Galaxus is reporting a sustained acceleration in demand for refurbished electronics, underlining a broader maturation of Europe’s secondary device market. What was once a niche purchasing behaviour has become an increasingly mainstream option for smartphones, tablets and notebooks, driven by economic pressure, sustainability awareness and rising confidence in professional refurbishment standards.
Platform scale and strategic reach
Founded in 2001 as Digitec and expanded into Galaxus in 2012, the Zurich based e-commerce platform has grown into Switzerland’s largest online retailer. Since Migros acquired a 70% stake in 2015, Galaxus has scaled rapidly beyond its home market, establishing meaningful operations in Germany, Austria, France and Italy. Its model, combining editorial content, community engagement and radical transparency, positions refurbished devices as credible alternatives rather than discounted compromises.
Refurbished sales growth dynamics
Between 2024 and 2025, sales of refurbished smartphones on Galaxus increased by 23%, compared with 12% growth for new devices. Refurbished units now account for 3% of all smartphones sold on the platform. Other categories show even steeper growth curves. Refurbished PCs expanded by 112%, tablets by 39%, while notebooks surged by 193%, largely reflecting an expanded product range and improved sourcing.
Apple dominance in secondary smartphones
Three quarters of refurbished devices sold on Galaxus are smartphones, with Apple products leading the category. Apple iPhone models dominate resale volumes due to sustained performance, long software support and predictable residual values. In tablets, Apple shows a similar pattern, while notebooks and PCs skew towards enterprise grade hardware from Lenovo, HP and Dell, reflecting durability expectations in second life use cases.
Pricing pressure and value creation
Pricing remains the primary adoption lever. The average refurbished Apple iPhone sells for 397 Euro, compared with 819 Euro for a new model. Samsung devices show narrower spreads, with refurbished units averaging 385 Euro versus 430 Euro new. The most significant value gap appears in notebooks, where refurbished Apple devices average 552 Euro against 1,380 Euro new, representing savings of up to 60%. Comparable reductions apply across HP and Lenovo ranges.
Transparency as trust infrastructure
Galaxus attributes much of its refurbished success to structured transparency. Devices are sold under clearly defined quality grades, supported by specialist refurbishment partners and published warranty and return data. This clarity reduces buyer uncertainty, strengthens trust and enables refurbished products to compete directly with new devices on reliability rather than price alone.
Implications for circular electronics
The data highlights a structural shift in how large retailers integrate refurbished supply into core assortments. By normalising second life devices, platforms like Galaxus extend product lifecycles, stabilise trade in flows and support a more industrialised circular economy for consumer electronics across Europe.
Market
Trade-in
Repair
Refurbishing
