Pandas: The Startup – Ambassador of the Circular Economy

On 29/6/2022 Pandas, formerly Green Panda, presented at an online event the results of the survey entitled “Circular Economy and Use of Smartphones” conducted in collaboration with ELTRUN.

The Survey “Circular Economy and Use of Smartphones” is based on data obtained from the responses of 1,400 Greek consumers, aged 18-60.

Pandas recently rebranded, saying goodbye to the “green” color from its brand – but not from its culture. The Startup is expanding its services by turning its interest to the “second chance” of Smartphones by extending their life cycle.

The company is growing exponentially, “smart” ATMs are appearing in more and more central parts of cities, with Pandas claiming that it is going to increase its partner points (400+) fivefold by the end of the year.

Also, the Pandas team has been reinforced with over 35 employees – with people from 3 different countries.

In the near future, Pandas intends to enhance its services by enabling users to sell and receive an offer for their Smartphone from the comfort of their sofa.

The assessment will be carried out through a game, where interacting with the interface of the service, the game tests the performance of the mobile, how well the digitalizer of the smartphone works and in general the condition of the device for sale. The launch of the services is due to take place by the end of 2022.

The part of the “Circular Economy” is a fairly “dark space” for the domestic market, as there is not enough literature and research data that can clarify and describe the term representatively. 39% who participated in the survey did not even know the meaning of the term “Circular Economy.”

In fact, the CEO of Pandas, Fanis Koutouvelis, said that he is soon going to announce the completion of a new series A funding, which we hope will be as profitable as the seed round where Startup managed to raise 2 million dollars is worth noting that from 2020 until today, through the trade-in programs it implements in collaboration with leading retailers of the Greek market, such as iStorm, Frame, Xiaomi Store, Wind, you.gr but also with AB Vassilopoulos, a total of more than 15,000 smartphones have been returned, which correspond to 900,000+ kg of less CO2 emissions for the planet and more than 1 million have been made available by Pandas as a financial benefit to users for the sale of their devices.

The results of the survey

In particular, Greek consumers appear hesitant to leave the smartphones they no longer use, with 83% of respondents stating that when they no longer use a smartphone, they leave it forgotten at home. At the same time, the percentage of Greek consumers who seem willing to buy used smartphones in the future is on the rise.

As for the main reason that leads consumers to buy a new smartphone, 8 out of 10 (83%) said that they do so when there is significant damage or wear to their device, which requires high repair costs. At the same time, 6 out of 10 (60%) said that they are buying a new smartphone, when the features of the existing device no longer meet their daily needs.

At the same time, while 15% of consumers say that they have already bought a used smartphone, twice the percentage – 30% of consumers, said they are interested in buying a used device in the future, which highlights the growth potential of this market worldwide.

Selling smartphones and the Circular Economy

According to the findings of the survey, 88% of consumers would exchange their old smartphone for a discount voucher, through which they could buy the new one at a better price, while 75% said they would like to receive the maximum money.At the same time, it seems that educating consumers and facilitating the process of selling used smartphones is extremely important, as 7 out of 10 say that a simple, fast, and safe process is the basic conditions for them to proceed with the sale of a smartphone.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that equally important as providing incentives is the education of consumers in the concept and value of the circular economy, as according to the results of the survey, a significant percentage of 39% state that they are not familiar with this term.

“Every smartphone has value even when it ceases to be exploited by the user. The purpose of Pandas, through the trade-in programs it designs and implements, is to extend the life cycle of each smartphone that remains untapped, offering a direct benefit to the user himself, to the partner companies, but also to our planet”