion in value to consumers during the second quarter of 2026. At the same time, the average age of iPhones entering trade-in and upgrade programmes surpassed four years for the first time.
Although these findings are based on the US market, the underlying trends have clear relevance for Europe. Consumers are increasingly looking to maximise the value of their existing technology, while longer replacement cycles are changing the relationship between customers and the brands that provide their devices and connectivity.
As Biju Nair, EVP and President, Global Connected Living at Assurant, explains:
“Consumers are getting more life out of their smartphones than ever before, but trade-in timing matters. As component costs continue to put pressure on new device prices, trade-in programs play an increasingly important role in helping consumers offset upgrade costs.”
Trade-in can help address the affordability challenge
As consumers balance their desire for the latest technology against other financial priorities, the residual value of an existing device can make upgrading more accessible.
That makes trade-in much more than an end-of-life transaction. Integrated effectively into the customer journey, it can provide operators, retailers and manufacturers with another reason to engage customers, encourage upgrades and strengthen long-term relationships.
The opportunity is already developing across Europe, although consumer behaviour varies by market. Trade-in and second-hand device adoption are relatively mature in markets including France, Germany and the Netherlands, while Italy and Spain offer significant potential as consumer awareness and adoption continue to develop.
For partners, understanding these differences – and designing propositions around local customer needs – will be important in unlocking the full potential of trade-in.
The opportunity extends beyond smartphones
Recommerce is also becoming relevant to a much wider range of connected technology.
Assurant’s Q2 findings show that premium smartwatches can retain meaningful trade-in value. As European households accumulate smartphones, tablets, laptops, wearables and other connected devices, there is an opportunity to help consumers realise value across a broader technology portfolio.
This creates possibilities for businesses to move beyond individual handset trade-in programmes towards more comprehensive device lifecycle propositions.
Supporting Europe’s growing circular economy
Trade-in also provides the supply of devices needed to support a healthy secondary market.
Across Europe, refurbished devices are becoming an increasingly established part of the technology landscape. By collecting, processing, repairing and refurbishing devices effectively, businesses can give technology a second or even third life while making quality devices available to a new group of customers.
For operators, retailers and manufacturers, achieving this at scale requires an integrated ecosystem. Accurate device assessment, repair expertise, logistics, refurbishment, data-led decision making and access to appropriate resale channels can all influence the value ultimately recovered from a device.
Assurant brings these capabilities together to help partners manage devices throughout their lifecycle. Through repair, logistics, processing and recommerce capabilities, supported by AI-driven insights, devices can be directed towards the channels where they can deliver the greatest value.
A changing European landscape
Europe’s focus on device durability and repairability adds another dimension to this opportunity.
New requirements are encouraging smartphones and tablets to remain usable for longer, reinforcing the shift towards extending device lifespans. Combined with growing consumer interest in refurbished technology, this creates an environment in which effective lifecycle management is likely to become increasingly important.
For businesses, the question is therefore no longer simply how to sell the next device. It is how to maximise the value of the devices already in customers’ hands and create a seamless journey between ownership, protection, repair, trade-in, refurbishment and resale.
Turning device lifecycle management into an opportunity
The precise opportunity will differ between France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and other European markets. But the direction of travel is clear: customers increasingly expect more value, flexibility and choice from their technology.
By bringing together protection, repair, trade-in, refurbishment and resale, businesses have an opportunity to create a more connected device lifecycle.
Done effectively, this can help partners:
- make upgrades more affordable and attractive for customers;
- recover more value from existing devices;
- strengthen customer engagement and loyalty;
- support the availability of quality refurbished technology; and
- keep devices in use for longer.
And the added bonus for businesses is implementing a trade-in programme does not involve a significant cost; but it can provide an additional source of revenue for when the devices are resold on the secondary market
As device ownership evolves, the end of one customer’s use of a smartphone or connected device doesn’t have to mean the end of its value.
For Assurant and our partners across Europe, the opportunity is to make that value work harder – creating better outcomes for consumers, businesses and the wider circular economy.