// Asda launches ‘SMARTDrop Kiosks’ in its supermarket stores
// The kiosks offer an even faster and easier way to recycle unwanted phones
Asda has rolled out ‘SMARTDrop Kiosks’ in its supermarket stores as it strengthens its partnership with MusicMagpie to help customers recycle phones.
For customers, the kiosks offer an even faster and easier way to recycle unwanted phones for instant cash.
There are now kiosks in 290 Asda stores across the UK, meaning that 90% of the UK’s population live within a 15-minute drive of one.
So far, over £7 million has been paid out to customers using the kiosks, with 25,000 phones having been traded in at an average price of £273 over the past 12 months.
Customers take their phone to a kiosk, receive a valuation, deposit it and then have the money paid to their bank or PayPal account within minutes, which they can then use to pay for their shopping instore that day if they choose.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
The kiosks are part of a wider sustainability partnership between MusicMagpie and Asda.
Asda customers can buy and sell refurbished consumer technology and entertainment products (such as mobile phones, tablets, DVDs and CDs) with MusicMagpie through the Asda website and mobile app.
When selling, the items can then be dropped off by the customer at any Asda store, from where they are transferred to MusicMagpie using Asda’s “toyou” service.
In addition, the grocer sells MusicMagpie’s pre-owned DVDs and CDs in over 200 of its stores across the country.
MusicMagpie co-founder and CEO, Steve Oliver said: “In the current climate, it’s critically important that we make it as easy as possible for people to free up cash – especially as we know that that the average household has 11 items of unused consumer technology lying around, totalling £16.5bn across the UK and depreciating by the day.
“The wider partnership with Asda is an integral part of our ‘buy more, sell more, rent more’ strategy, and gives consumers even more opportunities to make decisions that are both smart for them and smart for the planet.”
