Dipli, Orange & the Smartphone Refurbishment Revolution

In an era of increasing environmental consciousness, the European mobile phone industry is undergoing a rather transformative shift towards sustainability. 

At the forefront of this change is Dipli, a French company co-founded by Reynold Simonnet, which simplifies the product life cycle of electronic devices.

Dipli conducted a comprehensive study in collaboration with IPSOS, examining consumer attitudes towards selling old phones and the potential for purchasing second-hand devices. The findings reveal a huge opportunity for growth in the refurbished market.

The growing need for sustainable solutions

With more than eight billion mobile phones currently in circulation globally—outnumbering the human population—Reynold highlights the urgent need for effective solutions to manage electronic waste. 

"These eight billion devices are going to be renewed," he explains, emphasising that this renewal presents a critical moment for intervention.

"If you miss this momentum, then basically the old phone is going to stay in the drawer forever."

This is a big problem for the mobile industry. The precious minerals used in phones (like lithium or cobalt) are scarce, so they need to be conserved properly. Moreover, customers are missing out on a pretty sizeable pay check if they upgrade without trading their old models in. 

But as far as Dipli is concerned, this phenomenon presents a significant opportunity for growth within the market. Its role is to simplify the lifecycle of electronic devices by creating a seamless supply chain that connects consumers looking to trade in their old phones with those seeking refurbished devices. 

By partnering with major telecommunications companies and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), such as Orange, Dipli aims to enhance the second-hand experience for end users.

Collaborating with major telcos

Orange has been a key partner for Dipli, implementing initiatives such as their "Re program" launched in October 2020. Sandrine André, EMEA Head of B2C Commercialisation at Orange, explains that this programme has been extended across Europe to promote repair, recycling, refurbishment, and return.

"The trade-in and refurbished model is one of the best in Europe to meet customer needs: preventing lower planet impact while contributing to improve its purchasing power locally," she says.

The collaboration between Dipli and key players like Orange allows consumers to trade in their old devices on the high street, at conveniently accessible retail locations. Once collected, these devices are assessed and processed through Dipli’s supply chain, ensuring that they are either refurbished or recycled appropriately.

Insights from the IPSOS study

The recent study that IPSOS conducted for Dipli reveals that many consumers have never sold their old smartphones, with many devices languishing in drawers, collecting dust rather than being recycled or refurbished. But the research (which samples mobile users from France, Germany and Poland) also shows that people are buying new phones far less frequently than they did 15-20 years ago.

“When I started my career 15 years ago, people would buy a new phone every 18 months, then it was 24 months and now it's up to 36 months - it's always increasing,” explains Reynold.

But why is this?

Reynold believes this trend is a result of two major factors. Firstly, the leap in innovation between mobile models is simply not as great as it used to be.

“First you had then the original iPhone with a small memory, then Apple increased the memory, and then you had innovation like apps, then the camera, then 4G. This new stuff gave you this feeling that you have to change, because there was a fear of missing out,” he says.

Secondly, people just cannot afford to buy new phones so frequently anymore.

“People are going through a kind of crisis in buying power," explains Reynold. "They have less money in their bank accounts since COVID-19 and now they're not willing to spend a thousand euro every 24 months on the phone.”

How to encourage customers to buy second-hand

The IPSOS study shows that trust is the most important factor in this equation. Customers want to know their new second-hand phone works properly and hasn’t been tampered with, they want good value for money when buying new phones and selling old ones, and they want the whole process to be easy.

Dipli is hoping to show customers that all these things are possible. A big development that has convinced many customers to opt for second-hand devices is increases in the length of warranties.

"People are willing to buy second-hand, but with the same warranty as new phones," Reynold says. 

This insight has led to an evolution in warranty offerings for refurbished devices. The sellers Dipli works with now commonly offer two-year guarantees—an increase from previous standards of just six months. This, Reynold believes, is what sets Dipli’s process apart from C2C sellers like Vinted, which recently expanding its offering to electronic tech.

He says that, when it comes to informal marketplaces like Vinted, “you don't have the warranty, you don't have the trust and you cannot make sure that the data is well wiped.”

Nevertheless, he does admire a lot about the Lithuanian company’s model: “We want to be sure that the experience that we are pushing to the customers is as close to Vinted as possible in terms of simplicity.”

The road to radical refurbishment

The IPSOS study provides some really valuable insights into the factors motivating consumer habits. It shows that lots of progress is already being made, as well as the ways the sector can improve. 

"This study shows that many opportunities are still ahead of us," says Orange’s Sandrine André. The biggest opportunity of all is the opportunity to improve the mobile industry’s sustainability.

“If you look at the carbon footprints, if you look at the water wastage, the way the materials are taken from the grounds using child labour. If you look at all of it, the manufacturing of the phones is quite devastating for human nature but also the environment,” says Reynold. 

“So, of course, the more we put back on the market, the less brand new phones we have to build.”

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