Billions of usable mobile devices are thrown away each year, creating an e-waste management issue that is one of the critical sustainability challenges of our time. Helping to solve this challenge, circular economy company Piceasoft introduces new solutions to make reselling your device easier, fairer, and more valued, contributing to the mobile phone sector’s transition towards circular economy.
Tampere, Finland (February 22nd, 2024). Finnish circular economy company Piceasoft introduces major updates to its unique-to-the-industry PiceaOnline platform to boost circular economy, increase customer choices, and broaden retailer business and sustainability program opportunities in the used mobile phones market.
Mobile phones are one the most common electronic devices, but at the same time, one of the least recycled or resold. According to the International Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) forum, 5.3 billion mobile phones were thrown away in the year 2022 alone. With many of these potentially reusable, better access to mobile reselling opportunities could significantly reduce the 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste produced annually, a significant amount of which comes from discarded mobile devices.
Also, there is a chronic shortage of pre-owned mobile phones in Europe, so the sales of used phones are severely limited by supply. Used phones are exported from the USA, which partly meets the demand. But US devices are not CE marked, and only phones with CE approval can officially be sold in Europe. While compliance with CE standards varies across Europe, this further complicates the availability of used devices.
Despite the many mobile phone trade-in programs from operators and retailers, it is estimated that less than 20% of consumers recycle their phones. One major reason is the lack of transparency in the trade-in process: many times, the actual trade price for the old phone can be significantly lower than the original estimation due to the shortcomings in accuracy and lack of transparency of the diagnostics and evaluation process. These issues limit consumer options, demotivate them to recycle phones, and hinder trust towards the whole trade-in process.
Now through major developments to the PiceaOnline platform, Piceasoft is bringing unique features and benefits currently missing from the mobile trade-in business. These advancements make recycling phones and extending their life cycle easier and more valuable to both consumers and retailers.
“The mobile phone industry is one the largest in the world, but still in the starting blocks regarding circular economy. Now it is the time to start walking the talk, since the current system is broken and not fair to the customers. Old phones and other consumer electronics create a lot of waste. In fact, waste streams equivalent to more than 300,000 double-decker buses are created every year by smartphones and similar devices sent to waste and buried underground. Also, the consumer awareness of reselling your old phone is still quite low, and the whole value chain needs to take more responsibility in changing this,” says Kristian Järnefelt, the CEO of Piceasoft.
An operating system for circular economy
Usually, when reselling their phones, operators and major retailers only have the option to provide offers from only one trade-in partner program. PiceaOnline’s Multi-partner trade-in increases the value of mobile phone trade-in programs by offering fair and best prices for consumers from multiple trade-in partners, so consumers can benefit from the best and highest-value option for their reselling. Also, the operators and retailers can decide to sell devices matching their self-defined criteria directly to their customers instead of shipping them to the trade-in partner.
“Consumers, trade-in partners, and other retailers can see us as an operating system for the circular economy: we bring concrete, fair, and easy-to-use circular economy choices to every consumer interaction when they are buying a new phone, whether in digital or in stores. PiceaOnline platform merges mobile device lifecycle management technology and consumer-facing services into one easy-to-use business platform. We aim to make Piceasoft Europe’s leading platform to extend the lifecycle of mobile devices,” Kristian Järnefelt continues.
One of the bottlenecks in mobile phone recycling and reselling is the accuracy of grading devices to check their condition. It is estimated that around 78% of consumers lose interest if grading their device requires installing a new app on their smartphone. PiceaOnline’s new Web-based diagnostics make the trade-in process easier for consumers by accurately grading the devices without the need to install an app. Also, more automated diagnostics help to grade the devices in more detail, resulting in concrete value estimates that consumers can trust will be the price they get from their old phone.
PiceaOnline’s new Mobile SDK makes it possible to enhance the reach and value of trade-in programs by integrating PiceaOnline’s trade-in capabilities into retailers’ or mobile operator’s app. By integrating the PiceaOnline Mobile SDK into their applications, operators and retailers can directly engage with mobile device consumers, enhance user experience, and provide seamless trade-in experiences and instant trade-in quotes—all within the existing apps. Similarly, the PiceaOnline Mobile SDK can be utilized for self-support use cases.
Piceasoft is showcasing PiceaOnline and how it connects business opportunities to mobile devices’ circular economy with its new features at Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona 26.-29. February 2024.
For additional information:
Kristian Järnefelt, CEO, Piceasoft, kristian.jarnefelt@piceasoft.com
Anne Huotari, Marketing Director, Piceasoft, anne.huotari@piceasoft.com
About PiceaOnline
Picea® Online is an all-in-one business platform to offer mobile device trade-in, support, repair, and recycling services across point-of-sale, e-commerce, and mobile channels. Its extensive customization and market activation capabilities make it an ideal choice for trade-in services, boosting value and trust with guaranteed and best trade-in prices.
About Piceasoft
Located in Tampere, Finland, and founded in 2012, Piceasoft creates new business opportunities within the mobile device circular economy. Our ever-expanding platform and ecosystem powers companies at all levels to offer trade-in, support, repair, and recycling services. Working with customers and partners in over 70 countries, our platform provides a single solution for businesses to introduce new services and revenue streams while reducing e-waste and promoting sustainability. www.piceasoft.com