Cashify, a leading re-commerce platform in India, has released Women’s Day insights highlighting the growing participation of women on its platform. The report shows that more than 41 lakh women users engaged with the platform between August and February. This represents a 17 per cent year-on-year increase, compared with 35 lakh women users during the same period last year.
In contrast, male user growth stood at nine per cent year on year, indicating that women are adopting re-commerce at nearly twice the pace. Here is what Nakul Kumar, co-founder of Cashify, told this newspaper.
Women users on Cashify are growing 17 per cent year on year, nearly twice the pace of men. What factors are driving this faster adoption among women?
One thing that has become very clear to us over the past year is that many women are approaching smartphone ownership more thoughtfully than before. Earlier, most people kept a device for several years and upgraded only when it started slowing down or when battery performance deteriorated. Now we are seeing more users consider resale value and upgrade timing much earlier in the device lifecycle.
Women users on Cashify grew about 17 per cent year on year, almost twice the growth we saw among men during the same period. Interestingly, many of these users are becoming more comfortable factoring in the resale value of their existing phones when planning their next upgrade. Traditionally, people would buy first and sell later. Increasingly, however, users are using the expected resale value to make more practical upgrade decisions.
At the same time, there is strong participation in premium devices, particularly within ecosystems such as Apple and Samsung. This trend is being driven by three key factors. First, greater digital confidence and familiarity with online marketplaces. Second, increasing financial awareness about extracting value from devices that were traditionally left unused. And third, growing trust in organised re-commerce platforms that offer transparent pricing, doorstep pickup and secure data wiping.
What is also accelerating this shift is greater awareness around re-commerce and the ease of selling devices online. As more users realise the value they can unlock from their old phones, upgrading becomes a far more practical and accessible decision.
Data suggests women are more inclined towards premium smartphones such as Apple and flagship Samsung models. Why do you think this preference is emerging in the re-commerce market?
Premium smartphones generally offer a more reliable experience over a longer period of time. They also tend to retain value better in the secondary market, which makes them attractive for users thinking about future upgrades. On our platform, Apple accounts for around 34 per cent of phones purchased by women, making it the most preferred brand among female buyers.
Another interesting pattern we are noticing is that many of these transactions involve flagship or Pro variants. This suggests that buyers are prioritising performance, durability and longevity rather than focusing only on the purchase price. Re-commerce gives users the opportunity to access these premium devices at significantly lower prices than buying them brand new.
What differences do you see between metro and non-metro user behaviour?
Metro cities still contribute the largest share of activity on the platform. Markets such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune continue to lead in terms of purchase volumes and premium upgrades. These cities generally have faster smartphone upgrade cycles and greater awareness of resale options.
At the same time, we are seeing strong traction from cities such as Patna, Lucknow, Jaipur and Ahmedabad. In many of these markets, re-commerce is becoming a way for consumers to access premium smartphones without paying the full retail price. It allows users to enter established brand ecosystems while keeping purchases more affordable.