Consumers will be able to access phone recycling facilities in 295 Asda stores by next year, as part of a partnership between the grocer and musicMagpie.
Recommerce business musicMagpie’s ‘SmartDrop’ kiosks will appear in around half of the supermarket chain’s UK shops by 2022, following a successful 15-store trial.
Shoppers will have an opportunity to gain a phone recycling quote, dispose of their item and secure the money for them instantly as part of the extended initiative.
It all comes as part of a wider sustainability tie-up between Asda and musicMagpie that includes the launch of an affiliate agreement giving consumers the chance to buy and sell pre-owned tech and media items with musicMagpie through the Asda website and mobile app.
In addition, musicMagpie’s pre-owned DVDs and CDs have been available to buy in Asda stores since August 2020. That will continue under the terms of the new deal.
According to musicMagpie, its in-store phone recycling kiosks have processed around 3,000 smartphones in the ten months since launch. A cumulative figure close to £800,000 has been paid to consumers using the service to date, kit added.
In terms of the business case, Asda research from the trial shows 70% of the customers who came into a store to use a kiosk had not shopped at Asda before. Also, 24% of customers using a kiosk went on to make a purchase while in store.
Steve Oliver, CEO and co-founder of musicMagpie, added: “Our research shows that the average UK household has 11 items of unused consumer technology lying around, totalling an astonishing £16.5 billion.
“Both the SmartDrop kiosks and the new affiliate agreement will allow Asda customers to free up cash and declutter their homes. The extension of our partnership with Asda will help us to achieve our clear strategic goal of ‘buy more, sell more, rent more’ by making it even easier for consumers to sell to musicMagpie and make a decision that is both smart for them and smart for the planet.”
Matt Harrison, senior director of partnerships at Asda, commented: “Our exclusive partnership with musicMagpie has been developed with the long-term view in mind and it is fantastic to see this vision achieved through a wider roll out in Asda stores.
“From the start, the team at musicMagpie have shared our philosophy of testing and learning through trials in our stores, with the ability to quickly understand what works and scale.”
Read more about in-store recycling schemes on Green Retail World
[Image credit: Asda]
