Price hikes push India buyers to refurbished phones and laptops as new shipments fall
Rising memory and component costs are lifting India's secondary-market for devices. Refurbished smartphones seen growing 12% YoY in 2026 while new shipments drop 11% and laptops fall 9.8% to 14.3M units. With 85% of models seeing ~15% price hikes, Samsung expanded its certified refurbished programme to capture demand.
Rising memory and component costs are lifting India's refurbished smartphone and laptop markets as new-device shipments decline. Refurbished phones seen growing 12% in 2026; Samsung expanded its certified refurbished programme to capture secondary-market demand.
Why this matters
Follows signals of refurbished devices going mainstream as component costs push new prices up 30-40% and a global 11% smartphone sales drop from the DRAM/NAND crunch, with India cushioned by secondary demand.
retail-brand theme accelerating at +311500% QoQ.