Renting smartphones at the dawn of a boom in France?

Buying your smartphone could soon be outdated. The market for the long-term rental of mobile phones – subject to a monthly subscription – is beginning to develop timidly in France. Although it currently represents only around 1% of the market share, “rental will develop mively in Europe”, predicts Damien Morin, CEO of Mobile.club, a start-up specializing in the rental of refurbished smartphones.

His company announced this Saturday at VivaTech a partnership with la Poste mobile – the telephone operator of the La Poste group. The goal? Democratize smartphone rental and reach a wider audience – 50% of the 25,000 Mobile.club users are between 18 and 35 years old. By offering this service directly from the post offices, “we will develop rental among all French people”, ures Julien Tetu, the president of the Mobile post.

For the moment, the rental of telephones only attracts a tiny percentage of the 59 million smartphone users in France – 87% of the population had one in 2022, according to the latest figures from Arcep. Few “historic” players have embarked on the adventure, with the exception of Fnac, which has been offering the service since 2018. But new smartphone rental start-ups manage to mobilize fundraising – such as Mobile.club which raised 8 million euros with 130 business angels at the start of the year. A sign, according to Mélanie Depoilly, strategic watch consultant, that the market has potential.

Spread the payment

It must be said that the proposal meets consumer expectations. “The smartphone is a very expensive product that loses its value every year. So there is an interest in customers only supporting the depreciation of the device every month and the service,” ures Damien Morin, CEO of Mobile.club. He and his competitors offer the rental of smartphones from 15 euros per month, for a refurbished model, and up to sixty euros for the latest iPhone.

A mode of operation that could easily be integrated into consumer habits, judges consultant Mélanie Depoilly. “We have access to high-end smartphones without spending €1,000 all at once and paying for a phone by monthly installment is already offered by most French operators, so it has become commonplace,” he explains. She.

In addition, these boxes offer, in addition to rental, a formidable after-sales service. Mobile.club and Next Mobiles, for example, promise to send a new smartphone within 48 hours in the event of breakage or theft. An offer that allows “to get rid of a mental weight” – the fear of being robbed or breaking such an expensive object -, analyzes Mélanie Depoilly.

This consumption model always makes you want to have the latest model so this ecological aspect is somewhat erased by this desire for faster overconsumption

Mélanie Depoilly (Business intelligence consultant)

And as to whether customers will regret no longer “owning” their phone, “it’s like owning a music disc, it’s something that is less and less present”, sweeps the specialist. Charlotte Zagury, managing director of the phone rental start-up Next Mobiles, thinks that customers can be put off by the data stored on the phone: “the phone is an everyday object, we spend 4 5 hours a day on it and we have our whole life in it, so there may be the idea ‘that it has to be mine’”, she judges.

A half-hearted ecological balance sheet

Professionals, on the other hand, put forward another argument to convince potential customers: the ecological balance sheet. Indeed, according to figures from Ademe, 75% of the carbon footprint of a mobile phone comes solely from the manufacturing phase. An argument that the Mobile.club teams use mively for their marketing. But this essment is however to qualify, judge Mélanie Depoilly. “This consumption model always makes you want to have the latest model, so this ecological aspect is somewhat erased by this desire for faster overconsumption”, she specifies. Indeed, the majority of players offer their customers the option of changing telephones during their subscription, subject to the payment of a supplement depending on the model chosen.

But then, why does the market continue to cap at 1% market share, while leasing is growing in many industries – automotive , clothing, furniture – ? “It’s because there aren’t very, very big players who have helped us to evangelize the market”, ures Charlotte Zagury, of Next Mobiles. Apple, which already rents iPhones in the United States, was to offer the service in France from the beginning of 2023. But, according to Bloomberg, technical problems on the new platform dedicated to the rental would have delayed the process. Its arrival on the market could shake up the sector.