India, Mar 10th: Cashify, India’s leading re-commerce platform, today released Women’s Day insights highlighting the growing participation of women on its platform, revealing that over 41 lakh women users engaged between August and February. This reflects a 17% year-on-year growth compared to 35 lakh women users during the same period last year. In contrast, male user growth stood at 9% year-on-year, showing that women are adopting re-commerce at nearly twice the pace.
The data highlights a clear shift in participation patterns, revealing how women are increasingly driving premium transactions and participating in high-value resale cycles.
“What we’re seeing is not incremental participation, but acceleration. Women users on Cashify are growing nearly twice as fast as men, with a clear tilt towards premium devices and high-value resale. This signals a shift from passive ownership to active lifecycle management. That said, women still account for under one-fifth of our total user base, which means there is significant room for progress. As digital trust deepens beyond metros, our focus remains on making organized recommerce more accessible and inclusive,” said Nakul Kumar, Co-Founder, Cashify.
Women Are Driving Premium Smartphone Behaviour
Apple accounts for 34% of total phones bought by women on Cashify, making it the most preferred brand among female buyers. Along with Samsung, the 2 brands form the largest chunk of purchases, displaying a strong preference toward established, high-resale-value brands. This showcases an inclination toward reliability and resale value rather than purely price-led decisions. The presence of flagship and Pro variants further reflects a premium skew in buying behaviour.
The resale data further strengthens the premium behaviour. Apple contributes 43% of phones sold by women, demonstrating strong and active participation in high-value resale cycles.
Top devices sold by women include flagship variants like the iPhone 16 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and 15 Pro, clearly challenging outdated assumptions around gender and technology adoption.
Premium Participation Extends Beyond Metros
Purchase behavior is led by major urban centres, with nearly 48% of women users concentrated across the top 10 cities. Delhi emerges as the largest contributor, followed by Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune. At the same time, the trend extends beyond metros, with strong participation by women in Tier 2 cities such as Patna, Lucknow, Kolkata, Jaipur and Ahmedabad.
Women Are Strategic Upgraders and Smart Investors
Women are consistently monetising their existing devices and reinvesting within the same brand ecosystems, reflecting a deliberate and strategic approach to upgrades. Selling relatively newer models while continuing to buy within premium segments indicates strong awareness of resale timing, long-term value, and overall device lifecycle management.
Top resale models include the iPhone 15 and 16 series. This points to a thoughtful upgrade timing that is aimed at maximising returns. At the same time, older models such as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 11 remain popular purchases, reflecting aspirational entry into premium ecosystems across multiple price points.
What the Data Reveals About Women in Recommerce
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Premium preference signals financial maturity: Women’s strong orientation towards flagship devices reflects a performance-first, value-conscious mindset. Recommerce is becoming a smart financial decision, not just a budget alternative.
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Strategic selling reflects lifecycle awareness: The concentration of premium, flagship devices in resale, particularly newer models, indicates that women are actively calculating upgrade timing and resale value. This is a marker of a more sophisticated consumer, rather than an occasional one.
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Urban depth, Tier 2 breadth: Meaningful participation in Patna, Lucknow, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad signals that digital confidence and trust in organised resale platforms are expanding well beyond metros.
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Women are shaping India’s circular economy: Increasing participation in both buying and selling cycles means women are actively contributing to the supply-side health of the recommerce ecosystem. As this base scales, it strengthens India’s path towards becoming a meaningful global hub for remanufacturing.
