Consumers want the newest device and a painless path to get it. In the mobile market alone, trade-in programs are delivering exactly that at record scale, returning an all-time-high $1.34 billion to consumers in Q2 2025, up 60% year over year. Average turn-in age hit 3.88 years, which tells you people are timing upgrades to capture value and move up to next-gen devices. [Source: Computer Weekly]
The same trend is now accelerating across every device category. Reconext is seeing PC and laptop trade-in activity climb steadily, giving customers a faster and more sustainable way to upgrade to next-generation technology while giving brands powerful new ways to strengthen customer relationships, drive repeat purchases, and recapture value from returned devices.
For OEMs and retailers, trade-in is no longer a side project. It’s a proven lever to retain customers in the ecosystem, fund the next purchase with residual value, and feed certified inventory into recommerce without compromising data security. The sustainability upside is real, but the business case is stronger: customer lifetime value and predictable recovery.
How Reconext Powers OEM Trade-In and Buy-Back Programs
Reconext provides the end-to-end engine behind some of today’s most advanced trade-in & buyback programs across consumer, enterprise, and retail channels.
Our platform is purpose-built to help OEMs and retailers launch, scale, and optimize trade-in programs that create a frictionless upgrade experience while recovering maximum value from every device.
- Dynamic valuation across a variety of brands and device types including smartphones, laptops, tablets, desktops, wearable devices, and more
- Automated device configuration lookup, giving customers a fast, accurate trade-in quote
- Certified data sanitization with auditable chain-of-custody
- Frictionless logistics with prepaid shipping and status visibility
- Settlement flexibility including digital credit that keeps customers buying within your ecosystem
- Channel-wide analytics for performance, compliance, and sustainability reporting
A Proven Trade-In Platform for Global OEMs
Reconext recently launched another direct-to-consumer trade-in program for a major global computing OEM, expanding our growing portfolio of brand-powered trade-in experiences. Built on the same global technology stack that supports our enterprise partners, the platform enables fast, secure, and transparent upgrades that protect brand equity while accelerating circularity.
If your trade-in program still feels like a limited-time promotion, it’s leaving money — and loyalty — on the table. The next generation of trade-in isn’t about one-time returns. It’s a permanent upgrade engine that drives retention, revenue, and responsible outcomes.
Learn what Reconext’s trade-in and buy-back platform can do for your business, or contact us today to build or modernize a program that keeps your customers coming back.