After adapting the trade-in option – by which it lets buyers with older devices to present them to cater for part of the cost when buying a new device – during the sale of the Galaxy S22 series in April last year, Samsung now expects more devices to be traded-in this year by customers, mainly from this month.
For the Galaxy S22 series, buyers were able to acquire the devices through the Trade-in programme in partnership with Badili Africa, a firm that offers device exchange services.
(TOP: Charles Kimari, Samsung’s Director for Mobile Experience for East Africa during the #GalaxyUnpacked event to launch the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Z Flip5).
Consumers had the opportunity to receive an instant cash discount towards their purchase of any of the three models in the Galaxy S22 series in exchange for any of their used Note or S-series device.
“Our team is galvanised by the response to the Galaxy S22 series, which is why through the trade-in programme and our partnership with Badili Africa, we are looking forward to offering unprecedented value in innovative ways to our consumers,” said Charles Kimari, the then Director for Mobile Experience, Samsung Kenya. He’s currently Samsung’s Director for Mobile Experience for East Africa.
To qualify for the Trade-in programme, customers were required to visit select authorized dealer stores across the country to get a valuation done of their device and sign off on the trade-in for the Galaxy S22 series model of their choice.
And now for the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Z Flip5, which were launched here in late July, Mr Kimari says that the trade-in option will also apply.
“Trade-Ins is one of the options we have. And depending on the product that you currently have, one can walk into Samsung recommended stores, trade-in your device, after which the discount which is given on your current device will be applied on the cost of the Galaxy Z Fold5 or Galaxy Z Flip5 which you’ve selected. So, for instance, if your current device is valued at say Kshs 50,000, that value will be deducted from the cost of the model you’ve selected,” ,” said Kimari during a post event interview after the recent #GalaxyUnpacked event to announce the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Z Flip5.
He emphasized that Samsung is “trying as much as possible to put up more platforms that offer flexible financing options or malipo ya pople to potential customers.”
He said: “Our plan for this is that as much as the price is premium price, we have also partnered with financial institutions like Absa through which buyers will be able to acquire the devices via flexible payment models of say 2.5% per month in interest for about a year.”
A relatively new device acquisition alternative for buyers, trade-in is gaining popularity in the local market, even though gradually.
“We started Trade-In as an activity last year. Trade-in is always a process and the acceptance to trade-in takes time based on our culture will take time to gaining popularity. Previously, we’ve been used to handing down our used devices to either family members, relatives or colleagues after an upgrade to a new model,” said Kimari.
However, noted Kimari, people are now using their older devices to help offset the cost of new buys during an upgrade.
“Now we are seeing an uptake of the practice of device trade-ins. It is not much but significant as we have recorded about 400 units since the launch of the Galaxy S22 last year. This year, we expect to do about 800 units of trade-ins as Kenyans adopt the practice of trading-in their previous devices to cover part of the cost of their new devices. This year we’re expecting to do at least 800 units. After this turnover, we’ll be able to have perfected the practice as Kenyans adopt to the trend, step by step,” he added.
He explained that Samsung started the trade-in programme for devices in the premium segment.
“We started Trade-In at a premium category, with the high-end models. We are yet to carry out Trade-ins at the entry-level segment as a lot is involved and needs to be worked out before we can introduce the practice in that segment,” said Kimari.
In terms of payments and payment durations, Samsung has also partnered with various organisations to offer alternatives and different options for customers purchasing premium devices.
“In a market, there’s always different consumer segments. The current trend is that previously, we were able to sell more devices in cash, but now, we are looking for additional brackets. Maybe someone who’s aspiring to get their hands on this product but they don’t have the cash, they can visit our retail stores, run their credit cards and get the product, in that way settling the payment slowly and in a more flexible manner over a longer period,” explained Kimari.
For the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Z Flip5, Samsung is looking to sell in the next one month, beginning with 3,000 units during the pre-order period, which covers the period until August 24, 2023.
“Normally the demand is very high during the pre-order phase. Subsequently after that, we aim to average about 500 to 700 of the devices being sold per week, till the end of the year. This is normally very consistent,” said Kimari, adding: “Compared to the sales of the previous model, that is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 and Galaxy Z Flip5, this should be a 30% jump. We’re targeting to do at least 30 to 40 per cent, which is an aggressive number.”
As regards the selected retailers and payment plans, there are Samsung Experience Stores in the open market in Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa, as well as Eldoret. Then there are retail partners who stock multi brands within their outlets, and who are based throughout the country – this brings the total reach of retail outlets where people can buy the brand’s new flagship devices to about 1,000.
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