Bamboo Mobile's Latest Report Finds Increased Awareness for Reuse and Recycling Usage Programs

SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of America Recycles Day, a new report from Bamboo Mobile, a division of Compass Intelligence, provides insights and results from our end-user study where we asked nearly 1,200 mobile phone users questions about their attitudes around device reuse and recycling.

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Mobile phone and device recycling awareness is on the rise. An estimated 62 percent of end users are now aware of reuse and recycling programs in October 2013 compared to 48 percent in early 2012. In addition, we asked end users about whether they turned in a used device for a payout or just dropped off a device for "end of life" recycling.  About 28% said they had recycled in some way in the past year while 18% said they receive a payout when they sold back a used device.

"End user awareness of reuse and recycling programs is on the rise," says Kate Pearce, Strategist and Sr. Consultant at Compass Intelligence. "The area that has not seen much increase is the reuse of these devices in the United States where pre-owned device sales remain low."

"Most trade-in programs are associated with exchange for new devices, especially with the launch of new early upgrade programs that require a smartphone trade-in. As more devices are reclaimed, it will be nice to eventually see more emphasis on selling pre-owned devices from the carriers and others in the future", Pearce adds.

The end-user research was conducted using Compass Intelligence Thought Leaders Panel which has a large database of over 3,000 end users and decision-makers in the U.S. For more information about our Thought Leaders Panel, click here.

Highlights from the report:

•  In addition, new or updated programs were launched this year, bringing new attention and importance to device reuse and recycling.
  • Programs from Apple, Microsoft and Wal-Mart all launched new in-store used device buyback programs and received lots of mainstream press coverage.
  • The carriers also were involved with early upgrade (and trade-in programs), including AT&T's Next, T-Mobile's Jump, Verizon's Edge and Sprint's One Up.
• However, while all of these used device trade in programs are great, we wanted to find out about attitudes toward "gently-owned" or "pre-owned" devices.  Our survey found that 80% of mobile users were not interested in buying pre-owned devices.
  • This will be the next challenge for the industry in the US market to improve and expand the customer's willingness to purchase these devices.

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About Bamboo Mobile

Bamboo Mobile, www.bamboo-mobile.com, is an information resource designed to offer news, research and insight around mobile device reuse and recycling. Bamboo Mobile promotes device reuse and recycling as well as other sustainability efforts going on in the mobile industry. Bamboo Mobile explores issues around customer awareness, provides program rankings, and examines creative device recycling (and reuse) efforts and more.  Visit Bamboo at www.bamboo-mobile.com and follow us at @bamboomobile

About Compass Intelligence

Compass Intelligence, a market analytics and consulting firm, specializes in strategy acceleration and insights for the high-tech and telecom industries while providing clients tailored services through excellent customer support. Compass Intelligence provides executive insights, market sizing/modeling, competitive analysis, strategic consulting, and expert recommendations on multiple markets. Visit us at http://www.compassintelligence.com.  Follow Compass Intelligence on Twitter at @CompassIntel

Media Contact:
Dilip Sarangan
Director of Marketing & Operations, Compass Intelligence
(214) 274-6747
[email protected]

SOURCE Compass Intelligence