As mobile phone communication charges and terminal prices are separated and sales of low-priced used smartphones increase, major trading companies are continuously strengthening related businesses in an attempt to capture such demand.
Of these, ITOCHU has been selling and renting used smartphones for individuals through its subsidiaries three years before the rule to separate mobile phone communication charges and terminal charges was introduced. We have started a new service to rent out used smartphones.
The price is about 500 yen to about 3000 yen per month, and the overall cost is lower than buying a new smartphone, so it is being used mainly for remote work and home delivery agency services.
Daisuke Inoue, president of Nikosuma, a distribution service for used smartphones, said, "In addition to the low price, delays in shipping new products due to a shortage of semiconductors and the progress of digitization of companies due to corona damage also support the use. I'm doing it. "
In addition, Marubeni plans to invest in a Finnish company that engages in second-hand smartphone-related businesses, and in the future, launch new services that support the buying and selling of terminals between individuals using apps in Europe and Japan.
According to MM Research Institute, a private research company, the number of used smartphones sold in Japan in 2020 reached a record high of 1.85 million units, and major trading companies are actively moving in anticipation of further market expansion. ..