Assurant

The Challenge

Assurant (eRecyclingCorps at the time) was exploring opportunities to scale mobile device recycling and redistribution across Europe. The business saw growing consumer demand for affordable, sustainable smartphone options, but needed to better understand:

Motivations and barriers to purchasing reused or refurbished devices.
How different propositions (“as-is”, “refurbished”, “renewed”) would resonate in diverse European markets.
The optimal lifecycle moments when consumers are most open to buying a reused phone (e.g. when upgrading, after loss/damage, or at contract renewal).
Price expectations and perceptions of quality, to shape positioning and maximise uptake.

This intelligence was critical for building a commercially viable, circular economy model — reducing e-waste while creating new revenue streams.

The Solution

Skopos designed a multi-market quantitative research programme to give Assurant the clarity they needed.

Key elements included:

International scope: studies conducted across Central and Eastern Europe (expanding to 5–8 markets).
Targeted recruitment: using our OpinionPeople panel to reach both smartphone aspirers and existing smartphone owners open to reused devices.
Robust sample sizes: 500+ respondents per market, ensuring statistically reliable insights.
Consumer deep-dive: exploring mobile ownership habits, upgrade triggers, perceived quality cues, and price sensitivity.
Proposition testing: showing consumers clear “as-is”, “refurbished” and “renewed” device concepts with visuals, benefits, and pricing scenarios — then measuring intent, perceived value, and trade-offs.

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The Outcome

The research gave Assurant a data-backed roadmap for launching and scaling mobile recycling programmes across Europe:

Clear consumer segmentation — identifying who is most open to each proposition type.
Validated pricing anchors — understanding what feels “too cheap”, “expensive”, or a “bargain”.
Strategic guidance — on when and how to position reused devices within the customer lifecycle.
Market prioritisation — insight into where opportunities were strongest across European markets.

Armed with these insights, Assurant was able to:

Shape proposition design around consumer expectations.
Maximise trade-in adoption, repurposing millions of devices.
Deliver tangible ESG impact by reducing electronic waste and supporting circular economy goals.

This project not only advanced Assurant’s sustainability ambitions, but also reinforced their role as an innovator at the intersection of technology, finance, and environmental responsibility.

Assurant

The Challenge

The Solution

The Outcome

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