![\"Retail](\"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/RETAIL-ONLINE-TRAINING-728-X-90.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Fast fashion is now a term familiar to most consumers, but similar \u201cbuy-it-and-toss-it\u201d mentalities pervade many other categories as well, with far less discussion around the environmental and human impact.<\/p>\n
In 2014 refurbished electronics marketplace Back Market<\/strong> set out to change this cycle, which it has dubbed \u201cfast tech.\u201d Now, the online platform is bringing its mission of encouraging consumers to \u201cbuy smarter, not newer\u201d<\/strong> to the streets of New York City, with a wide-reaching OOH campaign and temporary store in SoHo. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe could cover the island of Manhattan in Eiffel Towers of e-waste every single year; it\u2019s staggering,\u201d said Lauren Benton, U.S. General Manager for Back Market, a certified B Corp since 2023, in an interview with Retail TouchPoints.<\/em> \u201c[Advocates against]fast fashion have done a really good job \u2014 people understand that whatever item is hot this season is going to be made cheaply and then we\u2019re going to dispose of it.<\/strong> But customers don\u2019t know that about tech. <\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t step back [and consider] where the cobalt that\u2019s in every single battery is being mined and the atrocities that happen [in those places], yet all of our electronics require it,\u201d she added. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about how<\/em> you replace the battery, because a battery\u2019s a battery. It\u2019s about doing more with what we have and keeping [these devices in circulation] for longer.<\/strong> It\u2019s about maintaining<\/em> our electronics so that we can delay the drain on the finite resources of this planet.\u201d<\/p>\n After expanding online to 17<\/strong> global markets over the last 10<\/strong> years and selling more than 30 million<\/strong> devices, Back Market decided the next step was to give customers hands-on access to the quality and benefits of refurbished electronics.<\/strong> The company\u2019s first brick-and-mortar store, developed in partnership with creative agency Mythology, opened in New York City\u2019s SoHo neighborhood last week for a three<\/strong>-month run that will end on Dec. 21.<\/p>\n Designed to be a real-world introduction to Back Market\u2019s offering and mission, New York was the perfect location to make that case, according to Benton. The store\u2019s opening builds on a \u201ccheeky\u201d out-of-home campaign across the NYC subway system, encouraging New Yorkers to downgrade their devices.<\/p>\n \u201cNew York is a cultural center and retail hub of the world, but it\u2019s also a city of really curious, diverse people [who are] forward about their feedback,\u201d explained Benton. \u201cThis is an opportunity for us to engage with and learn from these customers, to inform [how we can perpetuate] that change-driving behavior that we want to have at a national level.<\/p>\n \u201cThe store is right near [the intersection of] Broadway and Canal, where you\u2019ve got so many local New Yorkers but also a lot of tourists,\u201d Benton added. \u201cIn this one spot, we get to touch and speak to so many people, so the next three months for us are an ongoing customer focus group to help us learn how to speak to America better about the opportunity to adopt refurbished tech.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n The timing couldn\u2019t be better. Given tech\u2019s omnipresent utility in our lives, it\u2019s perhaps understandable that many consumers turn a blind eye to the waste that results from \u201cupgrade culture.\u201d But other forces are bringing the problems of \u201cfast tech\u201d to the forefront for consumers <\/strong>\u2014 conversations around global trade that have been prompted by tariffs<\/strong>, not to mention the resulting price increases; growing frustration with the practice of \u201cplanned obsolescence,\u201d<\/strong> where devices are designed to stop working optimally after a certain time to encourage upgrades; and the simple fact that many tech devices have gotten so good<\/strong> that the justification for upgrading has been diminished. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n All of this has created \u201ca really interesting opportunity for us to talk about the idea of refurbished tech, even for those consumers who do want the latest and the greatest. This isn\u2019t actually about a budget purchase anymore<\/strong>,\u201d said Benton, who highlighted the fact that in her opinion the iPhone 15 Pro is actually a better device than the newly released iPhone 17, and costs 15%<\/strong> less on Back Market, even for the highest-grade used product, than the new iPhone. \u00a0<\/p>\n The SoHo store was purposefully designed with this messaging and ethos in mind, with service offerings like repairs, cleaning<\/strong> and opportunities to trade in old devices for cash<\/strong> placed front and center at the entrance.<\/p>\n \u201cOne screen is cracked in the U.S. every single minute,\u201d said Benton. \u201cYou don\u2019t need a new device, you just need a new screen, but repairs aren\u2019t as accessible, easy or affordable as they should be in the U.S.<\/strong> We\u2019re also cleaning devices so people can take care of what they have. It\u2019s not really a speaker issue, there\u2019s just some lint in there \u2014 that too is a really common issue. My phone isn\u2019t charging that well, turns out it\u2019s just dirty; we can repair that.