Trade-ins soar as customers rush to upgrade to iPhone 5

Carphone Warehouse has announced that customer trade-ins of old handsets have received a massive boost since the iPhone 5 went on sale this month. Launch day in particular saw a 413% increase in the number of customers trading in their older Apple devices – at a rate of more than one phone per minute – before upgrading.
 
Graham Stapleton, Chief Commercial Officer at Carphone Warehouse, says, “Apple fans were clearly very excited and keen to get their hands on the new iPhone. During launch weekend our stores were inundated with customers looking to trade-in old devices at a rate of one handset per minute. No one gives you more money for your old phone than Carphone Warehouse - up to £250* – so people don’t need to waste time searching around for the best price. Our network price promise also means that we offer customers the best value tariffs across all networks; whether it’s an upgrade or new contract.
 
“We’re absolutely delighted with the number of people who have visited our stores since the iPhone 5 officially launched - customer demand for this handset has been off the scale.”
 
Carphone Warehouse had previously announced that it was prioritising customer pre-orders after taking more than four times as many requests for the new Apple device than any other handset launch ever.
 
*price correct at time of issue