The UK technology retailer Currys is trialling the sale of refurbished technology online, with 80% of refurbished product lines sold out within a week of being on sale.
Due to “customer demand”, Currys began selling cheaper, pre-owned mobiles, laptops and Chromebooks on its website in November 2022.
Currys says 80% of the refurbished product lines sold out within the first week of sales. Refurbished laptops are in particularly high demand, with the retailer saying that one in 10 online users searching for laptops organically browsed the available refurbished listings.
The refurbished products are individually checked over, restored (if required), and repackaged by its staff, Currys says.
Buying refurbished saves customers money and saves good tech from landfill.
Currys says it processed 600,000 individual tech items in the last twelve months, a proportion of which are then made available for resale online.
Mandeep Gobindpuri, Head of Development – Circular Economy, Currys said: “In the UK we produce the second highest amount of e-waste per capita in the world2. As much as we all love brand-new tech, we need to address this challenge.
“E-waste is a core reason why we are committed to our ‘Long Live Your Tech’ campaign, which helps customers make more informed environmental decisions when buying and disposing of technology.
“Buying refurbished saves customers money and saves good tech from landfill. This trial is a win for customers, and a win for the planet.”