\u201d<\/p>\n Products are available for sale in the middle of the store, but the ultimate goal is not to sell products, illustrated by the fact that \u201cthere is no incentive that any of the team members working in this retail store have to sell<\/strong>,\u201d said Benton. \u201cIt\u2019s about building trust and awareness of Back Market and the quality standards that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n A number of hands-on activations help drive this even further home, including a New vs. Refurbished display<\/strong>, where visitors are challenged to spot the difference between new and used devices, as well as a setup showcasing the various tests<\/strong> Back Market sellers run on devices to grade and price items before listing them on the marketplace.<\/p>\n The store also will feature Google Fi Wireless offerings, a mobile network operator that allows customers to use any unlocked phone, not just one provided by the network operator like at many other carriers.<\/p>\n The back of the store is dedicated to education, with videos and a curated selection of books. And the store will host a series of events throughout its three-month run to further illustrate its point, including:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Back Market SoHo store is about showing what\u2019s possible,\u201d said Thibaud Hug de Larauze, Co-founder and CEO of Back Market in a statement. \u201cWhen people experience refurbished tech in person, they see the quality, the savings and the potential to live smarter. We believe this pilot can spark real trust and momentum for a more sustainable way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Another important point will be highlighting the refurbished opportunity for products beyond smartphones and laptops. \u201cA lot of us have one phone, maybe two, but we don\u2019t consider the number of kitchen appliances, your hair dryer<\/strong>, all these other things that contribute to that e-waste challenge,\u201d said Benton, noting that all of these also are products that can be refurbished and are sold on Back Market today.<\/p>\n While the primary goal of the store isn\u2019t sales, products will of course be offered for sale. A selection of the top-selling items on Back Market, primarily smartphones, will be available to buy on the spot, while a range of other items, such as a window air conditioner unit, are displayed with QR codes and can be ordered from BackMarket.com. Products also feature E Ink electronic price tags that will align pricing in real time with the prices on the Back Market marketplace<\/strong>, as well as explain how products are graded.<\/p>\n A stock ticker-style display, visible both outside and inside the store, shows the going price for top products. \u201cI think it\u2019s really engaging, even just to watch, because there really are fluctuations,\u201d said Benton. \u201cOne seller that\u2019s winning that Buy Box [on BackMarket.com] right now might sell out of their inventory, and so the prices start to change.\u201d<\/p>\n BackMarket.com brings together offerings from 300<\/strong> refurbishers, and Benton said the competition to win the Buy Box (that is, be the seller whose product will be offered to the customer) is fierce. That selection is based first on seller quality (based on Back Market\u2019s own experience with the refurbisher and their products) and then on price.<\/p>\n The SoHo store is a big initiative for Back Market, but it\u2019s not clear yet whether it\u2019s the beginning of a larger push into brick-and-mortar. \u201cI have strong hopes that this is just the first step in what we could create from a physical perspective and speaking to our customers,\u201d said Benton. \u201cThere are so many hypotheses about which direction this will go, so it will be really interesting to see where that demand is from customers.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked if the store was a \u201cflag in the ground\u201d for Back Market as competitors like Ebay<\/strong> and PayMore<\/strong> pick up steam both online and IRL, Benton said not really.<\/p>\n \u201cAcross the country, we estimate that only about 5%<\/strong> of people are actually buying refurbished smartphones,\u201d she said. \u201cRight now there is still so much growth and opportunity that, as long as someone is actually delivering high-quality devices and not turning people off [by selling] lemons, I\u2019m happy. My focus is getting people away from new and educating them around the quality of refurbished tech.<\/strong> What I want them to take away the store is that refurbished is a real, viable option.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re also seeing a shift with Gen Z<\/strong> on our site,\u201d Benton added. \u201cAbout 60% of them are reporting buying refurbished for the first time.<\/strong> That\u2019s what I want to drive up with the store \u2014 how many people are choosing to try refurbished for the first time and how many were nudged in that direction because they got to have that physical touch point to really build the trust.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nNot Your Typical Tech Store<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Tariffs Open Consumers to the Idea of Refurbished Tech<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Putting Services, not Sales, Up Front<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Services](\"https:\/\/www.retailtouchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/250929_mythology_backmarket_005_720.jpg\")
Giving Consumers the Chance to Experience Refurbished Tech<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
Looking Beyond Smart Devices to all Kinds of Tech<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Back Market\u2019s Brick-and-Mortar Future<\/strong><\/h2>\n