EE Case Study: Re-Imagining Trade-In
As EE expanded beyond mobile into broader tech and gaming categories, trade-in became a strategic lever for growth—helping customers upgrade more easily while unlocking value from devices they already owned. However, EE’s existing trade-in model was fragmented, difficult to scale, and disconnected from the core purchase journey.
By re-imagining trade-in as an integrated marketplace capability, EE created a seamless, in-journey experience across app and web—launching quickly, reducing delivery risk, and establishing a scalable foundation to support future category expansion.
About EE
EE take pride in being one of the UK’s leading mobile network operators and broadband providers. Since 2010, the business has focused on delivering connected experiences that help customers get more value from their devices—whether upgrading, purchasing new tech, or trading in items they no longer use.
The Opportunity: Expanding Trade-in Beyond Mobile into a Changing Market
As EE’s sales portfolio grew beyond Telecommunications into broader Tech and Gaming categories, it became clear that trade-in could play a much larger role in delivering customer value.
EE did have some existing ways to trade-in, but none that covered all of the channels and product lines where there is customer demand. Research revealed that over half of respondents had unused devices at home, yet many had never considered trading them in—highlighting a large, untapped opportunity.
At the same time, demand for trade-in was rising, fuelled by cost-conscious shoppers and growing interest in sustainability. Customers expected retailers to help them recover value from their old devices and make smarter purchase decisions. Yet few providers offered users the option to buy new devices and trade-in your old ones for cash from the same place.
To capture this opportunity, EE needed a more modern, integrated approach—something its legacy setup couldn’t deliver.
The Challenge: A Disconnected Trade-In Experience
EE’s earlier trade‑in approach was built around a partner‑owned model that supported the business at the time. As customer expectations and category breadth grew, the model offered limited flexibility for scaling, cross‑category growth, and journey optimisation within EE’s own digital environment.
This previous trade-in model wasn’t designed for multi-category growth, real-time optimisation, or commercial control.
Fragmented Customer Journey
The existing capability to trade-in for cash lived on a partner-owned site, forcing customers to leave the ee.co.uk domain to get a quote—reducing trust and conversion.
Expanding Categories
EE needed a model that could easily support a larger trade-in catalogue in line with EE’s expanding tech and gaming categories.
Limited Visibility
EE lacked insight into the step-by-step performance of the existing journey.
No Ability to Optimize UX
Limited visibility made it harder to gain a clear view of where users were encountering difficulties, which in turn impacted how effectively we could optimise the experience.
Multi-channel Experience
EE wanted to give customers the flexibility to trade-in within the EE app or via the website.
Bespoke, High-effort Integrations
Partner integrations are often associated with slower delivery and increased project risk, so there was a need to find a solution to minimise these risks.
The Breakthrough Insight: Trade-In Works Like Returns
To unlock the opportunity, EE needed a trade-in experience it could control. A trade-in program that lives inside the EE domain, supports multiple categories, and gives both EE and its partner full visibility over orders, values, and commissions.
The turning point came when the team realised that a trade-in journey works much like a return. Both involve sending a device back and issuing payment to the customer. Building on its success with Marketplacer for dropship, EE tested whether the platform’s return workflow and seller tools could be repurposed for trade-in.
A simple proof of concept confirmed the approach. By creating a “Trade-In seller,” EE validated catalogue management, device intake, and the use of invoice annotations for trade-in-specific data—without needing complex custom integration.
Implementation & Partnership: From Concept to Multi-Channel Launch
Once the approach was validated, EE brought together teams from across the business, its trade-in partner, and Marketplacer. What started with a small core group quickly expanded to more than ten squads, all working simultaneously to bring the new experience to life.
Marketplacer supported EE in setting up a dedicated instance and licensing model tailored to trade-in, ensuring the platform could handle catalogue updates, device intake, and the reverse-logistics workflows.
Because the solution reused Marketplacer capabilities EE already knew—seller portals, catalogue tools, and the return workflow—delivery was fast and efficient. This made it easier for EE and its partner to develop independently while staying aligned through shared APIs.
The result was a smooth rollout across both the EE app and website, launching with six device categories and a consistent, streamlined trade-in journey from day one.
Results & Business Impact
The new trade-in experience delivers a smoother journey for customers and a more scalable, controlled model for EE. By bringing trade-in into the EE domain and reusing proven Marketplacer capabilities, EE has unlocked stronger visibility, faster delivery, and a foundation that can grow with its expanding product range.
Customer Impact
- Seamless, in-journey quotes directly within the EE app and website
- Fewer obstacles and more confidence when trading-in with EE
- Broader trade-in eligibility, covering six (and growing) categories
Business Impact
- Full visibility into trade-in journey performance, enabling ongoing optimisatio
- Reduced delivery risk and cost by avoiding bespoke integrations
- Consistent multi-channel experience across app and web
- Faster delivery and launch by reusing proven Marketplacer workflows
- A scalable foundation aligned with EE’s broader tech and gaming strategy
Sustainability Impact
- More devices refurbished or recycled, supporting EE’s sustainability goals
- Increased value recovery from unused household tech
Looking Ahead
With the new trade-in experience live across app and web, EE is preparing to expand into additional device categories and extend the model into call centre and retail store channels. The team also plans to leverage Marketplacer capabilities —such as promotions, catalogue expansion, and continuous optimisation within the EE domain—to embed trade-in deeper into the shopping journey.
As customer expectations evolve and EE broadens its tech and gaming range, the composable marketplace foundation gives the business a flexible, future-proof engine to scale new services quickly and confidently.
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