"Men's Electronics, Women's Books and Music"... Growing Refurbished Market Amid High Inflation

Majority of Men in Their 40s Rank First in Product Categories
11st Opens Refurbished Goods Section
Plans to Sell 1,500 Types of Products

As the recent high inflation persists, more consumers are seeking refurbished (refurb) products. Refurbished items refer to products that have no issues in use but are difficult to sell as new due to reasons such as simple change of mind returns, display items, minor scratches, or discontinued stock, and are sold at prices lower than new products.

Refurbished product image. [Photo by 11st]

According to 11st on the 26th, from the 3rd to the 16th of this month, the transaction amounts for refurbished, display, and used products ranked in the order of mobile phones, books & music, massage devices, laptops, motorcycles & scooters, musical instruments, desktops, seasonal home appliances, golf, and TVs. Among these, mobile phones (42%) and books & music (28%) accounted for 70% of the total. The refurb market is generally on a growth trend. In particular, massage devices recorded a 6314% increase compared to the previous month, musical instruments 2950%, and seasonal home appliances 355%. Camping (397%) and bedroom furniture (356%) are considered categories with a high possibility of entering the top 10.

The overall purchase ratio of refurbished products is higher among men, but the biggest buyers were women in their 40s. Looking at the purchase ratio by gender, men accounted for 55% and women 45%. Summarizing by age group, women in their 40s (24.3%), men in their 40s (24.2%), men in their 30s (12.5%), women in their 30s (11.6%), and men in their 50s (10.9%) ranked in that order. The purchase of books & music was overwhelmingly high among women in their 40s. Excluding this, men in their 40s ranked first in most product categories such as mobile phones, laptops, home appliances, golf, motorcycles, and massage devices.

11st launched 'Refurbly' as a new vertical service in line with the cost-effectiveness (performance per price) shopping trend. It sells a variety of products across six categories: digital, home appliances, living, health, hobbies & leisure, and books. Verified sellers including 170 locations such as brand headquarters, official certified stores and distributors, and refurb specialists have completed registration, and the number of refurb sellers is planned to be more than doubled by the end of the year. Once the ongoing sequential product integration is completed, 1,500 types of refurbished products will be available.

11st is focusing on continuous management of sellers and products to increase customer trust in refurbished products. They plan to apply a penalty system that removes sellers from the specialized section if they fail to meet standards through monitoring across the entire service, including accuracy of registered product information, compliance with delivery, and customer response.

An 11st official said, “We have a variety of S-grade refurbished products from premium brands admired by customers such as Samsung, LG, and Hanssem, which will satisfy consumers seeking cost-effective purchases,” and added, “We will clearly identify what customers want and continue to introduce vertical services optimized for those characteristics.”