Recently, the telecoms industry has seen a heightened focus on sustainability practices. While the advancement to 5G brings with it positive outcomes, and more connectivity and advancements in societies we had never imagined previously, there are also concerns around the environmental impact of the technology—both from an energy consumption perspective, but also because of the deluge of 3G and 4G/LTE devices it will bring, which could contribute significantly to the growing e-waste dilemma.

We are excited to share with you our expanded trends report coverage. Our quarterly reports now include data on devices turned in through Upgrade programs as well as Trade-in programs. This is reflected in the Top 5 Devices Received and Average Age of Device metrics. Other metrics, such as average trade-in value and money in consumers hands are based solely on Trade-in. We hope you find our quarterly report even more valuable.

The environmental burden of the disposal of mobile devices cannot be ignored. When consumers discard mobile devices because they are no longer in use, not only is it damaging to the environment, but the material that went into making the devices are wasted. According to one report, less than 20% of e-waste is properly recycled, and 80% of it ends up in landfills or is informally recycled.

Every year the climate and environmental crisis becomes ever more severe and Earth Day takes on extra significance. The annual event brings together millions of people worldwide to support the environment and highlight the action needed to save our planet.

In honor of Earth Day, we want to showcase how we enable our customers in the mobile industry to maximize its sustainability efforts. By repurposing, redistributing, and recycling pre-owned devices, we are helping operators, OEMS, retailers, and insurance providers to contribute to a much more sustainable future.

What happens to your old mobile device when you’re ready for an upgrade? In the past, most consumers would toss old devices in a drawer or throw them in the trash.

A primary benefit of trade-in is to drive customer loyalty, attract new customers, and increase sales of new devices. A convenience many do not realize during these times is that trade-in doesn’t have to be in-store, especially if it is the least desirable option. Many consumers still don’t know that it’s possible to buy a new phone, get the trade-in promotion, and then send in their old phone themselves after the new one arrives.

Surveys show that nearly one-third of smartphone owners currently have a cracked screen (and that they drop their phones a minimum of four times a week).  Once it’s time to purchase a new device, many smartphone owners think their damaged, old phone is beyond repair.

While 2020 was a challenging year, it could have ended on a worse note for the mobile device ecosystem of carriers, OEMs, and retailers. The slowdown in retail sales in Q1 and Q2, began to improve in Q3, and according to research from Counterpoint, new smartphone sales rose 8% in 4Q over the previous quarter. And, because trade-ins and new phone sales are tightly intertwined, we saw similar trends when analyzing our Mobile Device Trade-In Data.

Here at HYLA Mobile, an Assurant company, we usually expect a flurry of activity from about August through the end of the year as OEMs begin to unveil their new flagship phones. There are promotions around the launches and also for the holiday shopping season. We then see the activity flatten out dramatically after the end of the year as many promotions go away.

Here’s the thing—it is still a very good time to purchase a new phone. First of all, major carriers and OEMs are extending their usual holiday deals into the new year—something that we typically haven’t seen before. Customers should definitely take advantage of this now before the deals expire.

Second, those hungering for the newest and best technology still have an appreciable opportunity whether they prefer iPhones or Android phones. Apple released their latest devices just three months ago and Samsung just introduced their latest smartphones.

Samsung’s latest 5G devices; the Galaxy S21 and S21+, and S21 Ultra; boasts a super high-resolution camera, their fastest processor yet, and improved battery life.

Here at HYLA Mobile, an Assurant company, we offer a white-labeled customer service function for our trade-in services. In other words, if a customer contacts one of our customers (carrier, retailer, OEM) with a question about the phone they just traded in, that question gets seamlessly shunted in our direction.

Our support is offered via phone, chat, and email, and many if not most of our support requests are received online. In fact, the number of support queries we receive via the internet is very large and continues to grow, which could lead to a problem with scale.