musicMagpie and Asda have launched a new sustainability partnership that will bring 300 of the Stockport recommerce firm’s SMARTDrop kiosks to UK stores.
The first-of-its-kind partnership will create a circular ecosystem to prevent thousands of tonnes of consumer technology and media products ending up as waste.
The deal will see musicMagpie’s SMARTDrop kiosks (pictured) rolled out in stores, allowing shoppers to recycle their old technology for cash. The kiosks will be in place in nearly 300 Asda stores by the end of 2022, following a successful trial of 15 musicMagpie SMARTDrop kiosks that has been ongoing since November last year.
musicMagpie’s SMARTDrop kiosks allow a customer to bring in their old phone, receive a valuation and get paid instantly with money transferred directly to the customer’s bank or PayPal account. So far, approximately 3,000 smartphones have been traded in this way, paying out over £800,000 instantly to customers. Once complete, the Asda partnership will mean 90% of the UK population will live within a 15-minute drive of the service.
The new partnership will also allow Asda customers to buy and sell pre-owned consumer technology via the supermarket’s website and app. The supermarket already sells musicMagpie’s pre-owned DVDs and CDs in its stores. After launching in August 2020, the offering proved so popular with customers that it was rapidly rolled out from five to over 200 Asda stores across the country.
Steve Oliver, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of musicMagpie, said:
“We are thrilled that a business of Asda’s prestige and national reach has recognised the value of musicMagpie’s unique circular economy model, and is now prepared to scale up our partnership so decisively and quickly. Our research shows that the average UK household has 11 items of unused consumer technology lying around, totalling an astonishing £16.5bn. Both the SMARTDrop kiosks and the new affiliate agreement will allow Asda customers to free up cash and declutter their homes.
“The extension of our partnership with Asda will help us to achieve our clear strategic goal of ‘buy more, sell more, rent more’ by making it even easier for consumers to sell to musicMagpie and make a decision that is both smart for them and smart for the planet.”
Matt Harrison, Senior Director of Partnerships at Asda, said:
“Our exclusive partnership with musicMagpie has been developed with the long-term view in mind and it is fantastic to see this vision achieved through a wider roll out in Asda stores. From the start, the team at musicMagpie have shared our philosophy of testing and learning through trials in our stores, with the ability to quickly understand what works and scale.
“The launch of 295 SMARTDrop kiosks and an affiliate site where customers can buy and sell technology via Asda.com will prevent e-waste going to landfill, as well as save shoppers time and money.
“As we continue to deliver on our partnership strategy and develop our partner ‘ecosystem’, we hope to create more opportunities to offer customers access to the products and services they want in more convenient locations.”