This new consumption model enters Spain with inflation above 7% and where 70% of the population think phones are too expensive to be a good that loses 30% of its value once it is released.
The mobile phone has become a primary need in every person’s daily life. Whether for communication, work or leisure, it is the device used by the vast majority of people, although not everyone is willing to spend the same for a device that loses 30% of its value once it is brand new . Therefore, at a time when inflation is above 7% according to the latest data from the INE and the economic capacity of households has declined, up to 40% of Spaniards prefer a new but rented mobile phone to the purchase to pay out.
Initially, the telephone companies offered the device in exchange for a permanence. But for a decade, the market has not stopped evolving. Manufacturers chose to develop phones with the latest technology, which gave them a wide range of phones and allowed the user to choose according to their needs and budget. But this meant they were born with planned obsolescence and it was necessary to buy a phone every few years.
As a result, prices kept getting higher. In fact, almost 70% of Spaniards think mobile devices are excessively expensive. This is reflected in the recent study “Trends in the use of mobile devices” by Rentik, a pioneering mobile leasing service in Spain that comes up with the idea of making the purchase of a mobile phone “a thing of the past”.
This business model is already common in products where the devaluation is very aggressive and it makes no sense to buy. The most notorious is car leasing, a system that has grown exponentially in Spain in recent years and now plans to enter mobile telephony so that the user, in the words of Rentik’s CEO, Pablo Blanco, “premières mobile whenever you want» pay a fixed amount per month from 12 euros with a term of 24 months.
A system that is already widespread in the countries around us and in which the Spaniards are increasingly interested. According to the survey, today 38% of Spaniards are willing to switch to a telephone leasing service, partly because one of the most important wishes of the Spaniards in terms of mobile phones is a brand new terminal. 48% of respondents consider it important.
Likewise, renting offers the opportunity to enjoy a state-of-the-art terminal and change it more often, one of the most sought-after options for people under 35 years old. Currently, 56% of Spaniards consider it very important to have a new and up-to-date model and 48% care very much or very much about a brand new mobile phone. The sector of the population that prefers to be brand new is therefore young people between 25 and 33 years old, especially those from Castilla La Mancha and Valencia.
The reasons for the change, according to the research, are mainly in the battery life and the size of the device. And it is that 24% of the population believe that size matters. For example, 46% of Spaniards change their mobile every two to three years, although only 13% of them sell their old mobile. That is, it does not make the device profitable.
Breakage and malfunctions are one of the most common problems when we talk about mobile phones. For example, almost 50% of Spaniards have a fault in their mobile and there are many who do not repair their telephone if it breaks because they do not continue to invest in their mobile (62%). Considering these high prices, another fear of investing a lot of money in a phone is the possibility of losing it or even having it stolen. As highlighted by Rentik, whose insurance covers theft, there are up to 1,500 mobile phone thefts per year in Spain.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
