Amazon trade-in

Service design
Design systems
Marketing

 

Sr. UXD lead '24-25

The Amazon trade-in program allows customers worldwide to exchange eligible electronics and other items for a rebate.

The program aims to promote sustainability by refurbishing and reselling traded-in devices or recycling them responsibly.

 

Decreased rejected rates

We increase trade-in values by refining how conditions are evaluated, and reduce rejection rates by excluding certain conditions that represented only a small percentage of trade-ins.

 

Increased engagement

Customer engagement on the call to action has improved across EU5 marketplaces, directionally positive for introduction in North America.

Customer pain points

Trade-in not integrated into the purchase process

Customers has to want the competitive experience of being able to purchase a new phone at a lower price with a by trading-in.

"How might we offer promotions to make a purchase using trade-in?"

High rejection rates based on poor customer education

The trade-information provided to the customer was confusing and did not align with how operations ability to reject fewer trade-in.

"How might we make it as frictionless as possible for a customer to prepare their old phone for trade-in?"

Inconsistent experience across programs and marketplaces

Customers want to understand how trade-in works not which program it is procured by.

"How might we make it seamless to the customer, their trade-in being handled by more than one program within Amazon?"

Design strategy

Focus on affordability

Purchases that require cost consideration create anxiety around affordability, particularly when customers lack clear visibility of available cost-reducing options. Value-conscious customers focus increasingly on total savings, not just base or list price.

We ran a unmoderated think-out-loud study (n=30) on trade-in integrated into the purchase process to gather feedback on the improved grading as they went through the experience.

Program education

Participants found the trade-in documentation helpful in assessing the condition of their phones.

Value clarification

Around a quarter of participants were unfamiliar with security locks reducing value, and why signing out of their accounts was necessary before completing a factory reset.

Competitive grading

Almost all participants were satisfied with the explanation of when and why a phone might be rejected. This paired with updated, more competitive operations criteria on what qualified for rejection.

Post-purchase trade-in support

Offering the right call to act, at the right time, in the right place will improve the customer experience. Once the customer receives their purchase they are will receive reminders from a variety of surfaces to properly prepare their trade-in to avoid rejection or downgrade in value.

Future metrics

Increased purchases with trade-in

Help customers purchase and trade-in, in one order.

Decrease rejection rates

Decrease in downgrades, increase is trade-in values, fewer phone recycled or returned

Decrease in customer service calls

Regarding trade-in preparation education, clarity around rejections.