Study finds half of back to school electronic device purchases will be refurbished

Quarter of students will spend more than €500 on electronic devices when returning to third level education
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(L-R) Refurbed co-founders; Peter Windischhofer, Jürgen Riedl and Kilian Kaminski

27 August 2021

Purchasing a refurbished device will be popular when returning to school this September. This is according to a survey from refurbished electronic device marketplace Refurbed, which looked at demand for purchasing electronic devices when returning to education.

The survey was conducted by Bounce Insights, which canvassed 1,064 Irish parents aged 35 and over and students aged 18 to 24 for their insights on the topic.

It found that 51% of all respondents (50% of students and 51% of parents) intend to buy a refurbished device for back-to-school purposes instead of a new device with a breakdown opting for this. Buying refurbished electronic devices is most popular among parents aged 35 – 44 (54%) compared to those aged 55 and over (43%). 

The pressure to supply children and students with electronic devices before returning to school has elevated since the pandemic. Half (51%) of parents feel pressured to provide their child/children with an electronic device for school. This pressure is higher among parents aged 55 and over (62%). A large proportion of students (77%) in third level education also feel the need to purchase an electronic device before returning to college. 

Meanwhile, 65% of parents and 42% of students will spend between €100 to €300 on electronic devices when going back to school. A quarter of students (24%) will spend over €500. 

Refurbished devices are commonly mistaken with second-hand devices, but it is apparent that Irish parents and students are aware of the differences between them. The findings from the survey demonstrates that 87% of parents with children in school and 77% of students in third level education know the difference between a refurbished device and second-hand device. Knowing this difference gives consumers an advantage when deciding to buy refurbished or second-hand devices. 84% of parents and 75% of students are aware that buying a refurbished device is cheaper and will have a guaranteed warranty. 

“Over the last year and a half, the pandemic has demonstrated the importance that electronic devices play in education,” said Peter Windischhofer, co-founder of Refurbed. “As schools in Ireland begin to reopen, many parents and students will feel the need to update their electronic devices. Refurbed’s back to school campaign which launched on 12 August will help ease the pressures of buying electronic devices for school and college and we at Refurbed prides ourselves as being the more affordable and environmentally friendly option for families and students in Ireland.

“Buying refurbished products also assists in lowering your carbon footprint and we are delighted by the large proportions of parents and students in Ireland willing to buy refurbished devices when returning to school. Our refurbishment process sees a 70% reduction in CO2 emissions compared with the manufacturing of a new product.”

Refurbed is proud to be a CO2 negative and environmentally friendly company and undertakes a 40-step refurbishment process to ensure all products are restored to factory settings. The refurbishment process reduces carbon emissions by 70% compared to the manufacturing of a new electronic device. To date, the company has saved 170 tons worth of electronic devices and subsequently managed to reduce the CO2 impact by 31,000 tons. To offset carbon emissions, for every product sold Refurbed plants a tree in countries such as Haiti, Madagascar, Kenya, Indonesia, Mozambique, and Nepal through its partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects.

TechCentral Reporters

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