Back Market, the leading global marketplace dedicated to verified refurbished technology, today marked a major milestone celebrating 10 years of innovation, growth, and commitment to a sustainable economic model, bridging the gap between consumer needs and sustainability aspirations. They also sent out a rallying cry to Downgrade now! to highlight the value of refurbished tech.
The 10th anniversary was celebrated by Back Market Founder and CEO, Thibaud Hug de Larauze, during a Paris press conference where the Back Market executive team also unveiled a suite of product innovations, rolled out new corporate partnerships, launched a global marketing campaign, and declared that the company is profitable in Europe.
Over the past 10 years, Back Market has reached a wide audience and cemented its place in the refurbished market. Some key figures that highlight this journey include:
- 15 million customers globally
- 1,800 refurbisher partners
- Presence in 18 countries across 3 continents
- Nearly 30 million devices sold
- 1.6 million tons of CO2 avoided, equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 210,000 American homes
- €2.157 billion GMV in 2023 (+32% vs. 2022)
An ambitious vision for the future
Back Market has a bold vision for the next decade: to build a world where 90% of consumers choose refurbished tech and appliances over new. This would represent a market of approximately 5 billion consumers worldwide.
Five billion people choosing refurbished over new means preserving precious resources:
- 460 million tons of CO2 avoided, equivalent to removing 110 million cars from the road for an entire year
- 560 billion m³ of water saved, enough to supply 10.23 billion people for a year
- 2.9 billion kg of e-waste avoided, equivalent to 11,417 Statues of Liberty
- 1.8 billion tons of raw materials preserved, enough to build 5,000 Empire State Buildings
New consumer product innovations
Product quality and constant innovation for our customers has always been at the heart of Back Market’s strategy. In the coming months, the company will strengthen the consumer experience and make buying refurbished technology simple and easy. Product innovations announced today include:
- Verified Refurbished by Back Market – A new quality standard for refurbished tech where users receive a 1-year warranty, 30-day money back guarantee, innovation lab quality verification of devices, in-house customer care and live online tech squad support.
- Premium – A new product tier featuring lightly refurbished devices with a minimum 90% battery capacity and genuine manufacturer-issued parts.
- Shake to Trade-in – When users are in the Back Market app they can shake their smartphone and immediately be shown the value of their device based on the model, storage and manufacturer, making the decision to trade-in even easier.
- Your Devices – A new tool allowing users to track and maintain their devices on the Back Market app, whether purchased on Back Market or not, with simple tips to extend their lifespan.
- AI Device Comparison – Coming in 2025, a new AI comparison tool for users on Back Market to discover the differences between product tiers and device features based on their needs, making the purchasing process even easier.
- Express Replacement – Also launching in 2025 in the US and rolling out across other regions throughout the year, if a customer’s phone is faulty or malfunctioning, a partner refurbisher will express ship a replacement device, with free shipping, even before the original is returned.
Strategic partnerships to fuel growth
To continue to grow worldwide, Back Market today also unveiled a suite of strategic partnerships including:
- Bouygues Telecom: Following the launch of a combined offer in June, allowing customers to purchase a refurbished smartphone with a mobile plan at a reduced rate, Back Market will soon have a physical presence in several Bouygues Telecom stores in Paris and Bordeaux.
- Visible by Verizon: In the US, Back Market is partnering with Visible, Verizon’s award-winning app-based wireless service, offering unlimited data, talk and messaging on a new $20/month for the first twelve months plan for consumers – a savings of $60 per line for the first year.
- PlayStation: Back Market is now the official trade-in partner for PlayStation in the US.
Downgrade Now!
Back Market today launched a global marketing campaign titled Downgrade Now that will focus on how we use tech in our daily lives. This campaign celebrates how previous years’ tech is just as good as new, and how consumers can save money and cut down on their environmental footprint by downgrading to older models that fit their needs and do all of the things they love. Downgrade Now will put the power of choice in the consumer’s hands and show them there is a better way.
As part of the campaign, Back Market announced the launch of Phone! in France and the U.S. Phone! is exactly that—a high-quality, refurbished Apple or Samsung smartphone that does all the things you need your phone to do—calling, texting, swiping, doom scrolling, and more—all without the inflated price tag and carbon footprint that comes from buying new.
The visual artist, Gab Bois, was also on hand at the Paris press conference to announce that she will be creating original artwork from tech waste as part of the Downgrade Now campaign.
