What do you do when you buy a new phone? Sell the old one, pass it on to someone or hoard it? Cashify’s User Behaviour Survey 2025 states that 70 per cent of users in India hoard 2-3 unused phones at home, signalling billions of rupees in untapped value. The good news is that the habit is slowly changing. Around a third of consumers surveyed now sell their old phones to fund upgrades, while 40 per cent said they are motivated by competitive buyback offers.
The report states that 63 per cent of sellers dispose of old devices within six months of upgrading, reflecting growing acceptance of trade-in culture. Despite this, 77 per cent of resale still happens informally through grey channels. Combining insights from 10,000 survey respondents, Cashify’s proprietary marketplace data, and external reports from IDC, Counterpoint, and Canalys, the study highlights how refurbished smartphones, organised trade-ins, and certified resale programmes have moved from niche adoption to mainstream culture.
But, the report notes that while trade-in programmes and resale offers have made old phones more valuable than ever, the reality is that millions of devices still lie idle in drawers, depreciating. This untapped “drawer economy” represents billions of rupees in potential value recovery and a massive opportunity to reduce e-waste.
Published on October 6, 2025